The Puffer Forum

I believe the plant RTR is referring to is:
Musa basjoo up to -20 C

Musa Sikkimensis is a close second out of china and a quick search using either of these terms will yield results out of China mountain area that are similar in resilience; but those are the two most famous.

The so-called "hardy" species is good through much of UDSA zone 7. North of that, micro-climates really matter. I would bet that I could not carry them over in my NE corner bed without a greenhouse. But south of the house is fine. I got mine from a nursery out in Oregon originally, but by the time I expanded the bed. Home Depot carried them. They still do the last time I checked. They also have several non-hardy types as well.

RTR wrote:The so-called "hardy" species is good through much of UDSA zone 7. North of that, micro-climates really matter. I would bet that I could not carry them over in my NE corner bed without a greenhouse. But south of the house is fine. I got mine from a nursery out in Oregon originally, but by the time I expanded the bed. Home Depot carried them. They still do the last time I checked. They also have several non-hardy types as well.

I will have to look into Home Depot, ty...

Finally got some pics up on the sprouting sequence. The views are toward the SSW or just SW, from under the south deck.

http://photobucket.com/musabasjoo

are you using 6x6 cedar for the raised beds?

RTR, those look alot like the ones that my dad use to own years back. It looked almost like a little tropical jungle in his garden. He gave me afew of the sprouts from his after I got married and they did ok but nothing like what my dads did and looked like.

They are standard pressure-treated 6x6s. These are non-fruiting plants (unless the pseudostems are carried over, as we have do with the sterile edible varieties). There is no reason to take edible-plant precautions with these plants, as I used to do with the fruiting plants.

The closest plants in the pictures to date* are the original planting, over 20 years old now. The two other sections were added several years later when we were pretty comfortable that they could live over the winters here. The original bed dropped one 6x6 at the first diagonal break and another at the second, so stair-stepped down two timbers from one end to the other. We did a bit of regrading and decided to make the new bed dead level. It will take a few years to raise the soild levels to even out the soil levels.

*Summer shots will have to be taken from the driveway to see the whole bed. That will be looking WNW versus the SSW of the existing shots. We'll get in a shot from the south deck (before the bed fills in) to show that it is still sparse.

This was an unusually dry winter and spring for us, so the first crop of spouts is smaller than usual. Normal crop is in the 60s for spring sprouts. Dry tears such as this hold the numbers down to the 40s, but by midsummer the bed is impenetrable with the second-generation sprouts, so it tends to even out during the summer. At least it does if I water as needed. Bananas are very hungry and thirsty plants.

oddly, we are having our flowerbed done now. We wanted 4x4 PT wood and found that it would cost $600+ from the local lumber mart. We checked with the Mennonites, and got 6x6 cedar for $400.

I really enjoy the 6x6. It gives you a place to kneel and rest when needed unlike the 4x4. Yesterday I just finished our vegie garden in 4x4. Not the easiest wood to work with.

I do not do 6x6s myself anymore. I am too old for that - and maybe too lazy, or smart... That work was contracted out, just as putting the bananas to bed for the winter is contracted out. I served my time in the heavy part of garden work and have now out-grown it.

We do not discus the price of the banana bed, or that of the front walk beds which were rebuilt at the same time. But if you figure their lifespan at 20-30 years, the big cost is still water and annual upkeep. I consider the banana bed the best installation on the property. We both love it, and it does give us the feel and look of the tropics - in USDA zone 6. It is worth every penny to us. The seasonal deck plantings are actually higher cost.

FWIW.

Picked myself up a Masu Basjoo from the Eden project in Cornwall. Anyone familiar with these? Any tips? I am in the uk and info seems contradictory, what I really would like to know is will it survive outside in the winter or have I just purchased a ridiculous sized house plant lol

What are your minimum winter temperatures? That will be the deciding factor on whether or not they will live over outside. Our minimum temp in winter is -10 degrees F. In theory they are hardy down to -20F. They are die-back plants at those temperatures, with the above-ground shoots being cut away after they have frozen. They will re-sprout in the spring when the bed warms up. I us 4-6inches of chipped bark mulch on the bed atop composted cow manure every fall/winter. My bed is sheltered by the house on the north of the planting bed, so it is somewhat sheltered from the coldest winds. We have snow cover south of the house only some years, but snow from the driveway is blown onto the bed in clearing the drive in front of the garahes under the house. When have good snow cover all winter the bananas seem better protect and tend to come back a bit better than is usual. This was a mild winter, so paradoxically the bananas came back a bit more sparsely than I like, but they do always come back.

HTH

There is a new picture up in the Photobuckt album - the plants are starting to resemble banana trees now. I'll have to get a shot from the deck above to show that the bed is still a bit sparse, but the young sprouts are still breaking through. There are just under 60 now, and the largest plant leaf tips are pushing six feet above ground.

http://photobucket.com/musabasjoo

Our temps go to about -4c give or take, summers are not all that great here tho. We had snow not too long ago but it only lasted a few days here as I am by the coast. I may plant it out in a very large pot and bring it inside for winter, or get a heated greenhouse

The oldest clump of plants is now just over 6 feet tall, the younger clumps are still smaller, 4-5 feet, but enough difference to be noticeable.

I do frequently keep young non-hardy bananas in large pots their first year. It holds down their size a bit, but not enough for full life-cycle growth. After the second summer the non-hardy types (all the edible fruiting varieties) are planted out only for the warm months. In winter I dig the, up to bare root and trim off the foliage, then wrap them in plastic drop clothe and store in a cool but non-freezing indoor space. Those commonly flower and fruit their third year of warm sunny summers. I know the UK is not as warm and sunny as we are, it might take four seasons.


http://photobucket.com/musabasjoo

RTR wrote:The oldest clump of plants is now just over 6 feet tall, the younger clumps are still smaller, 4-5 feet, but enough difference to be noticeable.

I do frequently keep young non-hardy bananas in large pots their first year. It holds down their size a bit, but not enough for full life-cycle growth. After the second summer the non-hardy types (all the edible fruiting varieties) are planted out only for the warm months. In winter I dig the, up to bare root and trim off the foliage, then wrap them in plastic drop clothe and store in a cool but non-freezing indoor space. Those commonly flower and fruit their third year of warm sunny summers. I know the UK is not as warm and sunny as we are, it might take four seasons.


http://photobucket.com/musabasjoo

Wish I had your green thumb RTR!

Just as with fish/tank keeping, it is not magic or even particularly difficult. It just takes a bit of practice. I do come from a long line of gardeners, so gardening has always been done around me. It rubs off on you.