My musa basjoo are about three years old now. They made tiny bananas for the first time this year, They are about two inches long.

The plants themselves are amazing, they've gotten to 15+ feet tall for the last few years by the end of summer.

I love them!

Mine are yr 2 for the green Musas. They are now about 8-9 ft, but no fruiting for me. The Ensete is now about 5 ft tall, approx. As I already posted in another post, you can probably grow the fruiting bananas you KNOW you can eat in a giant pot and take indoors to ripen, if it gets too cold before they are ready. If you have a protection source, sunroom, small greenhouse, sunny window. They grow them at a giant greenhouse in Pittsburgh. Only a few though. Phipps conservatory is wherte I saw them with fruit. I wish I cold build a greenhouse like that.

Actually I do have a dwarf musa cavendish that I have planted in the ground next to my musa basjoos. I bought the cavendish last year and kept it indoors all winter.
I still haven't decided whether to dig it up in late fall or to try to protect it in the ground.

Crispy, you are lucky, being zone 8. I bet you could get some nanners before you get the worst of winter in your area. If I didn't have a family, and land (home) here in Pa I would try out Georgia or some other zone 7 or 8 area.

The nanners I got on some of my basjoos this year turned yellow so I opened some up.
Strange looking on the inside- like three tubes of clear stuff like jello and some little spots (undeveloped seeds?)

I like it here where I am, there is a nice mix of things I can grow, while not having to endure too much in weather extremes.

You are lucky Crispy. I love my yard and all my trees in it, but you do have more possibilities in zone 8. I have actually found a live oak hybrid that can and has stood the temps in zone 6, so far, so I am less jealous as long as they can stand zone 6. They are more hardy than the usual zone 7-8 Quercus Virginiana Live oaks, of the Old South. If I never had success of growing 3 or 4 of these from spring 2012 to summer 2013, I would have to admit ultra jealousness to any zone 8 people onb here.

I do like it here in 8- its not too cold, and not too hot.
I've lived in zone 9 and higher from time to time, but the intense heat in the summer and lack of distinct seasons is not enjoyable to me.

I have got to visit Florida (mainland and the Keys) There's a lot to be said for warm winters, but, I think if I could get a giant heated greenhouse, that would help me a lot! I need to play the lottery and hit the jackpot, then I can have my giant conservatory. It would cure the winter blues. Sorry for rambling, I have a decent place to over-winter some houseplants and tropical. A south-facing basement door, that is clear-window on top. I can also store a marginally hardy windmill palm. Maybe I the greenhouse un til the worst of winter.

This is some of mine in their third year. How deep are yours planted?
Chris

Chrisware- not sure who you were asking, but mine are planted right up to the base of the pseudostems , with the rootballs underground. In the winter I pile some leaves up around the base of my banana plantings and that is about all.

When I first got them, in late fall I built tee-pees or tents out of plastic sheeting and bamboo poles, and filled the bottom half with leaves. Then I realized how ridiculously hardy they are and the last few years I've protected them less and less.

Chrisware and Crispy mine were shallowly planted I guess, even with the topsoil. Mine are thickly in a grove, with 1 Musa on the side and an Ensete on the right. The Ensete is purple and zone 8 hardy. I am glad you're zone 5 and they are okay chrisware, unless your's never overwintered yet. I have a friend in zone 5 that wants a division of Musa. Here's mine. My dog for scale he's as big as a Saint Bernard, he's a Newfoundland/ Labrador mix.

Sorry chrisware, your's HAVE overwintered (3 years) I missed it at first.

The (purple) Ensete on the right is not likely to come back I have about 1% hope of the Ensete coming back.

I had an ensete maurelii survive outside, unprotected, two years ago in 7a virginia. Gave me a false sense of security. Last year I didn't bring in any of my nanners or ees. The basjoo is of course coming back, but I've seen no signs of life from anything else.

I have 3 Musa Basjoo coming up. One is already about 3 ft up, the others not too much shorter. No sign of the En sete, no shock to me of course. I have brought out my Bird of Paradise and Hibiscus from the basement, and some houseplants. The Bird O.p. is more of a big deal than the Hibiscus, even though it is a zone 8 plant. I can get hardy Hibiscus that look just as nice. And I likely will.

Gastone or any others, any life yet?

Gastone or anyone reading. The last winter was a real B*t*h. So I would guess there have been some losses. The Musa's are fine though. I have seen a post from zone 6 Chicago, that Ensetes in styro boxes can be left in the ground, who knew?

yes, last winter here in z8 was quite b*itchy too, certainly not like in z6, but more so than many years.

I lost a dwarf cavendish I left in the ground, but all four of my musa basjoo mats came back like the winter was nothing to them.

I did have 2 windmill palms and 2 butia palms loose their spears, which has never happened before, but as of last month, all 4 had new spears starting to peek out.

I just bought a dwarf Orinoco recently to experiment with, those are supposed to be about as cold hardy a banana available that can produce edible fruit.

Crispy, this is Poaky1 from Pa zone 6 (western pa). You have described your hometown/neighborhood as being not too cold and not too hot. What state are you in? And what area in that state are you in? You need not get too personal, but, for example North eastern North Carolina. Or south eastern South carolina. A general direction ya know? If it is a nice big area even mentioning the county you are in, or as mentioned above a state and which corner of the state. I may never move, but, even a vacation spot with those qualities would be great. Well, if you are too far from Pa I may never get to visit, but, I am thinking you are in North or south carolina, which isn't too far from Pa. Well, whatever share your location if you don't mind. Poaky1

Poaky1,
I live in North East Georgia (Rabun County), right at the junction of North & South Carolina and Tennessee.
As for "not too cold" we did get down to about 9F and some teens here and there last Winter, much colder than recent years.
I actually work across the border in NC, about 30 miles more North. It's pretty interesting how the temperatures will be 5-10F colder pretty consistently in the Winter just this much further North.
The motto of the county I live in is "Where Spring spends the Summer", because the weather is generally free of too many extremes.

You are probably a zone 7 on the USDA chart for winter hardiness zones. My mom and I want to see the state of Georgia. I saw it in a "drive by" kinda way enroute to Florida a couple years ago. My friends woke me up so I could see the Live oaks with moss on them all down the street we were driving down. I would love to get to visit Georgia, or even South Carolina. It sounds like you are in the more "country" part of Georgia. That would be great to see also. Well, If I ever had lots of money to just go where I wanted to, I would love to see all the east coast southern states, maybe even the Gulf coast states. I have seen enough of Florida already. I did love the town of Webster Fla. I just loved the "country-ness" of it. Lots of pastures of livestock, and old Live oaks for the cattle and horses to go under, a great fleamarket too. But, it is (like most of Florida) in a big sinkhole area, no thanks on that. I loved key West, but, it is expensive to find a home there, unless you decide to be a well....Hobo of sorts, not judging them, but, there are lots of homeless people there who get food from (guessing) nice folks who buy them a meal. Some have bikes, a couple have 3 wheeled little carts, and carry all their belongings on these carts. It is pretty interesting. I think a couple are veterans of the US armed forces, be they army, Navy, air force, or Marines. They get cared for somehow by nice people. I love Key West as a vacation spot, but it is a party place, and I am no Partier, lol. Poaky1

Crispy, I see above you say zone 7b-8a. Sorry I guessed you wre zone 7a because of the 9F low you mentioned, but, I understand that that is not as low as you usually get. the last couple winters we have been getting below what we have for several winters, and so it is not really what your area usually gets. Poaky1

I was wondering if anyone in zone 6 or7 has had their Musa Basjoo's taking forever to come up out of the soil? I usually can see mine up out of the soil by now, but they aren't up yet. I just now have had leaves coming onto my Evergreen Magnolia, Magnolia Grandiflora. So the southern natives may be late this year. Last winter was a real DEVIL. I am also getting Calla Lillies just now coming up in my up against the house raised bed. I am shocked that these (zone8) callas are coming up. Well, anyhoo, Is anyone else waiting for their Musa Basjoos to come up yet? In zone 5-6. I am 6 . Poaky1

I divided and moved my basjoos last year. Unfortunately it was probably in July when I did so. They didn't immediately take to their new environment. Completely unprotected and maybe just a slight low spot on an extremely flat site. One clump just broke ground here in zone 7a VA and the other has shown no sign of life. I did bring in an ensete and a clump of Siam Rubys. The ensete is doing fine and the Siam Ruby, though the 3 main stalks didn't make the transition back into the ground, were divided and replanted. As of yesterday I had no less than 7 new Siam Rubys coming in. I'm down on my normal planting. I just overwintered the nanners and a few Thai Giant ees. They are coming back fine. Only one brugmansia was brought in and I didn't pay it enough attention over the winter. It doesn't look like it will make it. The plumerias that I started from seed about 4 seasons ago are doing fine (one even flowered last year), and the 2 fatsia japonicas that I started from seed at the same time are doing well. They are both flowering as of this spring.

I wish that my raised bed where the Calla Lillies are coming up, was in full sum for my Calla lillies and Ensete Bananas to overwinter here in zone 6 Pa as the Calla lillies have. But, Callas are shade lovers. Poaky1

Update, 2 years later. My Musa basjoo didn't come up spring 2016, so now in spring of 2017, I bought another musa Basjoo. I also bought an Ensete purple banana again, and will be moving it inside for the winter. There are many videos showing how to move the Ensetes indoors for the winter. You chop of the leaves above, maybe keeping 1 leaf, then dig it up and overwinter in the dark, in a pot or 5 gallon bucket, really, like arctic tropic does in one of the posts on this forum. My plant is only about a foot tall now, but by next fall I'm hoping it will be huge. As for my Musa Basjoo, in winter I will mulch it, and cover it overhead, because I think that winter moisture did in the 1 that died in the winter of 2015-2016, maybe it was not mulched good enough. I didn't remulch it that winter. I have heard that cold and wet can do it in, so next coming winter I better get on the ball, and protect everything the proper way.

Besides all I've said above, anyone have any updates about their plants? I'de love to see any updates or nice plants someone has, pictures would be great.

Upate on mine: All my Musa Basjoos are doing well, they come back every year. I didn't do anything to them last fall, just let the cold knock them over. A month or so ago I cut off the top of the dead stems to the point where there was live green inside, and they've grown back from there.
For the last three years or so I've had one basjoo flower and set tiny fruit each year. One started to show a flower bud a week or so ago here.
Generally about three or four of my stems reach 10-15 feet tall by the end of summer, and some are already half that size this Spring, it was a very mild winter, so I might break my personal record this year.
Still trying to get some Musa Sikkimensis to grow, planted one last week that I started. I've attached a link to my Fall 2016 video of my tropicalesque garden.