Bananas.org - View Single Post - How Cold hardy is Zebrina, aka, Sumatrana, aka Blood

JoeReal · 10-18-2005, 02:43 PM

These are as worst off as cavendishes go. I have mine potted, and will bring them into the garage when min temp starts to go down below 38 deg F. I keep an eye on the forecast. When stored in the garage, take off the leaves except for the top unfurled one, and then water sparingly only once a month until the min temperature outside starts to climb consistently above 38 deg F, bring them out.

But there are two types of red bananas, based on literature, and they differ a lot in terms of cold hardiness. The sellers are confusing the names of the two types so it is really hard to find the cold hardy one.

According to Graf Exotica Musa sumatrana (from Sumatra) is a smaller and more cold-tolerant plant than Musa zebrina (from Java). The regular zebrina, which looks like the sumatrana, is only hardy in Zones 9-11. There are also several names for this plant and nurseries could get confused as to which one is the real zebrina (less tolerant of cold) and the real sumatrana (cold tolerant). A number of horticultural 'forms' of some of the subspecies seem to be in cultivation. These tend to be given different names by different nurseries or different literature e.g. 'Sumatrana', 'Zebrina', 'Rubra' and 'Rojo'. The fruit is sweet, edible but seeded. Rated for zone 7-11.

10-18-2005, 02:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
JoeReal Senior Member JoeReal's Photo Gallery Location: Davis, California USDA zone 9 Find me on the map! Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,034 BananaBucks : 413,746 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 108 Times Was Thanked 474 Times in 228 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 16 Times	Re: How Cold hardy is Zebrina, aka, Sumatrana, aka Blood These are as worst off as cavendishes go. I have mine potted, and will bring them into the garage when min temp starts to go down below 38 deg F. I keep an eye on the forecast. When stored in the garage, take off the leaves except for the top unfurled one, and then water sparingly only once a month until the min temperature outside starts to climb consistently above 38 deg F, bring them out. But there are two types of red bananas, based on literature, and they differ a lot in terms of cold hardiness. The sellers are confusing the names of the two types so it is really hard to find the cold hardy one. According to Graf Exotica Musa sumatrana (from Sumatra) is a smaller and more cold-tolerant plant than Musa zebrina (from Java). The regular zebrina, which looks like the sumatrana, is only hardy in Zones 9-11. There are also several names for this plant and nurseries could get confused as to which one is the real zebrina (less tolerant of cold) and the real sumatrana (cold tolerant). A number of horticultural 'forms' of some of the subspecies seem to be in cultivation. These tend to be given different names by different nurseries or different literature e.g. 'Sumatrana', 'Zebrina', 'Rubra' and 'Rojo'. The fruit is sweet, edible but seeded. Rated for zone 7-11.