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Posted by Susanne - Herndon, VA
on October 24, 2009, 3:42 pm
96.255.42.93
Hey all, just wanted to post about what I have done with the bananas I have ... this is the first time I've ever done this so I thought I'd post and let the veterans coach.
Dug up all naners, ensete and musa types alike, yesterdatm and shook off just about all the soil. (some still have a small bit of soil and no more than 2-3 inches of roots attached. Should I remove all that?)
Pups, which are plentiful, remain attached. (The Siam Ruby was starting to throw one out!)
I dusted the roots/corm with a mixture of vermiculite, sulfur powder and diatomaceous earth. Figured that would help take care of any moisture, fungal problems, and critters who were hitch-hiking.)
Removed all the leaves except the newest "corkscrew" and all or part of the next newest. Dusted those cuts with the powder.
They are currently resting in the greenhouse/gazebo with a fan on them to help them dry down more. My husband has a nifty little laminator so we made labels - can you tell which is which by spring?!?!
When I feel like they have dried down enough, they're going to go into a big black plastic garbage can I have in the GH/gazebo. The base of it is supported by an old metal support for a fire ring we once had. In the garbage can I've already placed about 5 inches of cedar mulch, sulfur and some of the diatomaceous earth (it was a big bag so hey!) ... I'll put the biggest naners in first, I think, then more cedar mulch to raise up the root systems of the smaller ones.
Hoping that all this will help them stay comfortably dry and repel/kill any critters.
We bought a DeLonghi heater - the "radiator" type - and it has a thermostat that can be set to go on as low as 40 degrees or so, which is perfect.
Soooo ... veterans ... sound like a good plan? I am wondering how much of the old leaf bases to remove from the banana, esp on the Red Abbys. Gosh that's a lot of water in there! Thoughts? Thanks in advance for the advice!!
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