stevelau1911

I bought 2 ensete glaucum, and 2 ensete maurelii, and today I got the glaucum, planted them up in 5 gallon containers, and gave them a good watering.

My plan is to let them grow large enough and then over-winter 1 of each outside, but plant them 2ft deeper than the soil lvl, and plant the other ones less deep so I can take them down into the basement. Over-wintering musa basjoo seems to be pretty easy so hopefully these guys will do just as well.

Has anyone ever over-wintered an ensete in the ground in zone 6?

Here's how they're looking now, brand new off of ebay.
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I'm in zone 6 upstate NY, specialize in growing temperate cold hardy bamboos(mainly phyllostachys) and starting to get into bananas.

my picture website is http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

Planter56

I'm in zone 5 Buffalo, NY, so I know Ensets won't over winter outside here. But I have over wintered Enset m. over winter in the house with no problems.

nannerfunboi

same here.. i bring everything in come oct.. i may try basjoo..but
here in utah..i wouldnt try any other banana.. i doubt they would
make it..
this overwintering..i had good luck with all bananas.. i only lost
one ensete maurelli.. but i have thinking on why it didnt make it..

stevelau1911

My thought is if musa basjoo can get through a winter here without any damage to the psuedo-stem, and pick up growing where it left off, some other banana species can probably do the same if I just plant them a little bit deeper, perhaps 2ft deep is good enough once I let them grow nice and tall in their pots. We also get lots of snow here so there's usually around a ft of snow whenever we get sub-zero temperatures, on top of the already protected psuedo-stems so I think there's a good chance that ensete could make it up here.

The only problem I see with bringing them inside is because it doesn't seem natural to keep taking them in and bringing them out. I want them to be in the ground permanently, and only give it as much protection as it is. You also have to damage the roots in digging it up each year.

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I'm in zone 6 upstate NY, specialize in growing temperate cold hardy bamboos(mainly phyllostachys) and starting to get into bananas.

my picture website is http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

Planter56

I'd say give it a try. I'm minful of the frost line and how far down the ground freezes here, whch in very cold winters can be as far down as 4'. But what the heck, give it a try. You can always pick up another plant if it doesn't work

lava lounge

I over winter my esente in the crawlspace dry and they do great. I bring them out in march, pot them and water and place in the light and they take off. Musa's do not do this so well but praying hands do great and I hear tai black do well dry over winter, so I am trying those next. Here in michigan and with my soil I have not had luck in the ground over winter yet.

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