chong

Some people that I got my M lasiocarpa from says that they grow to only 2-3 feet in a pot. Up to 5 feet in the ground. I'll verify with my sources for the cold hardiness of the Musella.

chong

The TC plants, or even pups, are so inexpensive that it's not worth waiting to germinate the seeds of the M. Lasiocarpa.

v1rtu0s1ty

Thank you so much. I'm very tempted to buy the musella I posted above. I edited my post earlier. I included a link to ebay.

chong

Yes that's the correct one. And that's not a bad price for the size. I was going to give you a link to my Mussella source, but they no longer have any in stock.

dablo93

that quite cheap right ?
I have mine also growing in pot but it doesnt grow really larger.
hardiness: I bring him in if lower then 27 F
our winters are too cold and too wet to let them survive well.
I think austin got the same minimums as me in winter but his daily temperatures are much higher. Austin, your musella is unprotected, right?

but it won't survive in your zone 5.
you can bring him in as a houseplant but dont water too much.

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v1rtu0s1ty

That's great to hear that it can be brought inside the house. What about sunlight?

v1rtu0s1ty

LOL, looks like the basjoo can hear me. Now, I see the red line, hahaha!

austinl01

Yes, my musellas endured a temp last winter of 16 degrees. It was a relatively warm winter. The pseudostems were covered with some leaves, and they remained firm and mostly green. I think m. lasiocarpa would be root hardy to 5 degrees or maybe lower with some protection (maybe a pile of leaves). I really believe it is as cold hardy as musa basjoo. We need some folks in a more northern location to really test it out.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

v1rtu0s1ty

Once I get extra cash, I will buy one. What is pseudostems?

February 2007 winter though, I remember, we reached -24F to -30F.

austinl01

Wow, that's cold! Musella is definitely one banana you can grow in a pot. In fact, the first year I got one, I grew it in a pot to get it established. I will probably have some small pups available for sale later this summer. Mine had an unheard of 7 or 8 flowers on one plant last year. Usually people only get one flower on their plant.

A pseudostem is the "trunk" of a banana plant.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

v1rtu0s1ty

Do you think with protection to the musella, it will survive our winter? 2008 February, we reached like -5F.

I forgot to say, that is lovely. Let me know how much you will be selling it. Rather than buying it from ebay, it would be better to buy from bananas.org members.

wxman

I'd probably take a pup later this summer too.

austinl01

I think it may survive winter temps of -5F if you protect it with an enclosure of leaves. Here is a pic of how it can be done.

I'll sell small pups of this plant at a reasonable price. I can't say how much right now...just depends on the size of the pups. It will be very comparable to the plants sold online in nurseries and on Ebay. Yeah, I'd always choose to buy from people on bananas.org rather than on Ebay. Sometimes folks on Ebay sell the wrong types of plants. I once bought a Dwarf Orinoco and waited two years for it to bloom only to discover it was a Standard tall Orinoco. I wanted a dwarf because I was digging them up each winter and hauling them under the house. A dwarf would have been a lot easier to work with. I wasted two years on growing the wrong plant!!! I was a little frustrated at the time and have learned to be careful.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

v1rtu0s1ty

Awesome! Keep me posted when it's time for us to plant it!

By the way, looks like you were planning to post a pic but I don't see it.

austinl01

Well, I'd recommend keeping it in a pot since it's gonna be late in the year and then plant it out next spring. Here's a link to all my banana pictures: austinl01/Bananas - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Here is the pic I was going to post earlier but forgot to. LOL.



Cheers,
Austin

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

v1rtu0s1ty

Thanks for that great idea!!!

What about the dry hay or the thing that they lay on top of ground for newly seeded grass, can they be used instead of dry leaves? It's because they're available at Home Depot or Lowes.

Thanks.

austinl01

Yes, dry hay would do the trick!

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

chong

I believe that Austin is just suggesting that you get some materials that may be available in your yard or nearby greenbelt, etc. Leaves are the first thing that come to mind because they are plentiful in the fall. One maple tree in the front of our property, for example, will yield at least 85 bushels of leaves. However, if your are going to purchase anything, I'd suggest that you use something that has greater insulating value - Styrofoam popcorn(the one used for packaging). They are available from most office supply stores, or even places similar to UHaul. Make sure to get the white Styrofoam, not the colored ones. Colored ones tend to emit gases, when they get wet, that may be harmful to the plant. It was suggested to me several years ago, and I found this to have some validity to it. The plants that I had that I used the colored Styrofoam for drainage at the bottom of the pot grew a lot slower, or even died, compared to the ones with the white Styrofoam.

I have used that concept similar to Austins sketch, only I used chicken wire and clear plastic (visqueen) as a cage and filled it with white Styrofoam. There were several 3/4" holes around the lower and upper perimeter to allow the plant to breathe.

austinl01

Yes, I was just suggesting free items such as leaves to use in your protection methods. I figure why go out and buy something when nature provides it for free. Chong has some good advice for you. Unfortunately, I think you'll have to protect whatever banana you grow in your climate. The rewards are really worth any trouble though. I would start with musa basjoo and musella lasiocarpa.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

v1rtu0s1ty

Yep. I understood it but I have to check in fall if my plants will give enough dead leaves. I don't recall raking any last fall. This is the reason why I just want to buy the hay from home depot/lowes. But yeah, it's a great idea.

And yes, don't forget about me about your musella.

Thanks guys!