Hi Everyone, Have a beauty about 3' in a large pot. Did very well out in the garden but have since moved it against the house in a dry place....I have three options for this beauty- leave it where it's at or bring it into my wee sunroom or move it into the dark garage....any hints? I have read a lot about these false bananas and I am so proud of the way this one looks in my garden...I certainly want to do the right thing to preserve this one for next spring/summer. Laura
If your sunroom is part of your house and hence doesn't freeze inside it, I'd put the banana there as first preference, and simply scale back the watering to when the soil is dry to the depth of your second knuckle. And finally, check regularly for spider-mites. Do you know whether you've got Musa 'Siam Ruby' or Ensete ventricosum 'Maurellii' ? This makes a big difference in care options, since the Ensete may be hardy enough, if it's very large, to live against the house wrapped in burlap and christmas lights...
Well, I am not entirely sure what it is. My mother bought it from Canadian Tire for me. From all accounts I believe it is the Muselli from all the pix I look at on the net. It has varigated and burgundy leaves & red vein. The trunk is just huge compared to most spindely ones I have looked at. Thank you for your reply! Laura
The problem being, of course, that plants from Canadian Tire, particularly bananas, are labeled incorrectly 99.999% of the time. If yours came with the tag "Musa Ensete" it's likely E. ventricosum of some sort. Can you post a picture? I could give you a concrete ID if I could see the plant.
