andy17

Hello everyone,
I have a Not Ice Cream in a 30 gallon approaching 4' of pseudo stem, which is really getting big. Even in that huge pot, however, it still looks cramped, and I've been having trouble with leave shred. I would love to plant it in the ground, but I would also really hate to lose it. I've read all sorts of different outcomes in zones 8 and 9, some stunning successes, others total failure. I'm fairly certain that the corm would survive in the ground, but I would really like for the pseudo stem to survive as well. Does anyone have any experience growing these in the ground or in containers? I should also mention that I live in the Deep South. Winters here are long in coming, and short to stay, but when they do, they get pretty darn cold. Last year, our low here was 17 degrees F. There were three days that hit that temp for several hours. Most of the coldest days, however, stay above 22-23 degrees F and the winter average is 30-33 degrees F. Daytime temps are usually in the 40's. Should I keep it in its container and overwinter it every year or try to plant it in the ground? Any help would really be appreciated. Thanks!

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alias

I am in 8b zone and I think it can not hold under 20 degrees. After all,you might try with some goooood protection after it sets offshoots...

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Edi

RandyGHO

I am in 8b Georgia. I have an ice cream planted as well. From everything I have read, in the open it will not survive here without protection. The fruiting height is noted at around 12 feet give or take a foot. Mine is half grown now with still some growing time left.
Right now, I am putting together my thoughts on in ground protection. My goal is to get as near to fruiting a is practical going into next year. This my first year in bananas but I think I can get a leafless, in ground, Pseudostem through the winter using a tube of some sorts and a string of Christmas lights inside.

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Abnshrek

I have 3 Ice Creams w/ 5-6 ft p-stems and they will have 40' heat-tapes on them and then wrapped up.. Christmas lights are more economical to purchase but never shut off unless you do it, the heat-tape keeps them @ 38-45F automatically. :^)

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blownz281

Ice Cream survives here in Wilmington NC zone 8b coastal. What state are you in?

andy17

@ alias that's a good plan! Offshoots are always a good way to try different things without risking losing the entire plant. I must say, that's really awesome you're from Croatia!

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andy17

@blownz281 That's great do you protect yours any during the winter? Also, how low do the temps get there? We are reliably zone 8a here, often times zone 8b, but we're pretty far inland, so we're not moderated locally by the ocean. I would love to get fruit, if I could just get at least a sizable part of the pseudo stem to survive, that would be great.

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RandyGHO

The P-stem survives too or does it die back to the ground?

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LilRaverBoi

I would recommend a combination of both (pot and in-ground). Plant it in the ground in the spring and let it thrive without the restriction a pot causes. Then, dig it up in the fall and put it in the pot for winter. 30 gallons should be plenty big for a pot.

This way you get maximal summer growth, safe overwintering, no fuss with winter protection, etc. And repotting it every fall keeps it from getting root-bound being in the same pot for too long.

That's just my two copper Lincolns based on growing bananas in zone 5....in-ground year round is simply not even an option up here.

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alias

Yeah, I do it with every banana. Even Musella I won't keep in ground until it sets offshoots.

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brod

I just admire the way all you people push the zone envelope. Good luck to you all.

blownz281

My first one died all the way to the corn with the worst winter we had here since the 70's a few years ago. But I left it in a pot on my balcony when we lived in a apartment unprotected. The guy I got it from said he has had them for years and never protected them. A local guy here on the board I'm friends with would dig up some of the p-stems to try to get fruit not sure if he ever did. But I'm pretty sure he never really protected them otherwise. We live near a huge river that goes into the ocean and the ocean is on the other side of us a mile away. So that keeps are winter temps higher and constant. 25* is the average lowest temp we get. But its always windy here also. All I plan to do is store the pups and just wrap the p-stem this winter. It stays warm in December and we have been out cutting the grass several times. So usually by November things are ready. Oct-Dec day temps are 60*-70* and gets cold at night 50*-40*. The ice cream I have had for two years now is from Richard. Original one rotted away from poor drainage in the pot. So will see how this one does in the ground.

blownz281

You can keep Basjoo in the ground in Zone 5. I was Zone 4-5 in Ohio and my basjoo we never protected and melted to the corm and would come right back. Even grew a needle palm which set seed several times. I did build a little encloseure to cover it during very cold days. We had two days of warm spells and it nuked it. Single digit lows in winter was normal.