Well, I would certainly bet on it not doing well in FL. Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' dies in the heat of summer in Central FL, so I'd think that m. ingens wouldn't do well there. In fact, ensete glaucum is the only ensete that does halfway decent there, according to Eric from Orlando (Leu Gardens). Isn't musa basjoo a highland species as well? I think that m. ingens would be ok in my area during the Spring and Fall, just not too sure about the Summer. It can, and frequently does, get into the 90s here, with lows in the 70s. However, my elevation here is about 1000 ft., give or take a few feet. My location in Nashville was about 615 feet, and Nashville is noticably hotter in the Summer than Knoxville. When you consider the length of time, about 2 months, that temps are in this range, I wouldn't think that would be long enough to send a good-sized plant into decline. Musa basjoo just kinda sits there when temps get into the 90s, but gets going again when temps fall. The difference is that in a lowland tropical setting, the temperature is pretty much the same year-round. So the lows are probably always in the 70s with not much fluctuation.
The possibility of growing one of those behemoths here is very exciting. It would be even more so if the corm proved to be cold-hardy, like m. basjoo. Somebody will get one to survive long enough to tissue culture it, and then the fun begins. It's only a matter of time, in my opinion, before it will be in cultivation.
