Raules

mskitty it is very beautiful! At you the tropical house. My congratulations!

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Tropical agriculturist

Bananaman88

I think you can successfully grow them in Zone 5 with no problem. I realize that your main concern is about overwintering them. There are several threads on the board that discuss overwintering techinques for bananas. Do a search under the Cold Hardy section and you should find a plethora of information. Welcome to our community!

MagicKiwi

Thanks very much - I will go round up that other place!

magicgreen

Welcome Magickiwi !!!
Mskitty is soooo right!! LOL!!! My place is gonna look the same too!!
But with moreeeeeeee plants than last year!!!

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

MagicKiwi

Thanks for the welcome!!!

BUT - isn't there anyone from Zonez 5, 4, or 3 out there who is growing the MBs in the ground over the winter??? Oh PUUULLLLLEASE someone!!!
Anyone???

Cheers -
(these banana icons are a hoot!)

man with the yellow hat

you can grow them in Michigan, no problem at all. I dug up some rather large basjoo last fall, left them in the garage all winter and they are monsters this year.

austinl01

Basjoo is definitely THE banana for northern growers. Lots of people have had success with them in zones 4-6. Search through the forums for musa basjoo, and I'm sure you'll find lots of ways to protect them during the winter.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

MagicKiwi

Thanks Austin. This past week I have been told that Musa Basjoo will NOT survive the winters here in S Michigan - lots of cold, lots of snow as we get Lake Effect snow off Lake Michigan ... our last frost date average is 15 May - but this year we had freezing nights right up til the end of May! Not every night but often enough to scare the daylights out of everyone.

austinl01

I can't really give you much advice because my climate is a lot warmer, but I'm sure there are several members on the board that could help. I ran across this drawing on the internet about how to protect bananas from the cold. It may work for you. Basjoo is definitely worth a shot.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

mskitty38583

sandy has a diagram of how she protected her nanas in her gallery... thats what im using this winter along with the cage method for my bigger nanas.

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WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION

buzzybee

Hey MagicKiwi.....HELLO from a fellow Michigander! I'm from Niles. Where are you? I am just a few days new to this site and just read your post about overwintering Musa Basjoo. People about a mile down the road have been raising their own little banana forest for the last 4 years and it looks pretty nice. The basjoos will grow here and very nicely I might add! I purchased my first in June on clearance and it is growing beautifully. I am SO excited! I did not know there was such thing as a cold hardy banana. I LOVE plants and gardening and tropical stuff. My pink plastic flamingos will prove that! They are guardians of my banana tree! Too much fun!

The people down the street said they mulch theirs with a thick layer of straw and then cover it to keep it dry. I am trying the straw but I am going to fill trash bags with leaves (about 4-5) and place them around the trunk after cutting it down a bit and weigh them down with bricks then fill in the space around the truck with more leaves then cover with a tarp. I found this info from someone who lives in Indy but sounds like it should work here. I hope so. I want to see my basjoo green and growing come spring.

buzzybee

Hi Man with the yellow hat's!

I just looked over your picture gallery! Amazing! And you also live in Michigan?? I'm in Niles. I love the one with the pine trees in the background. What a fabulous contrast for a banana tree!

I can only imagine what potential my new little Musa Basjoo has in the years to come! I can't wait to have my own little forest. The leaves on mine keep getting longer and bigger each time one sprouts. It's SO pretty! I am hooked. What kind of banana is pictured with the hand of fruit in your gallery of photos? Thanks for posting those.

Randy4ut

Sorry to pipe in so late but, I have not been following this thread too well. Anyway, Austin, this is a great method for overwintering nanners in colder climates. One other, less hassle, method is to take dry leaves and fill large black trash bags. Then poke a hole in the side of the bag just large enough to place over the pstem that you are wanting to overwinter, slide it down over the pstem, and then poke another hole at the other side of the bag. Keep stacking bags on top of each other until you have the pstem covered. The last bag should not have a hole on the top side of the bag, obviously, and that is all you would have to do, besides applying a real good layer of mulch on top of the mat. For all you more northern growers than I, hope this helps and let us know how they fare for you in Michigan... Always good to see folks pushing the limits on our beloved bananas!!!!

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MagicKiwi

Kalamazoo here. Glad to find someone else in the area who is growing bananas. I knew of a gal up in the Gun Lake area who has lots of bananas but I can no longer find her! She has many varieties but I believe she brings them in for the winter and cold-stores them.
Com fall it will be interesting eh? Lowes here in Kzoo has quite a few Musa Basjoo left and I need to get over there - they are over three feet tall and in flower pots. Last I checked they were around $12 but I am hoping to offer half of that and that they will take it just to get them off their hands! Meijers also has "tropical" pots - some with bananas in the middle and others with an Elephant Ear in the middle. They are pretty cagey about dropping their prices and just about let them totally die before dropping prices. I can't find the manager of their garden department - it is a phantom I guess - but I will keep trying. Have fun down there in Niles.

buzzybee

I will have to check out our Lowe's here and see what they might have. I don't think $12 is a bad price. Mine already has 3 pups and I just planted it in June. The first pup is almost as big as it's mom.

Yeah, Walmart here and Meijer across the stateline do not take care of their plants. If you purchase something when it is new and still fresh they can be nice but I do not think you get much of a deal then. I saw the EE's at Meijer in the tropical pots but I did not even think to look for bananas! Thanks for the heads up! I would think those might not be basjoos but I would love to try one in the house for the winter of another variety anyway and summer it outdoors. I have a small green house new last fall and not sure yet how to heat it cost effectively.

I saw on your earlier post that you have brugmansia! They are so beautiful! Can you please tell me if they are easy to grow. I want one so much. We will be in Florida in Feb and I am hoping I can find one down there. Thanx!

man with the yellow hat

I'ts the fruit of a musa basjoo.
mike

Exotic Life

Look very nice!

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Steenbergen , The Netherlands
Europe
Lowest minium winter 2006/2007: -2,8C/28.4F
Lowest minium winter 2005/2006: -6,1C / 21F
Lowest minium winter 2004/2005: -6C / 21F

buzzybee

Hey MagicKiwi,

The Lowe's in Niles does not have bananas but the one in Mishawaka IN does. They are labeled Musa Resistence and in small letters it says musa basjoo. Is this the same thing? The reason I am asking for advice is because the musa basjoo I purchased earlier in June was labeled as basjoo but I think it is something else. So beware. The leaves on the pups on my tree are speckled and splotched reddish and the mama plant is kinda chunky/beefier than the pictures of basjoo I have seen.

So now I am thinking of buying one at lowes also. I want a basjoo. I guess I may be wintering a small forest of banana trees in my basement for the winter :-/ Can anyone give me some info on the basjoo. Do the pups look this way? I read a discription of a cavendish and it sounds like my plant? Anybody? What you say??? Thanks for listening to me whine.

Oh My Gosh! I just found all the smilies!!! TOO FUN!!!

man with the yellow hat

do you have any pictures of your pups? Dont count on a superstore to label a plant properly, post your pictures here, I'm sure someone here can identify what you have.from the other side of the mitten.

austinl01

Thanks for posting, Randy. That's another great way to protect bananas.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches