Hi All,
Will be getting several kinds of Bananas this year, Looked for a banana forum, but we don't have one?
As I understand it Musa Basjoo is the only cold hardy banana?
Do any of you grow this banana outside over the winter in zone 5? If so could you give me some pointers for success?
Thanks for any help.:)Anita
Zone 5 Musa Basjoo Banana Question.
Hi Anita,
The Basjoo is the hardiest for what I read, but only down to 20º. I am a zone higher than you, and will have to mulch mine very well to get them to survive. A trick that my neighbor has been using for his Cannas is to cut the foliage back before the first frost and lays it over them, along with the mulch, and they return every year for him. I haven't planted mine out to be able to help you with it, but I can tell you that I left one in a cold frame with a heat lamp over it and it was going dormant, but not dying. I ended up moving it to the other green house with the other one and it popped right out of it! :o)
Anita a banana forum sounds great!! I would love to know more about them..
Hey Kim! :o)
Hello! ....oh me working from home today... glad I saw this thread. Hope someone comes along to help fuel some banana madness :*)
Yeppers, me too! :o)
At work they are overwintering a basjoo nanner to see if it survives the winter. They made a wire cage and filled it wil crushed leaves. It stands about 3 ft tall. If it survives this winter then it will be a very hardy banana. :~)
Pepper,
Please let us know if this worked for them? Thanks :)Anita
This is a nice idea here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/816323/
Thank you Misty, I put my $0.02 in:)Anita
I thought it might peak your interest! :o)
I just picked up a Basjoo , a Red Dwarf and a Truly Tiny. I will be putting out my Basjoo this summer if I can keep it alive till then. I have been told to use leaves for the winter mulch not shredded bark and that you need to have it in an area where it will not be too wet for over wintering. If its too wet it will rot over the winter. I think that is more of an issue than the cold. I was thinking of making a wire cage out of 3 - 4 ft fencing and filling it with the leaves I rake up. I was very glad to be warned about the rotting, the area that I would have planted it tends to be the wettest in my yard.
My heart does a little pitter-patter every time I see Hardy Tropicals. But then I am usually brought up short their idea of a Hardy Tropical stops at Zone 7 not bad for a plant that usually lives in Zone 10 but not much help in my Zone 6.
Hi Holly, I don't know if you have seen or been here, but it might peek your interest:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/816690/