Snug

Pampered plants lol :-)

They look happy there : o))

Thank you both for your comments :p

We made a tiny "pop-up" greenhouse in the garage early this month, therefore this space is much roomier this year.

It's so amazing seeing them grow indoors.

We never (or very rarely) grow them indoors here. They would be full of spider mites here if grown indoors.

They grow so well outdoors, this is another reason why one never sees them indoors.

Delonix1:

It's so hot all through the year in San Diego that you don't have to grow them indoors. Does it ever get cold in winter? Well, does "winter" exist there in the first place, I wonder?

It can be warm to hot at any month of the year in Southern California. The Santa Ana Winds can make the temps soar to 90ºF (32ºC) or more in the middle of winter. It's a very dry heat, though.

We do get cold weather; however, the term "cold" is relative. Cold to us is when temps drop below 60ºF (16ºC). LOL!

The average Hi/Low January (the coldest month of the year) temp on the coast is 66ºF (19ºC) during the day and morning low of 50ºF (10ºC). Inland urban areas have an average high temp of around 70ºF (21ºC) and a morning low average of around 50ºF (10ºC). It can be cooler or much hotter during winter, though.

Downtown San Diego almost never has a temp of below 45ºF (7.2ºC). The last time a freezing temp was officially recorded in Downtown San Diego was more than 50 years ago (some districts around downtown have never recorded a freezing temp)...and in the 160 years of weather records it's only happened 8 times. This simplistically describes San Diego's dry subtropical climate. :>)

I wanted to add some photos of Ensete bananas growing here in San Diego:

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/118296--ensete-ventricosum-abyssinian-banana-in-san-diego-ca

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/118297--ensete-ventricosum-abyssinian-banana-and-musa-zebrina-blood-banana/all

Thanks for all the info and links, Delonix1 !

So you don't need any heating in your house?

It seems Ensete bananas don't produce suckers. Maybe they don't produce flowers/fruits?

Tommymoo:

Yes, there's heaters and furnaces in most houses (not all though). It's for the times when unusually cold weather hits San Diego, like right now.

We have been experiencing an unusually cold blast of air from Alaska (the whole West Coast and interior West). It moderates quite a bit by time it hits this far south, though. The last three mornings have been unusually cold, averaging 45ºF (7ºC) and daytime highs have only been around 64ºF (18ºC). We're freezing to death! It's suppose to get back to our normal high of 71ºF (22ºC) by Wednesday.

Ensete doesn't produce bananas. It produces this huge flower which can be cut off and replanted; however, I've never seen anyone do this before. It's cheaper just to buy a new plant.

Delonix1:

I was in France and got back to England yesterday. It was warmer down there than in England. By "warmer", I mean the lowest being 2~6ºC and daytime highs around 11~18ºC. You'll be freezing to death if you were there!!

It's strange that Ensete produce flowers but doesn't produce bananas. If my Ensetes produced flowers, I would definitely replant them but how? Just stick the stem/flower stalk (with flower) in the ground/compost? I can't really imagine it will make a new plant. I've never heard of that kind of propagating method.

We had very warm weather last week...the temps were up around 90ºF (32ºC) for 3 days. It cooled down a little bit for a few days...then it's going to get really warm for the whole week of Christmas, in the 80's (28ºC).

I'm not sure how to plant the flower. Ensete is very cheap here, so most people just cut them down and buy another plant.

32ºC in December? I didn't know California could be "that" hot in winter.

Thanks for your reply about Ensete flower :-) Ensete is beautiful but not hardy and I have to bring mine indoors every year, which is a bit of a pain in the a**. I won't buy another one if mine dies. I'll just keep Musa basjoo!

Tommymoo:

Can you believe it may be about 85ºF (29ºC) here tomorrow on Christmas Day?

Yes, it actually can be much hotter! La Mesa, the city just a few miles to the east of where I live holds the the all-time record December high temperature for the U.S. It was an incredible 107ºF (41.7ºC) in December of 1939.

The last time we had very close 100ºF (38ºC) temps, during winter around here was back in February of 2002 and January of 2005.

These hot weather events always happen during the extremely hot, dry Santa Ana Winds.

Delonix1:

Thanks very much for the very interesting facts!

Tommymoo:

You're welcome! Most people who don't live here don't understand out weather. The dry, hot Santa Wind Season overlaps our fall, winter rainy season. It's an oxymoron...what more can I say. LOL!

Delonix1:

Very intriguing indeed ! ! !