what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

What zone does a normally planted basjoo not require any winter care to come back for say, three years, reliably? I don't mean adding mulch, etc in the winter. I mean just plant it, water and fertilize it and leave it alone over winter.

Here's why...I was thinking it would probably be zone 7. Now I'm in zone 5. When I plant my basjoo a foot deeper, it came back with very minimal mulching. So that got me to thinking--aren't cannas hardy in zone 7? What if I planted a canna plant that was already growing potted a foot deep? Would it bring the conditions from a zone 5 to a zone 7?

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

A good sized basjoo can probably survive a zone 7 with no mulch. Im putting my basjoo in the ground next spring and I plan on protecting it just in case, but I think it probably could make it anyway. When the leaves die from the first frost on a large clump, they could probably insulate it very well. The problem with planting any plant a foot deep is that it would probably rot. Planting something a little deeper isnt bad but a foot is a lot. I have some canna robert kemp in the ground and I plan on placing x-mas lights over the ground with something to keep moisture out to protect them. But this is in a zone 7 and I still have my doubts that it will come back so I might end up digging up the cannas.
Good luck!

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

I grew basjoo for years in the front of my house in Ohio zone 5/4 and never protected them. Always came back with a large mat. Also had purple cannas that came back for several years as well and might still be. We moved several years ago so have no clue.My basjoo I would wait till the frost chocked the plant out good and cut it down to pretty much to the ground.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

I know here in zone 6 some people plant cannas and musa basjoo bananas next to the foundation of their house and they have came back next spring with no mulch. But each yard and house is different. Some might have a micro climate in their yard. I will not take the chance. I will mulch. I had 2 days last winter of minus 13*F and I don't think my musa basjoo's would have lived without their mulch.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Oh I see what you mean! I was thinking zero care -- put it in the ground and don't water or feed it, period. For that I would guess anywhere in zone 9 that it rains once per week to 10 days during the warmer months. Lake Quinault in Oregon comes to mind.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Musa Basjoo's are extremley root hardy. Here in the uk we get cold wet and windy winters and the basjoo's always seem to take it no problem the only loss you will get is the stem. When the spring returns though it just comes back again but in general the plant never dies. I don't know about the US but i would suggest that to keep the stem in the uk you would need to put a fleece(PLANT JACKET) a round the stem and pack the plant jacket with straw, and hope for a milder winter. Or alternatively lift the basjoo and put inside a green house or conservatory to conserve the height. In all these basjoo's are very hardy!

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

I always thought in Canada, it was zone 9, which is the coastal areas of Vancouver, the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. Maybe root hardy down to zone 7. That's just what I've heard, though.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

There are many factors that contribute to survival. Basjoo has a smaller chance of surviving a more northern Zone 7 since the ground is cooler due to prolonged cold. The size of the plant is very important. A large plant well surpasses a smaller one in cold resistance.

I would say a large plant is capable of surviving Zone 7 while a smaller plant would survive Zone 8b.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Does it matter what latitude you're at? A zone 7 is a zone 7 no matter where it is. It should be the same temps in order to be called the same zone.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

the coast here is zone 8a/b....9 in some micro climates....and basjoo will survive if unprotected here..

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

My basjoo survived last winter without any protection except their own fried leaves and p-stems. I'm in 7a, and this mat had over 20 plants coming up. Another planted in my front bed also returned (with 5 pups) without protection, and I just planted the pup last year.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

The locations and climates that people live in will experience different happenings with there basjoo's,this will play a big part in the growth and survival of the p stems. It's a bit like the US they have longer summers than the UK but the UK have milder winters than the US. So in the summer the US will get better growth but in the winter the uk has a better chance for survival of a basjoo although the basjoo is extremely root hardy. And in my opinion the loss of a basjoo would be rare unless it is only a youngster.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Zone designations only use the average yearly minima.

Northern Zone 7: (just made up as an example)

Cold Week:
14-28F, 8-21F, 3-18F, 10-25F, 17-30F, 15-28F, 20-32F

Southern Zone 7:

Cold Week:
5-34F, 14-38F, 21-44F, 28-50F, 33-55F, 35-60F, 32-58F


Both are zone 7 but one is clearly cooler. The prolonged cold will penetrate deeper into the soil.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

We use a different system in Canada. Yes, there are differences in the climate of one zone 7 to another, but a plant that does not survive in one zone 7 will also not survive in another zone 7, no matter where it is. True, we don't as much north/south growing area as the U.S., but a zone 7 in Ontario I would be would have the same temperatures as a zone 7 in B.C. If the temperatures are colder, it is not the same zone. In the U.K., most areas would be compared to a Canadian zone 8-9, which is comparable to the pacific northwest. It would make it very confusing to have a plant labelled as being hardy to your zone, then find out it isn't, because you live in the wrong place.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

I have heard people use Christmas lights and a little mulch. i'm tryin that in a couple months ! but yeah zone 7b no problem !
oh kevin i know you live in Winnipeg but i can't believe they got snow already in some places, north Edmonton i know it didn't stay but i still can't believe it ! woo crazy s h it

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Alberta has crazier weather than we do. I didn't know they got snow, but it's not surprising. Calgary got snow a while back already, but it didn't stay. I'm hoping for about a month and a half before we get any substantial snow.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

I'm not digging my clump of basjoo...cutting it and mulching. I'm a solid zone 4 here most winters. I think we did have one winter when it didn't go below 0F...but that was/is unheard of. We usually drop to -25F ish most winters, but do usually always have a solid cover of snow, which helps a lot of plants.

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Don't mean to hack the thread, but since we're talking about the basjoo's un-protected survival, does anyone know how long they'll live with the annual cutback? I mean, I know that in frost-free climates after 30/40 leaves it will flower and that's the end of the parent stem… but does cutting back the stem each fall sort of "reset" the leaf count? Or does it just die after a certain amount of leaves without ever flowering?!?!?
My plants give me about 10/15 leaves each growing season - will each die after 3 summers?

Re: what zone will basjoo survive in with no care?
 

Here are 2 basjoo bananas that survived with no care.