Musa basjoo overwintering indoors - dark/ight? water/no wate

[ourarka]

So I have potted up a couple of Musa basjoo pups to overwinter indoors in case I lose any of the bigger plants, but there seems to be various ways of keeping them? I am lucky enough to have a avriety of available storage areas so are they best in a well-lit place like a conservatory, inside the house altogether or a dark place like a garage?

Should they be kept watered, sparsely watered or not at all? Does that depend upon the room that they are kept in?

[dino]

I overwintered mine last year no problem in a spare room. I just watered slightly when the leaves began to droop then it would perk up. Growth slows right down.

[Ian Cooke]

I would say the conservatory where there is light is by far the best.

[Mr List]

i am curious if pups need to be kept growing or if you can stick them in the cellar/garage in the dark.?

[ourarka]

Thanks Ian - conservatory might get the nod then. How much would they need watering over the winter - obviously the conservatory would still achieve half decent temps during the day, though cool down at night.

[musa_monkey]

i am curious if pups need to be kept growing or if you can stick them in the cellar/garage in the dark.?

You can leave them in the garage / dark and they will start into growth in the spring.

[Mr List]

dinky ones?
i have one about 18" tall and one about 8" tall both are growing new leaves but havent filled there little pots with roots yet but there is new root growth going on.

[musa_monkey]

dinky ones?
i have one about 18" tall and one about 8" tall both are growing new leaves but havent filled there little pots with roots yet but there is new root growth going on.

The smallest ones i stored last year were about 4" to 12" tall and all had some root structure. I chopped them off the mother plant and put them all in the same pot with 50:50 mp compost and perlite. They actually grew on a little before going dormant.
All of them survived last winter in the garage.

[Mr List]

sweet

do you leave the leaves on or remove?

[musa_monkey]

sweet

do you leave the leaves on or remove?

That size i leave them on, they are small to start with and will die back in time as the temps drop.

[Andy P]

I had some small Basjoo`s last year that i put in my Conservatory for winter. It wasn`t heated all winter and the temps got down pretty low but i just put a little water in the pots when the soil was totally dry. Just enough to keep them alive really. Probably watered them twice or 3 times all the time they were in there.( And it was a long winter) They were dormant - In respect that they didn`t put out any new leaves- but the size of the trunks more than doubled in thickness during their time in there. They were very healthy and looking great until i put them outside in the Spring and the seaside winds we get here battered them. Wind has been my Basjoos biggest enemy.
Andy
PS Keep the leaves on

[maritimesbob]

I have some very small Musa Basjoo and Sikkimensis in container pots that are still outside. They were put out when young and too late in the season to get any growth. They range from 20cm to 50cm in height.

When and if we get any frost here, can I just bring them into the garage for the winter? I'm guessing the low temperature and lower light would likely slow down their growth altogether?