I'd very much like to get a few Banana Trees. Logee's catalogue has Musa basjoo "Hardy Banana" listed as hardy to zone 4. Has anyone tried these and are there really hardy bananas? It says that these are inedible which isn't really a big issue for me. Also I was looking at the Musa cavendish "Super Dwarf" Does anyone have any opinions of either of these or some other helpful suggestions?
Can we talk Bananas
i have the hardy one too and it comes back for me every year,you need to put it to where it wont get alot of moisture through the winter or it will rot,mine does down to the ground and comes back in the spring,youre about the same zone i am in so i would try one and if it has babies bring one in to make sure you will have it the following year i hope this helps
Oh, so it dies back to the ground and comes back in the spring? Does it get bigger every year that it comes back? How long have you had yours?
Holly-it will get larger each year-it will send up more bananas in the clump each spring/summer. It will die down to the ground for you after you have some hard freezes, and you should cover the base with about 6-12" of mulch in the late fall to help keep the base warm.
The basjoo will definitely be hardy for you in your zone.
The Dwarf cavendish will not be hardy for you, in fact I think that the basjoo may be the only hardy one for you in the zone that you live in. If you want to experiment with some others I would also try the Dwarf Orinico and the Sikkimensis, maybe also the Bordelon (I think this one has been successfull in zone 5-maybe a protected area-of which I would try the others as well -protected area that is)
they grow very fast in one season,i havent noticed mione get any bigger but if you can keep it from freezing all the way down then it should bloom for you,i have had mine for about 5-6 years now,i love it my sil's bloomed for her but she had to put like a tomato cage around it so it wouldnt freeze all the way down but i dont do that i just let mine go because i cant eat the bananas anyway lol
Thanks for the info, I was thinking I could bring the dwarf into the house at the end of the season. It would be small enough for me to handle inside over winter. Do you have any suggestions for purchase of these? Logee's wants almost $20 for a 4in pot of the Musa and close to $18 for the dwarf. Is that a reasonable price?
Now I'll have to figure out where to plant it. Most of my yard is your basic North Eastern. You know Pines, Hollies and Red Buds. Bet it would look wonderful with my Cannas.
i will have one in the spring,im not sure on prices but you might find one on ebay cheeper
Holly Ann, I got a dwarf cavendish cheap at Lowe's a couple of years back but traded it because I was pretty sure it wasn't hardy. As far as the basjoo, I'm sure you can get a better price and I also have some in the GH now. I can send you one when it warms up.
Tropicanna, Thank you so much for the offer, that would be wonderful. Possibly I will have something you would like. I'll D-mail you.
My daughter has a banana that was given to her several years ago as a pup. Not sure what it is. She was told that it was not hardy and not editable. The people that gave it to her pack theirs off to the garage every winter. Hers bloomed and produced bananas this year. She didn't think hers were edible and I know so very little about Bananas that I wasn't much help. If I had the space in the house that she has I'd love to have this sitting in my living room, it's over 12ft now.
whoa! that is so pretty, I can't ID i...could throw out a wild guess that it's velutina. I bet if you posted that on the ID forum someone could help you for sure...that's a monster!
my basjoos are lil guys a bit over a foot tall, not like that..lol...just so you know
Oh, No I expected a little pup. I'd be thrilled with something a foot tall. Julie's was just a little pup when she got it and it's not that old maybe five years. I'll have to ask her. Funny she's not a Gardener and really doesn't bother with plants that much. She has two small pups growing and I was wondering how do you harvest them?
Last year I posted a series of pic taken over several years, of her Banana tree on the Houseplant Forum. If you would like to see the whole story check out this link and there are pictures from this year at the end of the thread. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/680750/
on harvesting, you have to dig the whole plant and pull away the pups--that's how I do it anyway.
I remember seeing that banana now, how cool, we don't have enough indoor light, the GH was really a blessing.
please send me a d-mail to remind when it's gets warmer to send you one, I'll never remember on my own :)
I've already set a reminder for myself. I would like to do a small tropical garden in the back near the pool. I've ordered quite a few cannas from the co-op and could move a few house plants out. I'm really going to have to think about where exactly I want to put it, that area might be too wet in the winter for it. My yard has a slight slope and it might do better higher up in the yard. I'll be watching that area this winter and talk to Ric maybe we could contour the yard a little.
Holly, if you do decide to get a dwarf banana to overwinter inside, I got my plants from Wellspring Gardens in FL. I did actually order a dwarf, but it was clearly mislabeled, as that one ended up being the largest plant of the bunch! I never did contact them about it; just figured I'd eventually place another order and was sure they'd get it right next time. If you order, LMK, because I think they don't charge much more to fit extra plants into the box... maybe we could order together. :-)
I got my galangal from them too... you're welcome to a piece of next month! (remind me, or you'll have to dig it from the pot on the spot)
People do grow bananas in my area. I guess mostly for decorative reasons.
Bananas in Russia...wow!
pretty much here they are ornamental as well. most of the edible varieties aren't hardy here, unfortunately
Beautiful picture