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Cold Tolerance of Ornamental Bananas?

18 years ago

I was wondering if anyone had any experiences regarding the cold tolerance of the ornamental flowering bananas (ornatas, velutina, mannii, beccarii, etc.) that they would be willing to share? Up to now I have kept them in pots in the greenhouse over the winter with good results. I would like to plant some of them in the ground and was wondering what I might expect. Will they come back next spring? Will they bloom before the cold comes again next fall, etc.?

Many Thanks!

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Comments (3)

lac1361
18 years ago
I'm in southwest Louisiana about 35 miles from the Gulf. Zone 9a but on the line with 8b. All of the Ornatas are in the ground. Cold hardy and bloom each year. Beccarii, in the ground, cold hardy, blooms each year. Coccinea, in the ground, cold hardy, blooms each year. Ae Ae, in the ground, cold hardy to at least 24 (last years low). New growth from the main pseudostem after the freeze and 3 pups this year. Don't have the others.

Steve
fglavin
18 years ago
All of those are at least zone 8a hardy, some down to zone 7a. I'm in a zone 7a, and have all of those species listed. This is the first year for ornamentals, except musella lasiocarpa (which is rock-solid hardy here). I'll be protecting them for their first year in the ground with leaf mulch and plastic. Next year I'll test the larger corms for true hardiness.
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Stan, Sorry for this late answer. The trouble with our region is a long wet winter. For a banana a bit of cold is no problem but the amount of water is the trouble here. Most of the plants are killed by too much water or a fungus because of wet conditions. I moved from the coldest region in Holland to a warmer region. (7b to 8a USDA) But because of gardenweb doesn't recognise a dutch zip-code, I cannot change my profile any more. About your question: I have the "normal" bananas for a colder region: basjoo, sikkimensis, velutina, itinerans, ensete's, Musella Lasiocarpa etc. And some fruiting species: Dwarf Orinoco, Namwah, Manzano, French Horn, FHIA 23 and 25 and a Grand Naine. The last 3 I overwinter inside my house. I lost a FHIA 18, Pitogo ans a Zan Moreno due to a grey mold this winter. The Namwah and Dwarf Orinoco are the strongest here to survive, if you dig them up and store away at ca 5-10 degrees C. Simon
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Comparing my Sumatrana with my Raja Puri, both purchased about the same time and about the same size, the Sumatrana does has a relatively thinner p-stem and seems to grow slightly slower. That said, I took a closer look at the picture on the link I gave and it looks like that particular picture actually has 2 plants in there, making it look even fuller. I'm sure that particular plant was raised in some ideal situation such as a greenhouse too which would keep the leaves in better condition. If you want you can try to Google for more info and pictures. This banana goes by a ton of different names: Musa Sumatrana / Zebrina / Rojo / Blood Banana / Bloodleaf banana Also check out this link. There is a picture in here of someone's actual banana, showing the p-stem looking much slimmer: http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Sumatrana_Zebrina_%28Rojo%29 Here is a link that might be useful: Musa Sumatrana
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Musa Uranoscopus, aka, Musa Coccinea, Musa Beccarii, any of the Musa Ornatas, Musa Siamensis, Musella Lasiocarpa, Ensete Maurelii, Musa Zebrina, Musa Mannii, Musa Velutina. All of these would love the heat and humidity of the Houston/Galveston area and are rated at least cold hardy to Zone 9, some to Zone 8. I am growing many of the above in the ground. I am in the same zone as you, but in southwest coastal Louisiana. Steve
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Mine have been potted up on the patio and have been put in the garage when it goes under 40. They have been out in the low 40's and survived ok. They do drop leaves in the winter, and are currently bare naked on the bottom stems and have lots of leaves on top. I think the varieties are banana, mamey, and the other common broad leaf one with red, grn, and yellow leaves from home depot (dont know the name -sorry). fawnridge, I didnt know that about the acidic soil. Thanks for posting that info. I really do love crotons and plan on getting more :) I have very alkaline water here so would it be okay to use an acidic fertilizer on crotons to balance it out? Or would it be better to repot with say rose or african violet potting soil or something else acidic? ~SJN
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gatrops
Original Author
18 years ago
Steve & fglavin- Thanks for the great info. That is what I thought to be the case but feel much better hearing it from people who know from experience.

Steve- I was wondering how early in the year your ornatas, beccarii and coccinea bloom after coming back from the ground in the spring?

Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

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