Just finished Overwintering Windmill & Bananas

11 years ago

Hey guys
Colder weather on its way for NYC (Bronx). Hopefully where in the same pattern as last year. Decided to overwinter the tropicicals today. The Bananas: I cut the leaves off the bananas and wrapped the stalks with insulation and covered with white plastic bags. Trying to get a head start next spring. I heard on the internet some people use this method.

I left the fronds on the windmill exposed for now. covered the trunk with leaves & a black garbage bag. Can be easilly removed for the warmer days to be dried out. This is the first year that the windmill has been planted, its never been exposed to frost. It was shipped last spring from Georgia, so im sure its not cold that cold hardy!

This my first year with tropicals, and learning from trial & Error! So any advice and critisism is wanted. Thanks in advance, Robert

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Comments (5)

wetsuiter
11 years ago
Cut my bananas down the other week after we finally got a frost. It warmed up again and they've got new 4" of growth popping up.
LagoMar
11 years ago
Im not sure that wrapping your banana trees in plastic will do any good. They'll just turn to mush.
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jimhardy
11 years ago
Plastic is for keeping water out and...unfortunately in as well.

Try putting some insulation(a lot for the Nanan) in there between the plant and
plastic,might help keep moisture from getting out of control.

In most cases Trachys need some size before they are hardy.
chadec
11 years ago
I agree with Jim. For my trachys I just mulch the base and wrap the trunk with burlap. I'll build a structure to keep wind and rain out. But not letting it touch my plants.
tropicalzone7
11 years ago
Good luck with your protection methods! Musa Basjoos come back without protection for me, but since you want to get a head start, i think protecting it was a good idea. Not sure what the best way to protect those are, but I would re-work the trachy protection.
I used to always try covering my plants with plastic and every time the plants covered in plastic were more damaged than the plants that were not. Plus the plastic would fly around a lot no matter how well I would support it. Nor'easters can get pretty nasty this time of the year!
One of my trachys survived 5F with just having a plastic garbage bin over it (no heat or protection). it did get some damage, but nothing significant. Last winter it didnt get any protection and again it got some damage (it's in a very cool and shady microclimate) but it survived. Usually I put Christmas lights, a frost cloth, and a garbage bin on my palms which keeps wind and moisture out, but has enough open cracks underneath to keep it from overheating or from getting too moist inside.
-Alex