Page 1 of 1

Bananas, Ensetes (first Year)

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 11:38 am
by Mark S
So its my first year with bananas and I'm quite surprised at the growth rate even though we have some terrible weather recently, i have two ensetes, basjoo ,and bengal tiger (i think ) as well as 1 lasiocarpa all are doing quite well. Do you think that the 2 ensete will be large enough to be dry stored over winter ? they have just got to over 4ft at the tip of the largest leaves and are quite fat around the base, also given that we have at least another 6 weeks of growing the should get even bigger i have various places i could store them which would be best, unheated greenhouse, shed, loft, garage or under the stairs, The ensete were tiny 1 lt. pots when i brought them around April time
TIA Mark

Bananas, Ensetes (first Year)

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 10:04 pm
by GREVILLEAJ
Answered your own question, Mark. :D

The ensete should be big enough and fine for dry store by the time the cold weather arrives. Anywhere dry and frost free will suit them. Yorkshire Kris videos on Overwintering Ensete seem to be the definitive instructions for doing this effectively.

Bananas, Ensetes (first Year)

Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:31 am
by Mark S
Thanks for the reply, I've been watching quite a few of Kris's videos so will look it up
cheers mark

Bananas, Ensetes (first Year)

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:18 am
by Chez2
If you have somewhere a little warmer than frost free you don't need to dry them. We have kept them in a heated outbuilding and heated polytunnel at five degrees C and they are fine left in whatever they grew in. Keep them almost dry until you see some growth in spring. Our outbuilding was over ten degrees c so we kept them damp. The only time we lost one was in the garage which got too cold.