That's great! I've heard of it, but never tried it. I live in Zone 5 so I have to pull out the big guns. I'm glad yours made it!

Found this on yourtube for anyone interested in wintering over basjoo. I like the pipe insulation idea, if I can find it big enough...lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKJlbM77wXE

I'm not convinced this stuff works. Has anyone in zones 7 and colder tried it? A banana is not like a human where insulation would keep the heat IN. Plants don't generate heat (unless they're composting - LOL!). Eventually, the cold will work its way in and the pseudostem will freeze if it actually gets cold enough, which in zone 8, I doubt it ever would. One would have to do a test in zone 7 with a control left unprotected.

What if you have a Musa in a pot... then what do you recommend for overwintering? Thanks.

take it in the house to a cool dark space if its in a pot. No water until spring.

I dont need to wrap it or anything?? Just bring it to my basement with no water?

I agree with Dave in nova, the insulation wouldn't make any difference unless you're protecting from a frost in a warmer zone 9.

I am in NJ, zone 7 and I do nothing to my banana. It dies to the ground and then starts growing in early spring. My largest is already about 3 1/2 feet high. I would just leave it alone next year in zone 8.

Roy

From what I've seen, if you have one plant that you protect the p-stem during the winter and the other plant you let die to the ground, the plant with the protected stem will be much taller and vibrant during the next season.

This probably is more of a factor in southern latitudes, since let's face it, in zone 5, you can't protect the p-stem.

nightrider, You can protect the stem and many do it in zone 5 or 6.

I am 30 min. South of Chicago and I do not understand why everyone try's to protect the stem on their basjoo's. I planted my 1 little plant in 2004 and at the end of every year I cut it even with the ground, layer some basjoo leaves on top of the mound and throw a bag of red mulch on top of that, in the spring I uncover it and it gets bigger and better every year.
{{gwi:405246}}

Some don't go along with this, but I really believe that if you can get the pseudostem to survive, the plants get taller. Consider that when they start growing in the spring, they start at maybe 5-6 feet high vs. ground level. One year my pseudostems survived and the plants grew over 15 feet tall. Also, if the fruiting part is at a point where it's beginning to grow up into the pseudostem and the pseudostem freezes, you will not have a flowering. And I think the flowers and miniature bananas are rather interesting.

Nice picture Zonepusher! I wish my patch looked as good as yours! But here in San Antonio the plants just cook all day in the 100+ temp. Not a whole lot of growth.

Nightrider767,

Have you tried an atomizer with a timer to mist threwout the day? Basjoos love water and I think the mister would keep it cooler with very low water consumption.
What do you other guys think?

I just need to move all my banana to shady locations. Normally it doesn't get that hot here till the end of summer.

COme to think of it, I'm going to fill an area around the side of my house, in the shade, with tropicals.

A mister.... that might just work in that confined area.

Thanks Zonepusher.

Zonepusher,

When do you winterwize? Is it a particular month (like mid-October) or other critical point or plant signs that help guide your decision?

And come spring, when do you decide to remove mulch? When night time temps are no less than 40F? When you plant cole crops, etc?

Your banana tree photo is wonderful, thanks for sharing!

thankyou Zonepusher!!! this thread was driving me insane, i live just north of detroit (zone 5) and do about the same thing each year. Did I say thank you??

Where I live, it got down to 11 degrees last winter. I have a Dwarf Cavendish in a very large pot. I suppose I will drag it into the house where I grow orchids and put it under a grow light.

Pzelko - how long have you been growing bananas in Michigan?
Are they always in the ground? I have 2 Musa Basjoo and they are only a foot tall right now - should I dig them up and bring indoors this winter? Please tell me more about growing them up north. Do you know anyone in the I94 area on the west side of the state who is growing them? I am in the snowbelt in the Kalamazoo area.

I'm Z6 and have 2 "groves" started from one plant in 2001. Main grove: cut the trunks as close to the ground as possible after the first hard freeze and cover them with the masses of leaves. Average height by end of season (October) is 15'
Secondary grove: I do nothing and it comes back every year.
Brother and father planted shoots from my plant in Z5 -going strong for 4 years now.

I saw someone on salt island Canada wrap his with bubble wrap, and he had one as high as 17 feet.

Right now my plans are to use C-9 lights inside a PVC frame warped in plastic then mulch around the base. The C9s are getting hard to find. I use to stock up during after Christmas sales.

I use the same technique to protect my citrus.

"Plants don't generate heat."

Is that true? In the winter when we have frosts or freezes, the tender plants that are under and around the base of trees live whereas the same plants out in the open do not. It seems that our live oak trees, maple trees, green ash trees, privets, etc. generate and hold a lot of heat. All the grass under our trees stays green; the rest turns brown. Possibly they don't generate heat but have a way of holding/maintaining it?

[A few minutes later...]
Ok, I had to go research it. Turns out, most plants do not generate heat but they do use forms of insulation to keep heat in. (There are a few exceptions, ie. a few plants that do generate heat - those are called thermogenic plants. The elephant ear is one of them.) See link below for a good explanation of how plants insulate themselves from cold.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: How Plants Survive The Cold (Or Not)

Carol that is a good link. My whole objective is to keep water from freezing. Insulating material alter an objects heat transfer characteristic both in and out. The idea is keep my banana plant warm enough that the water inside want freeze. I will do that by providing a volume of air around the plant that I can add heat to when needed using the C-9 lights.

To give you an idea, I used this same method to protect my huge Meyer Lemon tree when the temperature dropped o 18.5F here. The temperature inside of the tree was a cool 32F.
I think I can hold 35F on my banana plants on our coldest day.

It should be a nice challenge anyway win or lose. My blog has pictures if you go back several post.

Randy

Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Home Orchard

Im in Detroit area Michigan and have them now 3rd year in my back yard with few small windmill palm trees and one large they all love here in Michigan just a little protection for winter and a four yucca rostratas just covered to keep them dry for winter! They live Michigan! !!! Its great! My neighbors say Im nuts but they've seen the results!