aroidgrower

I was able last year to keep out 8 of 9 Ensete maurellii last winter in the ground with heavy mulching. The plants were cut back and chopped up leaves and compost were placed over top 1 to 2 feet deep. Here is a picture of them returning and growing back to full size.

BananaLee

Let's see if I got this right. An Ensete, in zone 6??? I mean, I'm an adventurist, risk taking gardener, but I NEVER thought of trying an Ensete!!! I thought they were zone 8 or maybe 7??? Maybe I'll try if I have enough room lol. What were you're winter lows? If anyone in zone 6 has success with anything, I am sure to try!!

palmtree

I cant see your pic, but the story is enough to have be happy! Im glad they survived for you! You would be surprised what can survive with enough mulch! I have some wandering Jew plants under mulch and they are still green after 19F! They are frost tender plants, but survived quite a bit of it in the past cold week we have been getting!
I think Ill try an ensete too one day! First I got to get my Basjoo to survive though!
Keep us updated on this progress!

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Location: New York City, zone 7b

aroidgrower

I uploaded the photos of the plants coming back. The leaves were removed early spring and new growth shown. I figured I would test them sense after 3 years of taking them inside each year they would usually flower in the greenhouse then die so rather than do that I figured test them hardiness.


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griphuz

Nice one!
Only downside to this story is that you'll only manage to do this one winter I'm affraid. They'll be so much smaller the year after, and weaker that they will likely not survive another cut-back by the winter.
Please do let us know however how big it gets again in the growing season, you might just get lucky!
Kind regards,
Remko.

aroidgrower

Most of the plants reached 8 feet tall after over wintering last season. A few were 10 feet. Watering is the key to over all size on musa and ensete.

JuniPerez

This is what I like to see... everyone says "not possible" and then someone tries and proves them wrong. Congratz.

griphuz

That's quite large! Very nice?
And how big were they before winter? very much bigger or generally the same?

Kind regards,
Remko.

eric27

It's really true. I saw those Ensetes in person coming up this past May under the heavy mulch. They really did come back under piles of leaf mulch. I was in total shock myself but they really did look nice and healthy, about 2 feet tall or so at the time.

BananaLee

Totally true! That's what is so fun about it! That's what I like to do when I get the chance!

Kevin

Does the cutting back weaken the plant? Why? I never thought of that.

palmtree

Thats awesome! Im glad they came back so well. I wonder if doing this will delay flowering. For most bananas delaying flowering is a bad thing, but I consider it a very good thing if an Ensete never flowers! It might actually be a benefit to keep it outside during the winter in that case! Right now my ensete is being attacked by aphids so it might be in the ground and staying their next year if the problem worsens! Do you have any pics of its tallest height?
Thanks for sharing!

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Location: New York City, zone 7b

Dean W.

Congratulations on getting them to survive in your zone.

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tastyratz

love it.
Keep track of your temperature lows so you know what it truly survives. A zone 6 survival only counts if its a zone 6 class of a winter. Maybe its just so far been z7 cold? I would love to know. I'm rooting for you.

aroidgrower

The year the Ensetes stayed out we got around 3F and stayed below freezing for over 1 month.
I was out today to check on one of my new hybrids. I developed a winter hardy Colocasia's that is black and has survive zone 6 winters for the last 8 years with and without protection. I am sure their will be mixed reviews as it was with Basjoo when it first hit the market. Only mature established plants survive harsh winters and moisture in the soil and exposure can all play a role in how hardy any plant is especially a hardy tropical.

The name of it is Colocasia Madeira. It is a dwarf 3 to 4 foot clumping plant with dark leaves and slightly pink stems. I checked on one today in the ground with no protection and the tubers are pretty much sitting on top of the ground. The tubers were still good and healthy we have had 5F so far and 3 weeks below freezing. All the breeding work is finally paying off with some extremely tough plants. Two other hybrids are also shown in the photos that are now on the market. It will be interesting to hear how well they do for others in different areas. Future work should yield some great new hardy tropical plants for us northern growers.

Photo link

Tropicool Series - a set on Flickr

eric27

I'm going to check on my Colocasia Madeira in the next couple days, along with the other two new ones I got from you-Colocasia Bikini-tini and Colocasia Sangria. The problem is they are not mature plants but I am hoping for the best. I did cover them with about 6 to 8 inches of leaf mulch. The Colocasia Sangria was growing really well up until the freeze hit.

We have spent many days in December below feezeing and only the last couple days went above 32 F. Our lowest temperature so far is 5 F, with 5 lows in the single digits.

nannerfunboi

wow on aroidg's work in EE and nanners! thanks brian..
the thai giants i got from you last yr were huge..and doing just fine in
their winter storing..so far !!!
i think here in utah i have to keep digging and storing.. my biggest
ensete maurelli was over 12' and has a base girth of over 14". seems to
be overwintering fine too..all goes well..next summer hope it gets near
20'.. how the &*^%% im going to get it in to overwinter.. guess i'll just
have to figure that out.. LOL
happy holidays to all...