nucci60

got two of these from a man who grows them outside in pa. saw a picture of the stand. still, I can't find anyone else who overwinters this banana in the ground in zone six. Mine are in the ground now so I guess I will find out next year, but I would like to hear good news from anybody that is growing in that zone.

bigdog

Musa sikkimensis has proven itself to be almost as hardy, if not as hardy as, Musa basjoo. I know a guy in Niagara, Canada that grows them. So I would say that the jury has come to a verdict and can go home!



I grow it here in zone 7a, and can tell you that it performs just as well as Musa basjoo.

mrbungalow

Just as hardy as basjoo in terms of temperatures, but more sensitive to wet in my experience.

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nucci60

Thanks guys, They are starting to put out leaves that are splotched red on top. Is this normal? the leaves emerge red underneath, but that seems to fade. Ps Erland, my maurelli seems to be curing itself of it's leaf choking situation. I had potted it up a little to big and it started ripping up it's new leaves and they came out solid green. Now that it is outdoors (potted), it seems to be getting better with new leave not torn and blood red. My absolute favorite "banana"

xyzzy

Here is the UK they are fairly hardy, but personally in our climate (very wet and damp and mostly overcast but little frosts) I find M Itinerans much more hardy.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

mrbungalow

Itinerans? Are you sure? Too many people from the UK say they have killed dozens of these.. Stupid question from my side, but sure you don't mean musa basjoo?

I have heard reports from England stating that Itinerans is just borderline for the UK climate, but I guess it depends on if your'e in the Isles of Scilly or in Yorkshire.

As for sikkimensis, the "Red Tiger"-type seems not that vigourous compared to my regular ones. Same goes for "Darjeeling Giant". But Helens' hybrid beats them all in terms of growth.

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xyzzy

I don't think Devon's Coastal Climate is quite typical of the rest of England.

No, M Itinerans grows much faster than M Basjoo. I fact M Basjoo does not grow to well for me or perhaps I am impatient and just find it too slow.

I have to cut my M Itinerans down to about 7 ft each spring or the wind destroys them, but apart from that I find them hardy here. They must be "pruned" spring rather than autumn because they don't overwinter well without leaves. Perhaps this is where UK growers are going wrong. They keep their leaves all winter, unlike basjoo. With M Itinerans, if you lose the leaves you often lose the plant and they are actively growing all winter.

Having said that Monsterosa Deliciosa is winter hardy here, so I guess it is not surprising that M Itinerans copes (except for the wind if it goes too high).



I can't find any good photos of any of my M Itinerans on my website, but have just drawn a scribbly circle thing round a baby M Itinerans on a general panarama of one side of my garden (There are also two M Sikkimensis pups just below the Alocasia):-



Oh, and just to the left of my scribble circle is M Helen's Hybrid pup.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

mrbungalow

Amazing! I am going to clean some dust off those m. itinerans seeds in the back of the drawer!

Have you tried musa formosana where you live? From my point of view this one seems like an intermediate species between m. basjoo and m. itinerans. I am trying them outside for the first time now, and grow fairly well, although they are still small.

Erlend

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xyzzy

No, if fact I had never heard of musa formosana, but now I'm off to look it up. It sounds interesting.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

mrbungalow

trebrown nurseries used to sell seeds, but he doesn't have them in right now. Maybe he will again soon. As far as I know, he has been the only one offering seeds of this species.

My plants have winged petioles like regular m. basjoo, but differ in having powder on the stems, bluish color, and no red midrib. It also seems to grow a little faster.

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Raules

All of kind time of day! I sow hour to grow up seeds Musa sikkimensis and next year I shall try to grow up it in the open ground. But for the winter all equally it will be necessary to take a rhizome and to leave on wintering in a pantry, as winters at us very much cold. Frosts can reach up to-40 degrees below zero. But all I shall equally try to achieve, that it grew in the open ground, in a warm season. Prompt please what at me a climatic zone? And that I have a little got confused and I can not define itself. Irkutsk. Russia, Siberia, lake Baikal. All thanks! Andrey.

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Tropical agriculturist

xyzzy

Good Luck Raules. Yes, you will have to bring you plant indoors in winter is Siberia.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

xyzzy

Yep, quite sure. Below is a Musa Itinerans which overwintered under my cherry trees with no other protection and didn't even stop growing or lose leaves all winter. Frost wise, Isle of Scilley is zone 10! and I live in the sheltered bottom of a gorge in Devon, which opens up at the sea to funnel warm air from the gulf stream in, which is actually warmer than the Isles of Scilley. Unfortunately it has continuous rain almost all year and is a swamp/rain forest and being at the bottom of a gorge my day length is 3 hours shorter than the rest of Devon and sun? forget it, what's sun!!

The banana is 7.5 ft high from top of pot and is just a pup and yes, they are usually this spindley!

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

Raules

xyzzy I and am going to do. To leave a rhizome for the winter in the open ground it is impossible. It will simply freeze in our winter. I wish to store it in special garage, before spring. At you good result with Musa Itinerans, success in the further cultivation!

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Tropical agriculturist

xyzzy

M Itinerans is not so good if you cannot leave it in the ground. It doesn't really go dormant (stop growing) during winter and does not store well (good)because it uses up it's energy growing in storage.

M Itinerans is particularly hard to keep if you cannot keep it's leaves on and growing all winter. Probably one of the most difficult bananas to bring indoors and store.

I would recommend you pick a different banana where you live. How about E Maurelli? That stores well and looks good.

__________________
There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.