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Keeping tree fern and banana frost free

TerrysWorldTerrysWorld Posts: 174
in Plants
After the harsh frosts of last winter and storing my New Zealand tree fern and Musa bajoo banana in my shed. 
Although the bajoo was fully wrapped up for protection, but showed signs of surface sweat/rot and the fern trunk and soft center was wrapped too with straw in its soft center, but the fonds were burnt.
This coming winter thought of putting them my garage which is attached to the house, with alittle heat for protection.
Do either need to see any daylight during the storage over winter. ?
South Monmouthshire stuck in the middle between George and the Dragon

Posts

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    One of our tree ferns was taken into the polytunnel and didn't survive. 3 others are planted in the ground. We covered the top and most of the trunk but allowed the fronds to come out of the top (does that make sense?). They all survived and have produced really good size fronds this year. Some of the fronds obviously did die back but then that is nature. We don't cut off the old fronds as in nature that doesn't happen either. We leave them and this allows another form of insulation to the "trunk".
    Sorry don't grow Musa.
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    Musa basjoo will be fine in the garage without light and they shouldn't need any additional heat provided the garage doesn't freeze, probably wont need any covering either. Ours overwintered last year in the shed, all wrapped up, and it did the same the year before. People keep them in their garden all wrapped up as well. 
    Ours stay green in that situation, covered up, and just begin growing again when the weather warms up. You can cut the leaves off and it will just send up new growth from the center.  

    They tend to be root hardy if you mulch around the base (they can be even without mulch) and I know of ones that survived (not the top growth but they resprouted from underground) down to -8c last year.  
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