ArchAngeL01

hi everyone! i was curious if a enstete (red absynyian banana) is cold hardy in zone 8b? iv'e seen some sites say zone 8 and some zone 9b ,any ideas? if so ,how will it grow back in spring if it makes no pups? thanxx for the help y'all

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Brad

ron_mcb

ensetes dont normally produce pups on their own true..pupping needs to be induced.i have seen people cut up the corms to induce pupping ..when the plant is propagated using this method the original plant is basically sacrificed,and an indefinite number of small pups is produced.i think lagniappe and sandy did it last year.

i live in zone 8 and i have a few..i bought them as tissue culture plants from walmart.around $5 each i think..i lifted mine from the ground in the winter because they kept slowly growing under the plastic tent i made for them outside to keep em dry...it was crazy mine werent wimps at all the leaves pushed the tent. i still brought them inside to prevent any rain or snow from touching em and eventually rotting them out..

some people call em sensitive but mine arent..i cut one of mine to the roots and it already caught up to the others. i would get one if i were you..

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naw mek smaddi ditate fi yuh. naw wan gwan a pawty yuh naggo.

ArchAngeL01

Thanx for the info, i love them ,i cant wait to get one

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Brad

Michael_Andrew

Here is one I picked up this year. I plan on digging it up and putting it in the basement. Some will dig them up cut off all the leaves and overwinter them in their crawl space.


Michael.

tophersmith

Here is one of mine that I put in the crawl space 2 years ago. This year (it was too large to move by myself) I wrapped (in 2 layers of burlap), mulched it heavily and had a spot light on it. Only to find it dead this spring

Attached Images

	IMG_2003.JPG (949.9 KB, 20 views)
	I don't think he Ensete Maureli I left out well protected made it.JPG (716.2 KB, 17 views)

STERLING

I just bought mine this year....Lowes had a lot of them today though.
[IMG][/IMG] i'm down the street from you in Charleston!

Lagniappe

This banana has been the star of many threads here at Bananas.org.. Just use the search option and I'm sure you'll be pleased with the amount of information you find.

This has been the most cold tolerant of all my plants and tries to push new growth on any warm day during winter.

ArchAngeL01

if i get one,it looks like it will do fine outside!!! because your in zone 8 and im zone 8b/coastal ,so i think it will do just fine

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Brad

Lagniappe

According to this: http://extension.missouri.edu/webste...compressed.JPG
I'm 30 minutes away from zone 7.

ArchAngeL01

WOW really??!! and they still did fine? ...do you have new pix of them now>??!!!

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Brad

Lagniappe

March 16th


And.. 6 days ago

7 days past


These are seedlings that I sat out last fall to test the hardiness of very small Ensete.
I'll post pics of the same bed tomorrow, a full week later. They have grown a great deal since the 3rd and will need to be thinned soon.

ArchAngeL01

WOW these are very hardy,the hardier than i exspected:P ,did you provide any protection?i cant wait!! thank you so much!!!

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Brad

buffy

I live in Zone 8 Texas. The Ensete are as active as Musa basjoo when it comes to winter growth. I'm guessing their ultimate low is a problem because they don't pup unless induced. If I freeze a Musa to the ground, it just pups and moves on. If I freeze an Ensete to the ground, game over. I have two Maurelli. They're screaming-up new growth.

Bananaman88

And.. 6 days ago


Pete- this is going to be an awesome bed in a few more weeks! Keep us posted.

tophersmith

Pete,

Did you hack yours to the ground before or after the first killing frost? How deep is your layer of mulch? What type of soil do you have down there?

Lagniappe

I leave them be until all the leaves have shrivelled completely. Then I remove those leaves at the p-stem, leaving the sheath intact.
I only add shredded oak leaves and pine needles that happen to mbe mixed in. I added these very thick this year (5"-6") and will try to ad 1' next year. The crawlers drag this material into the clay very quickly so more is better.
Some are in sandy soil, some in clay. The sandy soil is only 4"- 2' deep with clay underneath.

And today...it's hard to see because it's in deep shade and it's very red/purple.

Lagniappe

I've added the 'week later' shot underneath the others. I probably should have waited til' the evening.....they could grow 6" by then .

Bob

Pet that's only a week later? You could be entertained by sitting and watching this sucker grow!

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jack hagenaars

Hey Bananaman...nice garden...it is going to be awesome in a few weeks...goodluck!

ArchAngeL01

wow! your garden is so awesome!! that ensete is HUGE!! and you ddnt even give it much protection!! here it would be a peice of cake!!! THANK YOU so much!!! im gonna get a bunch of these!!!!

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Brad