Martin Aston

Has anyone compared Saba and Kandrian for cold-hardiness? It is not so much the hardiness of the pseudostem that I am concerned about (pseudostem will survive winter in my zone 9a region anyway; most winters are 9b here). I wonder which of these two bananas will last the longest in winter without experiencing leaf "burn". Which one will see its leaves turn brown first? I will probably get down to 26-27 degrees fahrenheit one night or two this winter, but with some overhead canopy. That won't happen until at least Christmas or January though. Most winter days here we see the low 70s Fahrenheit/low 20s Celcius.

I look forward to your answers. Thanks.

Martin Aston

So far, there have been no replies. I suppose I should add that an acquaintance in USDA zone 10b told me that a cold snap hit his property a few years ago and caused all of his bananas' leaves to turn brown EXCEPT for Kandrian which remained totally green. He also has saba and many others. Is this your experience too?

beam2050

it might help if we knew where you are located. they can be of better help then. especially if you are close by. course I would watch them, they might take your bananas. give them some time, someone will help.

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Martin Aston

I am in Gainesville, Florida (northern Florida) Here, both Kandrian and Saba will have brown leaves in winter, but I am just wondering whether Kandrian might give me a few extra weeks of green when compared with saba. i am growing for height, not for the fruit.

As an aside, someone from Bronson FL (west of Gainesville) mentioned that her saba bounces right back in spring very quickly. Yet Bronson is MUCH colder than Gainesville. On cold nights, it seems to be at least six degrees colder in Bronson than Gainesville -- more like a Tallahassee climate. Cold! Yet I don't think she has Kandrian, so won't have been able to make the kandrian-saba comparison in winter for our region. . .. . .

Thanks, I will look forward to your answers.

Martin Aston

I stand corrected. The person I mentioned in zone 10B actually had two types of banana trees that retained all of their leaves in full colour (no browning) during that cold snap years ago:

- Musa Kandrian
- black Musa Balbisiana

These must be two very leaf-hardy bananas because every other type on the property apparently had brown leaves after that cold snap.

By the way, I have no replies as of yet. Does anyone out there have experience with this?

Many thanks,

Martin Aston.