Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

O.K. I am in zone 7 and I want to overwinter outside..
hoping to get some banana suggestions and answers to a few ?'s...

I am hoping to get (one each of )

a) a really nice white/green &
b) green/red varigated.

2 or 3 really really good tasting that will survive outside zone 7 with some coverings.. etc.

Maybe 1 or 2 plantains

Also 2 or 3 really nice Unique ornamentals.

#1 what is going to happen to my Ensente' if I leave it in the ground ?

#2 what is going to happen to my "Ice Cream's" If I leave them outside to overwinter ?

#3 What will happen with the chinese yellow if I leave it outside ?

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

Ensete glaucom, the red version, I believe is quite hardy and although not exactly variegated, it does have red stems and all. I could be wrong, and be thinking of E. ventricosum though. They're a nice red as well.

Ae Ae is the only really nice white and green variegated one I know of, gorgeous plant, but it is very expensive, rare, and not cold hardy to that zone. You'd need really good protection.

For good eating, Orinoco is pretty hardy, same with Rajapuri, Namwah, and Ice Cream although most sources sell Namwahs or similar and call them Ice Cream. Thousand Fingers has good cold reputation as well. Velutina is another one which may fruit for you each year, but it is a seeded species.

Most Ensete I know are pretty hardy, and if the winter isn't too bad, will simply die back to the ground and come up the next year. Same goes for Ice Cream / Namwah, but they do need protection in zones lower than 8b.


I've no experience or knowledge with plantains, but Orinoco can be used as one.

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

The only really cold hardy red variegated banana that is reliable in zone 7 with mulch only for protection is Musa sikkimensis (and only some are variegated). There aren't any with white variegation that I know of that will over-winter in the ground. It is very difficult to over-winter a fruiting banana and keep the pseudostem alive long enough to get fruit. Most people will dig them up and store the corms with pseudostems in a garage or crawl-space over the winter and plant them back out in spring. I've gotten Raja Puri and Orinoco to survive in the ground with only mulch as protection but I never got any fruit so I decided that I'd be better off with other varieties (like regular basjoo). From an ornamental stand point...Musa velutina is really pretty. It has nice bright pink blooms and pink bananas. They even ripen in one season, but yes, they are full of seeds. I've had luck with Musa ornata for a few winters with only mulch as protection. They have nice blooms and colorful fruit like velutina but the stems are also nicely colored. I managed to over-winter several Ensete maurellii but it was more like a zone 8 winter. I think any normal winter would kill them all unless they were protected with extreme means. Musella lasiocarpa is very tough and should overwinter well for you. It even takes the light frosts better than Musa basjoo. I personally haven't tried to overwinter Ice Cream in the ground, but I doubt it would make it.

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

The "Ice Cream" banana I have came from a guy selling the on Craigslist.. He has them VERY large. I'd say approx 12 feet tall and he has bananas on them.. I went to his place and he dug two pups up for me .... He is approx 18 miles away from me.. So I should maybe have luck.. ?? I don't know how to tell the variety he sold me but it looks very similar to the pics of "Ice Cream" I have seen. .. I have mine in a sort of micro climate area... also that MIGHT help a bit... He also said he has apple banana... are those worth having ?

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

If he is correct with the names,he digs them up for the winter.

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

The person to ask about how to protect them would be the guy you bought them from. He's pretty much have to have a heated greenhouse built around them to already have them 12' tall with bananas on them if he overwintered them in the ground. How about some pictures? Also, where in zone 7 do you live?

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

He has approx 75 of each kind, I highly doubt he digs them up.


Your question sparked me to double check my growing zone, I don't know if the zoning names etc have changed over time but I *thought I was in zone 7b.. but it turns out I am in an area that is described as follows.
:drum:

"Zone 8, for example is known as the “Cold-air basins” of the central valley. It is an area that is cooled by wind from zone 9, which sweeps over the hills and settles like water in the low areas of zone 8: simple enough, but ever so crucial for growing crops like apples. This zone is also bordered marginally by zone 14, which lends a bit of “marine” influence to its cooling trend.

Zone 9, as I mentioned above, is known as the “thermal belt” of the central valley. It is home to our prized citrus. Granted, our summers can be cruel but our winters are mild compared to most."

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

Bordelon seems to be very reliable, even from the freezes we've had here in SE Louisiana in the teens, to come back just fine.

Zebrina, on the other hand, are not reliable and in one yard I take care of they have disappeared entirely due to freezes.

I've seen bananas (undoubtedly Orinoco) in Franklin, TN that were behind a warehouse that survived just fine without being dug up or covered or protected.

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

Question 1. Is that the central valley of South California?

Question 2. I would like to find this sort of description of my and other areas. What is the website where you found this description?

Thanks
George.

Re: Questions and Suggestions ? Zone 7.. ?????
 

I found that in an article about my particular area posted by a "gardening expert" in my area.