It seems to me like it depends on the variety.
I have a couple of ice cream bananas that I'm storing that are smaller, and they look great.
I'm sorry to say, dwarf cavendish and zebrinas don't seem to store well for me. They keep rotting, from the inside out.

Do they actually have spider mites, or are you just suspecting them?

so many spider mites i caught them trying to carry the plants outside!!, the leaves are covered with tiny red/rust moving specks, and the webbing is all over the place.

I am just about ready to move to plan B, which is try again, so i am reading up on the best seeds for just planting outside and mulching over the winter. Looks like Basjoo is the only option for northern europe with its wet wet dark days of winter.

Many thanks for any ideas.

R,

If you already lost all the leaves anyway, how about spraying them with a dormant oil spray to try and smother the little buggers?

I dont have any problems with spider mites on my bananas but my taro are loaded with them and aphids. I just put some rubbing alcohol in a bottle and spray the plants with it .It doesnt effect the plant but the insect die real fast . Sandy , as for the dwarf cavendish rotting . Dont give up . Just stop watering and let the tuber go dormant . When it warms up just replant and start watering . It might look dead but it will regrow . When I tried this last year , I had it planted for over a month outside and was ready to give up so I dumped the pot into the compose pile and the tuber had six 1" babies starting to grow .I quickly replanted it and by the end of the summer , they were 4 feet tall . Rick

Thanks Rick, i am getting some parasite mites next week, but the rubbing alchohol must be alot cheaper way to go.

R,

For what it's worth, I live in Central Texas and we dig up banana plants, tubers and all, before winter, and store them in the garage, without dirt on their roots. Just lay them alongside a wall where they are out of the way for the winter, and will not freeze. Not in an area that is warmed to the human comfort zone. No water, no soil, no light/little light. They will go dormant, leaves will dry up, etc. and after the last frost for your area, you can replant them outside for the season. Only two year growth bananas will bloom and bear fruit. I haven't heard of the rubbing alcohol in water for spider mites...have to try that one. It doesn't matter how small thebanana plants are, btw. Good luck!
firefly

Ronaldo:
I noticed you said you had the plants under a 500W metal halide lamp AND watered them when they were BONE-DRY. Correct?

I also keep my plants under a high power light, but I have no problems with mites at all. I also keep the soil wet all them time, and at 23-24 degrees C. The mites are present, but they never get a hold because the plants grow so fast under the lights. So it sounds to me like your plants need serious watering.

Now i am really confused. I had been convinced on an earlier thread not to water but at this stage i dont have much to lose. I have cranked up the heat since i started having problems so it may be i was using too much water relative to the growth rate. I will start to water half to keep damp and see how that goes. Next winter for sure any bananas are going to sleep for a few months. I just put on the predator mites today, man can they move, i was covered in them before i realized what was going on. Also just received my new seeds so 3rd times a charm right??

I have been to Texas and to Norway and one thing in common was really nice people, so thanks to you guys and to all that have spent time helping me. I will make you a very nice cup of tea if you ever come to ireland!

Ronaldo,

Ronaldo:

The Rubbing Alcohol trick (a.k.a. Iso Propyl Alcohol, 2-propanol) always works for me with mites, mealy bugs and other waxy-shelled pests. Apply it, then reapply it two weeks later - it doesn't kill the eggs, so you have to get 'em after they have hatched from the eggs their parents laid before you zapped them. Try to get the stronger strength of IPA - here in the USA it comes in two strengths in a Pharmacy/Chemists - 70% and 90% I believe (if I remember correctly), of course you can always get the pure material from a chemical supply company.

PS...just curious...where in Ireland are you? I had a wonderful visit to SW Ireland last summer (Killarney, Dingle, Bunratty, Tralee) we also saw Dublin.

Bruce

Bruce, I am just outside Dublin in county wicklow. Its about 13 miles or 2 hours!! to dublin city center. You saw some of the nicest parts of ireland down south. Next time you could go north west for a while. Along the coast from Galway through Mayo and Sligo to Donegal is gorgeous and much less visited.

Ronaldo,

Poor air circulation can be a big problem, keep a fan on high 24-7 near where your plants are, that alone may be enough to keep spider mites away.

Thanks x. I have started using a fan, for me as much as the mites. Its tough to work in a room with 65% humidity and 80f, its nice to have some air circulating and its a plus if the mites dont like it.

R,

Its been a long time since I have posted in here but having a fan going really does the trick and I also have several fly strips hanging around to catch the meally bugs in their flying stage.
But Ronaldo does have a good question, When I use to just dig up my naners and let them go dormant I always lost some of the younger naners. So does anybody have an idea of how young is to young to let go dormant.........

I had about 6 young Musa basjoos, they were about 18" tall, with a few lvs, they were planted late in the summer...only 1 has survived dormancy

On the other hand, my more mature group with about 8 stems, all survived easily, that plant was a seedling last spring.

So, in my limited experience, a banana should go through a full growing season to have enough reserves in the rhizome to survive an uprooted winter dormancy

Thanks for the follow up. My plants are doing much better since i cranked up the heat and added parasite mites, humidity, air, water, and repotted. I have also moved them up closer to the light. They take more raising than a baby!

Many thanks to all you helped along the thread.

R,