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coolrobby2003
10-08-2008, 08:32 PM
Does anyone or has anyone ever tried growing a banana plant in zone 5-6?

stumpy4700
10-08-2008, 09:42 PM
Well we have many Canadian friends out here. They could give some great tips.

buzzwinder
10-08-2008, 10:20 PM
Does anyone or has anyone ever tried growing a banana plant in zone 5-6?

Hi Robby, there actually quite a few people north of you HERE in Illinois that are growing Banana's, and more behind the cheddar curtain ( Wisc. ) and Mich. and of course our nanner family members in Canada, So ask away with your questions, this is my second year growing, glad to help if I can. :bananas_b

cedardave
10-08-2008, 10:27 PM
I grow all kinds in winnipeg canada.....a couple zones cooler than you.I think were zone 2or 3.Very hot summers...but the cold in winter is indeed cold. It takes some extra work,but its worth it.

Gabe15
10-08-2008, 10:34 PM
M. basjoo can grow in Denver, Colorado, zone 5-6. The Denver Botanic Gardens has returning mats which they just mulch for the winter.

buzzwinder
10-08-2008, 10:40 PM
Sandy in Muncie Indiana (zone 5) maintains a mat outdoors in the winter also, Thats part of the reason I bought 2 Basjoo this year, to plant in the ground next spring to establish them and then overwinter in the ground here. :bananas_b

v1rtu0s1ty
10-08-2008, 11:19 PM
Does anyone or has anyone ever tried growing a banana plant in zone 5-6?

I have basjoo in 5a. It's my first time planting a banana. I'm going to leave it in the ground and pray that it goes back alive next spring. :)

Bananaman88
10-09-2008, 06:30 AM
We grew bananas out in some of our flower beds at Missouri Botanical Garden in the summers (from May-late Sept.), then we'd cut them back, put them in pots and winter them in the greenhouse. We, too, had a banana at the botanical garden that we thought, at the time was M. basjoo (later turned out to be Orinoco most likely). All that was ever done to protect it was cut it back and put about a 2-3' layer of mulch on it and every May it would return. It was in a bit of a microclimate, I think, as it was within the wall of the Chinese Garden there and we were near downtown so temps were probably moderated by a few degrees. However, we did get regular snows and the ground would freeze. The mulch was the key to keeping the area around the corm from freezing.