Banana tree planting help!

[ZPalms]

1 hour ago, floridaPalmMan said:

Not really sure at this point. I haven't gotten around to building my own at this point. My wife and I are expecting our first baby in like... 2 weeks so I've been trying to get as much work done on the house before that whole thing happens.

People can build structures made of toothpicks that hold up hundreds of pounds so I imagine if we do this correctly, we can build a wind resistant and decent PVC banana protective structure. It just has to be thought through a little.

Here's where I'm at currently:

 

Pretty sturdy and wind resistant looking so far hey? lol

I have a minor surgery tomorrow so I won't be able to work on the house for the next few weeks which is perfect. It gives me a great excuse to work on the banana hut for the next week or so. I'll update once I begin cutting the pipe and piecing it together.

My initial design should be able to be modified for your needs... I'll show you what I mean once I start work in the next week.

Will update you then.

Congratulations on the new baby!!!!

Good luck in surgery and I'll definitely like to see the end results when you finish building this, I think it may need a gable roof modification to stop water from getting trapped so you don't have to go outside when it rains to empty the plastic, It would also be interesting to see how this would function for bananas when they get really tall or a bunch clumped together. Would using Christmas lights during the winter also be beneficial? I have never seen anyone wrap a banana tree with Christmas lights.

[floridaPalmMan]

On 8/24/2022 at 8:58 PM, ZPalms said:

I think it may need a gable roof modification to stop water from getting trapped so you don't have to go outside when it rains to empty the plastic, 

You can get 45 degree 3/4" fittings for a roof peak and connect them to something like this:

 

But here's the end section of my base structure which will have crossbars for support , the middle will not. I think you could take this idea maybe and customize it for your own 2x2 banana protection with the roof peak. 

Connectors every 2 feet of height and 2 feet of width for you should be sturdy enough.. im going with 2x4 feet in between connectors which I hope will be sturdy enough for a large rounded greenhouse.

[ZPalms]

1 hour ago, floridaPalmMan said:

You can get 45 degree 3/4" fittings for a roof peak and connect them to something like this:

 

But here's the end section of my base structure which will have crossbars for support , the middle will not. I think you could take this idea maybe and customize it for your own 2x2 banana protection with the roof peak. 

Connectors every 2 feet of height and 2 feet of width for you should be sturdy enough.. im going with 2x4 feet in between connectors which I hope will be sturdy enough for a large rounded greenhouse.

Do they make 4 holed 45 degree angle pvc connector? so it can be attached to the structure?

[floridaPalmMan]

On 8/24/2022 at 8:58 PM, ZPalms said:

Would using Christmas lights during the winter also be beneficial?

I don't think so but you can just connect a 4-6" piece of PVC out of the top of a 4 direction connector, then connect the 45 degree piece to that.

Know what I mean?

[ZPalms]

7 minutes ago, floridaPalmMan said:

I don't think so but you can just connect a 6" piece of PVC out of the top of a 4 direction connector, then connect the 45 degree piece to that.

Know what I mean?

Ooooooh the connectors can connect to each other?

[floridaPalmMan]

1 minute ago, ZPalms said:

Ooooooh the connectors can connect to each other?

No sorry if I didn't explain that clearly enough but what i mean is you can put a small piece of PVC pipe in between each connector.

[ZPalms]

23 minutes ago, floridaPalmMan said:

No sorry if I didn't explain that clearly enough but what i mean is you can put a small piece of PVC pipe in between each connector.

Oooh I get it now, I needed a visual because I couldn't image what it would look like but luckily this showed exactly what your talking about, I'm gonna need to build a 7ft frame probably because my banana is growing so quick that I feel like before the first frost I feel like it's gonna be taller than me 😂

How do you work the pvc clips to attach the plastic?

 

[floridaPalmMan]

2 hours ago, ZPalms said:

How do you work the pvc clips to attach the plastic?

Haven't used them yet but from the reviews it looks like you just lay the poly plastic over the structure and then clamp them right over the top.

They clamp right on to the PVC pipe and sandwich the poly sheet in place.

If you zoom in on the picture you can see the clamps in a few places.

[ZPalms]

9 minutes ago, floridaPalmMan said:

Haven't used them yet but from the reviews it looks like you just lay the poly plastic over the structure and then clamp them right over the top.

They clamp right on to the PVC pipe and sandwich the poly sheet in place.

If you zoom in on the picture you can see the clamps in a few places.

Oh neat that seems easy, I'm thinking of getting thick pvc pipe to combat wind and give the structure a little more weight, I'm excited for a temperory banana greenhouse 🤠 Do you plan on heating it?

Edited August 27, 2022 by ZPalms

[floridaPalmMan]

9 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Do you plan on heating it?

Yep using compost.

I used to live in Wisconsin and even there, with temps into the negatives, compost could keep a greenhouse above freezing through the winter if done correctly.

I will however have a backup heater and thermostat out there in case the compost fails to keep things above 35 since I'll have a bunch of 9b & 10a palms overwintering inside as well.

[ZPalms]

1 hour ago, floridaPalmMan said:

Yep using compost.

I used to live in Wisconsin and even there, with temps into the negatives, compost could keep a greenhouse above freezing through the winter if done correctly.

I will however have a backup heater and thermostat out there in case the compost fails to keep things above 35 since I'll have a bunch of 9b & 10a palms overwintering inside as well.

I wonder if I should also heat, I don't know what's consider terrible temperature for my bananas or if I need heat at all in my zone being under greenhouse conditions?

[ZPalms]

I got my banana under protection, but I'm not sure how to heat it or what lights I should use, I'm still building the structure for a roof, but as of now I've got it all covered up for the night, but I'm just wanting to know, and hopefully somebody can help me with what's the best way to keep it warm.

I got Christmas lights but I'm not sure if it's ok to put them on the banana directly or should I lay them on the ground? I thought of putting them on the frame, but I don't know if they would get too warm laying against the plastic.

I also have some of these hanging lights to use but I'm unsure if they would help (picture below for reference) since they don't really generate any heat. I also have some of those rope christmas lights which may be a more gentler option to wrapping the stem if wrapping the tree with anything is a good idea? I also have some of those classic big bulb christmas lights that get extremely hot but I don't know if thats a good idea unless they are laying on the cold ground?

Edited October 20, 2022 by ZPalms

[ZPalms]

Well I hope I did this right, I still have extra modifications to make for wind load and a roof so water doesn't collect but at least in the nights that it does drop into the 30s It has protection. I have no idea if the lights are enough to keep the stem healthy I don't know if its the cold or the frost and moisture im trying to control?

I don't know if a heater would be better or not

Edited October 21, 2022 by ZPalms

[floridaPalmMan]

You definitely need the old school incandescent bulb Christmas lights. LEDs won't generate enough heat to make a difference.

As far as wrapping them directly on the trunk I have no idea. As long as the bulb isn't directly touching the stem you'll probably be fine.

I'd wrap the stem and check every few hours to make sure there aren't any burn marks for the first 24 hours. After a few days if nothing is causing burns you'll probably be good going forward.

How's the structure holding up?

[JLM]

On 10/19/2022 at 8:38 PM, ZPalms said:

I got my banana under protection, but I'm not sure how to heat it or what lights I should use, I'm still building the structure for a roof, but as of now I've got it all covered up for the night, but I'm just wanting to know, and hopefully somebody can help me with what's the best way to keep it warm.

I got Christmas lights but I'm not sure if it's ok to put them on the banana directly or should I lay them on the ground? I thought of putting them on the frame, but I don't know if they would get too warm laying against the plastic.

I also have some of these hanging lights to use but I'm unsure if they would help (picture below for reference) since they don't really generate any heat. I also have some of those rope christmas lights which may be a more gentler option to wrapping the stem if wrapping the tree with anything is a good idea? I also have some of those classic big bulb christmas lights that get extremely hot but I don't know if thats a good idea unless they are laying on the cold ground?

 

 

 

I would be willing to bet that your banana is rather crispy looking by now considering how it looks in the images there.

Also, you definitely want to get some C9 christmas lights, you can find them at walmart or wherever you prefer to look for christmas decorations if you do that. Doesnt matter if its multi colored or white, that comes down to personal preference. Personally i like the look of multi color inside the wraps. I need to look into getting some pvc for a few of my palms and my banana. I have a bottle and foxtail in the ground in zone 8b, my bottle has already been damaged despite being wrapped with heat. The lights slid down the palm overnight and the cold burnt the tops of the fronds. My super dwarf cavendish has already been crisped a bit, but it didnt have heat and was not fully covered. And yes, we have already had a freeze here, it was the earliest freeze on record. The previous earliest freeze was in 1989, which i seriously hope isnt a sign lol

[ZPalms]

2 hours ago, JLM said:

I would be willing to bet that your banana is rather crispy looking by now considering how it looks in the images there.

Also, you definitely want to get some C9 christmas lights, you can find them at walmart or wherever you prefer to look for christmas decorations if you do that. Doesnt matter if its multi colored or white, that comes down to personal preference. Personally i like the look of multi color inside the wraps. I need to look into getting some pvc for a few of my palms and my banana. I have a bottle and foxtail in the ground in zone 8b, my bottle has already been damaged despite being wrapped with heat. The lights slid down the palm overnight and the cold burnt the tops of the fronds. My super dwarf cavendish has already been crisped a bit, but it didnt have heat and was not fully covered. And yes, we have already had a freeze here, it was the earliest freeze on record. The previous earliest freeze was in 1989, which i seriously hope isnt a sign lol

I wasn't sure if it was safe to put C9 Christmas lights on the banana because I wasn't sure if it was going to burn the plant tissue laying against the tree. I do have those lights so I can wrap the tree when it's time, but it's looking really crispy and bad; it looks decent now apart from the dead leaf bits, and since it's been warm, a new leaf is coming up, but here are photos from last Tuesday after those 30s those few nights. A leaf broke because my structure fell because it's so flimsy, and I hate it, but I tied a string to one leaf, and the tree repaired the tissue so it's holding itself. 

I think I'm going to see if Amazon or something has pop-up greenhouses that I can just buy and set up over the banana and just heat because this structure isn't wide enough for me to add heat and the rain and wind can knock it down no problem. I lack the resources to anchor it and can't find one of the pvc parts I need for the roof.

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by ZPalms

[floridaPalmMan]

Dang sorry to hear about the structure failing.

That's not good to hear

[floridaPalmMan]

Have you tied the corners down with string? That will help resist against the wind easily knocking it over.

[ZPalms]

45 minutes ago, floridaPalmMan said:

Have you tied the corners down with string? That will help resist against the wind easily knocking it over.

I want too but I don’t have strings or anything to anchor it down so I’m kinda just hoping for the best

[ZPalms]

Can humidity and cold be a problem to banana?

[ZPalms]

Should I be wrapping the banana stem in something then putting christmas lights because as of now its just christmas lights?

Edited December 13, 2022 by ZPalms

[ZPalms]

So far, I've kept the pseudostem alive, and they've made it to January. At this rate, if I can keep them healthy, they will be massive this spring. 😍

The amount of times my structure has fell over though has been so annoying, ground stakes won't work because they slip off and my box lacks pvc sections that could help it hold better. I wish I could get big poles of wood and nald the pvc pipe to wooden poles

Edited January 9, 2023 by ZPalms

[ZPalms]

Orinoco Pitu (Tall) did very well it's first year in the ground and I really tried my best to keep the stem alive and I was successful doing it and experienced no issues even though my method wasn't fun to deal with every single day checking the tubes and fixing the plastic and making sure rain doesn't pool on top but other than that made it through december freeze and all that good stuff. expecting bananas this coming summer 😍

Edited March 29, 2023 by ZPalms

[Jack Lord]

My 2 cents: Cut them down after the first frost and cover the stumps with mulch and leaves. They will pop right back up come Spring. I do that up here in 7A and I get banana trees of around 15 feet if not higher. Even my uncle in Southern California cuts his down in early Winter.

Or dig them up and bring them inside for the Winter

Don't ge me wrong. You have done a lot of work and it has been effective to some extent. But is it worth it as opposed to some more passive measures? A palm would be worthy of your protection but maybe not bananas.

But ... it is alive. It's hard to argue with success and if you don't mind the effort, keep it up.

 

[ZPalms]

20 hours ago, Jack Lord said:

My 2 cents: Cut them down after the first frost and cover the stumps with mulch and leaves. They will pop right back up come Spring. I do that up here in 7A and I get banana trees of around 15 feet if not higher. Even my uncle in Southern California cuts his down in early Winter.

Or dig them up and bring them inside for the Winter

Don't ge me wrong. You have done a lot of work and it has been effective to some extent. But is it worth it as opposed to some more passive measures? A palm would be worthy of your protection but maybe not bananas.

But ... it is alive. It's hard to argue with success and if you don't mind the effort, keep it up.

 

I don't mind the effort to get a head start in the season, I don't mind protecting it I just wish my method was more secure from wind and rain, my musa basjoo is definitely one that I'll be probably cutting back to an extent or wrap but I want to protect orinoco for its bananas and Id like to establish it more before I subject it to winter if I decide to not too 🤠

[Jack Lord]

4 hours ago, ZPalms said:

I don't mind the effort to get a head start in the season, I don't mind protecting it I just wish my method was more secure from wind and rain, my musa basjoo is definitely one that I'll be probably cutting back to an extent or wrap but I want to protect orinoco for its bananas and Id like to establish it more before I subject it to winter if I decide to not too 🤠

Fair enough. I was just thinking out loud a bit. As stated,  you have done some good work and it has a head start on my bananas which have to regrow from stumps.

Do you actually get fruit?

 

[ZPalms]

24 minutes ago, Jack Lord said:

Fair enough. I was just thinking out loud a bit. As stated,  you have done some good work and it has a head start on my bananas which have to regrow from stumps.

Do you actually get fruit?

 

Hopefully I’ll get fruit this year, the chances are much higher since it doesn’t have to start over but I bet if it does put out a flower this year or next year I bet it will happen once the cold starts which will suck 😂

[JLM]

18 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Hopefully I’ll get fruit this year, the chances are much higher since it doesn’t have to start over but I bet if it does put out a flower this year or next year I bet it will happen once the cold starts which will suck 😂

Yeah, i would say the cold will have reached yall up there by the time you get a flower/fruit. Wishing you the best of luck!

I have 3 bananas in the ground this year, all are technically different types. I have the super dwarf cavendish from last summer, unfortunately the main stem did end up dying, but it has so many suckers that it should be fine. We will see if i get fruit. I also have a regular dwarf cavendish, which was just planted. Also an ice cream banana, also just planted. Probably wont get fruit this year, but i love the look of banana plants anyways so ill enjoy them regardless of fruit.

[ZPalms]

Bananas are looking so good! 😍