Hello. Noticed you are in zone 4. You must have quite a chore ahead of you each fall when it comes time to protecting your banana and palms. Those would be interesting pics. I grow bananas but keep them in rather large pots and bring them in in the winter. No matter what I do,or whose directions I follow I never have had luck mulching over the bananas. How do you handle the palms. Those are what I plan on giving a try next year. Again, nice pics.

Well, you're obviously the correct person to answer this question: do the bulbs multiply like dahlias? I planted some for the first time this year and I LOVE them! I love my whole tropical garden, which looks perfectly fine next to my cottage garden. :-)

Anyway, I'm planning my storage and was curious if they multiply. I have pink (which I'm not sure are going to bloom) and ones that look red from far away but orange and yellow striped close up. I know... so technical. haha.

Thanks for any info. Always LOVE looking at your photos.

donaldb, in my climate (I've seen -40 F. and -45 F. in the last 15 years), I must protect the palms well. I have built 2" thick styrofoam boxes with 2-3 screw-in flourescent light bulbs at the top to keep them warm. If you caulk the boxes well, they let the heat from the light bulbs build up, and so these boxes keep them nice and toasty. I'm still using all of my boxes since I built them about 18 years ago. I have refurbished the oldest ones and added an extra couple of feet on them as the palms get taller. My tallest (Windmill palm) is probably 12' now. I have an 8' box on top of several railroad ties. It grows over a foot each year. The bananas I dig up and put in 15 gallon pots and take inside. I have an A-frame house with a 30' ceiling. Sometimes I cut the leaves and stalk back to a three foot stump and let them start over, especially if I stick them in the basement in an unheated, unlit room for the winter. Scully931, the cannas multiply quite nicely each year. Each of these canna beds started from one or two cannas. I sell extras (over 800 rhizomes to a local nursery each year) and give some away to the neighbors. Store your cannas by putting them in plastic garbage sacks with peat moss. This will keep them from drying out or rotting, as long as you put them in a place around 50-55 degrees or slightly warmer. I put the bags of cannas in wax covered grocery produce boxes and stack them up in my storage room in the basement.

Kevin

Kevin, thank you for the advice. Nice to know you started all of that from only a few!

Do you think they would be okay in one of those plastic storage bins with peat moss and the lid not locked on? Also, as far as the storing temps go, the only place I can think of is my garage which is next to the heated basement but not heated itself.

I store dahlias there last year and they all made it. Wondering if the dahlias and cannas are similar in storage needs.

Thank you again. Sorry to pick your brain, but better to ask than lose everything! :-)

Hi again, scully! As long as you have the peat moss, yes, the lid can be locked. Just make sure the temperature is not below 50-55 F., or they could mold and die. Other than this, a little warmer is better that colder. If found this out from sad experience!

Kevin

Ok, thanks again, Kevin. I think I'll put a thermometer on top of the container this year. I bet it gets colder than that in my garage in the middle of winter. I had a musa basjoo get mold and die in there last year. It wasn't in any peat moss though.

Love the photos Kevin

I used to do the same, here in Canada, and had ever so many gorgeous Cannas

Getting older, can't do the heavy work any longer.

Very much enjoyed the photos

Hi Artic,

You are a landscape designer for sure - artist. Love the bananas among the lillies. Wow - what POP!!! Color and height - you hit it all. Truely it appeared to be a warmer place like Virgina Beach. Very rarely can someone achieve that. You did not treat us to these shots on the "palm forum".

Great pics as always. Those cannas are amazing!

your Bananas in the pic are awesome what variety are they I like the red Stem...

Ensete maurelli is the name of those bananas. They are so fast growing a one of my favorites. Only down side is they dont pup and they dont fruit.

Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'. (Note the spelling of Maurelii.)

Carol