My dwarf orinoco is burned from the 31.2 in the yard......
My other bananas have a few spots but SO FAR seem unscathed...except for the ensete, who's leaves have just flopped to the ground in surrender...

The above followup was added by ron on December 25, 2002 at 3:06 am PST.

Ron,
31f can torch any banana leaves.... if the temp remains long enough.

You do seem to have some warm and cold spots in your garden.

Jeff

The above followup was added by Jeff on December 25, 2002 at 3:13 am PST.

I take the risk every year. I do cover my rupicola and my little king, but I assume, every year, the banana leaves will get fried and then shoot back by april--I'm ok with that, rather than constantly covering and checking the minute-by-minute temperature and fretting....
Only one sub freezing temp and it is Christmas--I can live with that, too.
Jeff, what do you mean your queens are soon to be gone???

The above followup was added by ron on December 25, 2002 at 3:28 am PST.

Ron,
Gotta have em cut down in the spring. They were planted to close to the patio and are now lifting the cement.
My huge Avocado is a gonner as well... for the same reason

Jeff

The above followup was added by Jeff on December 25, 2002 at 3:55 am PST.

I got a Williams hybrid from Jeff, to see now it would do here, Jeff keeps telling me, they just die; it has gotten more frost damage then other bananas and center growth, new leaf is gone to root rot; new leaf unfolded just turned black and turned into mush, even before there was any frost damage to the leaves; this happened before temps got below 36F. I had it on a raised bed too, but that did not help.

I think if I covered it, with a plastic shell, it would be ok, but not out in the open.

David

The above followup was added by David, Waterford CA, zone9 on December 25, 2002 at 5:01 am PST.

My Dwarf Cavendish`s are standing tall with what seems to be no damage at all. Aren`t they supose to be close relative of Super Dwarf? Or did Super Dwarf loose some hardiness through a Mad Science Project?
Mike

The above followup was added by Mike on December 25, 2002 at 5:25 pm PST.

Here`s one of my Cav`s this morning. Starting to show some black spots everyone talks about, but still standing firm.
Mike

The above followup was added by Mike on December 26, 2002 at 4:20 pm PST.

Hi Mike,

that amount of spotting looks like nothing. Do you have a particularly warm microclimate?

Also, what happened to that superdwarf bunch you posted a picture of a while back? Has it ripened up yet? I'm still intrigued by that upside-down bunch...

The above followup was added by Ben on December 26, 2002 at 9:03 pm PST.

Mike,

Yes, I agree with Ben, you leaves look pretty good, compared to mine, proabably more like the ones in Jeff's back yard.

You should see my leaves, your leaves look really nice. MIne probalby did have anymore specks, but much small specks, but now they have frost damage, and parts are the leaves are darkened from temps down to 31.8F, in the last couple weeks. Now my Rajpuri has even less and smaller specks then the one you are showing.

Mike, how is our Rajapuri doing?

David

The above followup was added by David, Waterford CA, zone9 on December 26, 2002 at 9:46 pm PST.

Raji is holding strong out back. Only fear is a damn gopher that keeps digging around and eating my canna rhyzomes.
I sure hope it doesen`t take a liking to banana corms!!
Ben, Super Dwarf Fuit Bunch isn`t mine - that`s Bill.
Mike

The above followup was added by Mike on December 27, 2002 at 1:05 am PST.

Mike

I don't think I have to tell you, they are murder on plants and trees, and they are worse on banana roots, everyone tells me. He may not kill your banana, if he does not get to the corm, but it sure could slow your bloom date in coming, and when it comes, it might me really small, and it may take forever or never mature at all, or if so, really small. My nice size Dwarf Orinoco decreased in hight by a couple feet, and produced a bunch with many hands, but only one hand matured to nornal size; all because of poor roots from left over root rot, from the winter before; it bloomed.

There are traps and gopher gasser bombs, which are natural, but you can go the poison route, if you like. If if wasn't winter, you could go out and try and find a gopher snake, they really work good, but they are not as easy to find, like they used to.

In all desparation, a garden hose turned on high works some of the time. Not so effective here, but it does work sometimes. Though were you are at, with heavy clay soil, it could work very well. Sometimes Amononia works, pour it into its holes; only thing it can burn some tender roots, I think, but evenually just turns into plant availavble nitrogen. I have never tried it, or seen specks on how much to use.

Go to it Mike, get the darn little ******* critter.

David

The above followup was added by David, Waterford CA, zone9 on December 27, 2002 at 2:12 am PST.

I`m about to gor round three with the damn thing. I`ve tried gassers and poison during the summer. I`ll drop poison in the hole and cover it, come back and check a few days later and all the poison is gone. The trouble is the idiot neighbors on the other side of the fence. It`s a downward hill on their side and I can see through the fence all the holes the gopher has dug down there. They don`t care at all I guess, weeds everywhere and stuff like that.
I think I just keep chasing him to their side for a while and then he comes back.
I am determined though and will prevale. Even if I have to sit out there with a pellet gun. lol
Mike

The above followup was added by Mike on December 27, 2002 at 4:37 am PST.