Absolutely FANTASTIC!!! but how did you make it with the bananas last winter??? you mean you put them there at late winter or were they already there?? it's just i live in a 8b and they died last december, they went totally black and were on a South wall (and about 1m tall).
Great pics, congratulations.

and the hibiscus are outside too!

btw, how can i post pictures on my posts? i'm quite new on the forum..

Looks good Josh, great job!

Your yard looks great Josh, can't wait to see how everything fills up.

What verity is the prickly pear that you have planted in the middle (the very prickly one)? How are you accommodating the cactus, what type of soil are they in? I ask because I'm experimenting with cactus right now.

Thanks y'all!!! Wow! What's up Orchiddude? Long time no see. How are you?

Thanks fr8train! To be honest I'm not sure of the exact type of opuntia that one is. A friend from Utah sent those to me. That one was labeled Central Utah Opuntia Purple. I'll talk to him soon and find out. As far as soil type, I did nothing special. I threw it in the regular old PA clay soil last spring. I was surprised that they actually thrived all year long. It beats me.

Thanks Michael79eu! I store the bananas dormant in my basement all winter, and then I pot them up in the spring and bring them upstairs for a few weeks before planting them out. Here's some pics of the process.

Wow, GREAT. I think i'm gonna try next winter that way though it's quite a lot of work!

Cheers,

Mike.

Hi Josh, do you keep the roots pretty dry on your bananas during dormancy? How do you protect your palms?

Hey Josh,
It has been a long time. I am still growing palms. Added a few to the collection and moving stuff to bigger pots. I must expand the greenhouse in a few weeks in order to get a higher roof. My spindle needs room to grow. It shot a new spear right out the roof last spring. My babies are growing up...lol

I will post some pics soon.

Rob

Nice pics!! Yeah, do you water them at all in the winter, or just let them sit in dry soil? And for fall prep, do you dig them up and put them in the basement right away or do you let them dry out outside a little? Last question....what temperature does your basement stay all winter?

I'm thinking of trying that method with my 4 orinocos this winter.

Thanks wxman81 and nucci60! I don't water at all. From the time they're dug up to the time they're potted up in the spring they get nothing. To answer your other questions wxman81, I do lay them out on my back patio for a few days so they can dry out a little and stop growing before I bring them in. As for the temps, the room in the pic is the main room in the basement. That's not the room I keep them in. That's just the room I potted them up in. I keep them in my unheated storage room. I would say after mid December it stays between 45°F and 55°F all winter. I actually kept my dwarf cavendish like this also. They're not in the pictures because they were "woken up" a few weeks earlier.

Nucci60 - I protected my palms with small greenhouse plastic enclosures. My trachy got kind of moldy like that so from now on the palms are just getting xmas lights and frost cloth.

Sounds great Orchiddude!!! You know you have to post some new pics of the Spindle. LOL!

Jay

Thanks for the info! My basement only bottoms out between 60-62F in the winter. Is that too warm to store the bananas?

Plants look great josh !

Jay - did you realize that there was a beetle munching down on an EE in the next to last pic of first post? *LOL*

Great photos!

Yes I did! I hate June Bugs!!! Between those and the Japanese Beetles It drives me crazy!!! They eat wholes in my banana leaves. Anyone know the best way to ward them off?

Jay