Hello from Jacksonville!
 

I'm so excited about this forum! Although I do like other plants like bromeliads and gingers as well, Bananas are much more fascinating to me for their prodigious growth, ability to feed the world's most impoverished regions and their rich history.
Though I live in an apartment with an epiphyte festooned balcony, I garden and landscape for my mother at least weekly with a strong focus on a tropical style. Since the yard backs up to a swamp thats only inundated after tropical storms, the ground is always moist and it's great for thirsty bananas and other plants that normally need a lot of watering.
I have started growing a maurelli abyssinian banana, a double mahoi, super dwarf cavendishes, musa "zebrina" and just picked up a red iholene, which I'm very excited about. Anyone have any notes on cold hardiness on the new red iholene? Thanks!

Steve
"He's the bonana king, Chaaarley!"

Re: Hello from Jacksonville!
 

Hi Steve and welcome to the board! :goteam: Good collection you have there. You can check out the older threads for your question. All the best!

Re: Hello from Jacksonville!
 

Welcome to the organization bjorkid!

I grow the Red Iholena in Zone 10 Florida. I have two Red Iholenas growing. I've had them in the ground for 1 year 5 months. They suffered 1 freeze in January 2008, Two in 2009, January and February. They do not like freezing temperatures but did survive all three freezes. But they did not do as well as most of the other cultivars under these conditions.

I have a picture of one in my photo album that was taken recently after the freezes.

Point is Protect them, they look good, but they do not take the cold well!!! Best wishes and good growing!!! :2239:

Re: Hello from Jacksonville!
 

Thanks guys! I guess I'll just have to baby it more than the other naners... I'll go to the cold hardy forum to read more about what they do up north. Pine straw has worked well for me so far.