Mark Hall

Carlos we had a few -7 last winter and my larger ones were not affected by it just the leaves went brown and shrivelled the smaller ones four foot size were cut back down to ground level and grew back in the spring. None of mine werte wrapped either.

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Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

carlo_musa

really?? it is wonderful!!!
I am scared for the cold!!

carlo_musa

hi Barna!!!!!!!
have you got alpinias?? are they strong in winter?? Im thinking to buy an alpinia purpurata...
que opinas??

Fernando

Hola Calo,

You could have several alpinias without any trouble (Alpinia zerumbet, Alpinia katsumadai, Alpinia formosana…) but I think Alpinia purpurata is too tender for us. I have killed them three times. Now, I have two but they are very weak.

Saludos,
Fernando

carlo_musa

hola Fernando,

I ve some heliconias too. they are minirostrata, and the leaves are going bad, they are yellow, they are drying, but only the leaves, the stem is green yet.
que pasa????????????

Exotic Life

They can also survive a Netherlands winter... Since i have my basjoo in the ground, i have take 2 winters als lowest tempeture -6C and they don't lost a large piece of the trunc. Last winter my lowest tempeture was -2,8C then in januari the leaves still hanging on my banana half green.

This year i have also get no hard frost yet! I have 2 times frost so far, only a -0,3 and -0,6 and the basjoo still looking half green

Robbin

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Steenbergen , The Netherlands
Europe
Lowest minium winter 2006/2007: -2,8C/28.4F
Lowest minium winter 2005/2006: -6,1C / 21F
Lowest minium winter 2004/2005: -6C / 21F

carlosfv

Hi for all the people

I live in Santander Z9b-10a (very exceptional below 0ºC) in the city, but in th country when i have my garden (5 km from the sea coast) the frosts occur in winter (only in the days without clouds). This fall the frost are very early and are hardy frost (in ten years I never seen in november -5ºC for three or four nigths. Usually in this month the minimum temperatures I recorded range between 0 or 1ºC)
tbe effect of these frosts are desastrous for my subtropicals. All leves are burned and fall form the tree. However today I´m very amazing surprisely becuase my musas (basjoos and sikkim) without protection sprout again.

I send pictures from today

a musas group (rigth to left) sikkim, basjoos and the smalls are velutina and one from USA that i don´t know a that species belonging.
the other two pictures show the new sprouting from basjoo and sikkim


on the other hand usually I don´t cover my musas and I don´t remove the burned leves fron the psudostem (a natural wrap)

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[IMG]I/dcim/100camea/imag063[/IMG]

[IMG]I/dcim/100camea/imag067[/IMG]

carlosfv

I´m again

sorry the pictures lost in the way

here are again

barna

Hola Carlo Musa

I think all the Alpinias I mentioned in my previous post (except maybe A. latilabris) can survive in your area.
I agree with Fernando A. purpurata being too sensitive for outdoor culture in your area.

I have M basjoo, sikkimensis, nagensium 'Florale Noir' and cheesmanii planted in my garden and survived at least one winter (some has passed their third one). The smallest had the ‘straw's cylinder protection’ and the bigger had no one

I have about 30 different Heliconias (including mini-rostrata) and they are really difficult to keep in good conditions in my area. Summers are to dry and I have to enter indoors during winter. During this time I have to regularly treat them again fungus and spider mite. Only two have flowered for me until now. There are not easy plants and in my experience yellow leaves can be related with many different problems

Hi Carlosfv

Nice to see you here again ¡¡
I also had the disgusting experience to see nice tropicals looking like boiled vegetables after a frost. There was an unexpected early frost this year. I hope your plants are not growing to much as they can probably suffer other frozen temperatures during the next months. I would recommend you to treat them with a fungicide (for example Daconil) to avoid fungus problems in your new growing leaves.
I use the same technique as you not removing the death leaves in my big bananas, but I use some protection in my smaller ones.

carlo_musa

Thank you Barna,

Im Igree with you, heliconias are not very easy to cultive in this areas.