what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

I've just recently started here at Bananas.org and have become very interested in more than just eating and cooking with bananas. Is there a plant that will grow in Michigan I could start off with? If so, how do I get started?:jumpingonbednaner:

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

Susie, check out this Michigan thread:
http://www.bananas.org/showthread.php?t=1655
:raftingnaner:

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

Thank You MediaHound. I'm still trying to navigate this site and not get lost :)

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

There are a TON of bananas for Michigan! Michigan is one of the best zone 6/5 places to grow them! Here is a list of things that have been reported to grow in zone 6. If there's any zone 6 for nanners it's Michigan!

List
Musa Basjoo
Musa Basjoo 'Sakhalin'
Musa Sikkimensis
Musa Sikkimensis "Daj Giant"
Musa Sikkimensis "red tiger"
Musa Itinerans
Musa Itinerans 'Gigantea'
Musa Yunnanensis
Musa tibet
Musa Bordelon
Musa velutina
Musa balbisiana
Musa Black Balbisiana
Musella lasiocarpa (not a true banana) Thanx! God Bless! BananaLee:woohoonaner:

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

I think folks have had trouble overwintering 'Bordelon'. I haven't tried it myself, but I think it may be one of the difficult ones for cold climates (unless you plan on bringing them in).

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

Chinese Yellow Star is not a true banana? What does THAT mean? What else is it? A goofy looking fern? A midget palm tree? It's more banana than a white bird.

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

Musella lasiocarpa is a relative of the banana, its in the same class of phylum, but it's not a true banana. Strelitzia is related to Musa, Heliconia is a relative, also ensete is not a true banana, but again a relative. Well that's all the time we have for today class! Just joking!

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

Levi you have them in the ground overwinter?

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

You could start with a winter indoor banana like super dwarf. Not a hard job of lugging out once it warms up. I'm originally from N. Wisc. I fixed my problem by just moving south. lol <-not rubbing it in...

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

These are just reports, but I'm going to plant them and test them out myself. Most of these are probably covered in the winter.

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

To be more specific....as far as classifications go, the three most specific levels of classifying organisms (this system works as a hierarchy) are family, genus and species (in order from less to most specific). The family banana plants belong to is called Musaceae. This encompasses Musa, Ensete and Musella. These three categories are 'genus' levels of the classification system. Beyond this, Musa/Ensete/Musella are further broken down by species. Depending on who you talk to, some people consider all Musaceae organisms bananas, but others more specifically say only musas are true bananas. Ensetes are often considered 'false' bananas for this reason. So in a technical sense, Musella lasiocarpa is very closely related (in the same family) to Musas, but depending on your definition of what are true/not true bananas, it may differ. Some sources refer to Musaceae as the 'banana family' which would make Musella a type of banana, but other sources say musa is the 'banana genus' making Musas the 'true' bananas. The term 'banana' is thrown around quite a bit, to be entirely honest (much like the term 'elephant ear). It really doesn't matter all that much unless you're a very serious botanical taxonomist. But I hope the further clarification of the classification system is helpful.

Re: what if anything will grow in Michigan??
 

Thanx LilRavorBoi! That's what I meant to right! Thanx for summing it up! I'm learning biology at the time and I get confused with family, genus etc. Thanx!