They grow it at Mohonk Mountain House, but of course bring it in for the winter. I know people outside Philadelphia who have had it for several years. I'd like to find out how it has come through the last few winters, and just how cold they got. My guess is somewhere around 5.

Thanks for the respons Mad.
I have been told it is hardy here and can remain in the ground as long as it is mulched.There used to be someone on this forum that had it but I haven't seen him post in awhile and I am not sure if he was in z5.
I keep saying I want to check out the gardens at the Mohonk Mountain House....now I have another reason to get there.
Enjoy gardening in this beautiful weather.Kareen

Here is a link that might be useful: Our pond and gardens

Kareen,
The person who has the musa basjoo lives in Buffalo. He moved here from Delaware I think or somewhere there abouts. He hasn't posted in quite a while so I don't know if he is still with us or not. I have read that it is hardy to zone 6 also. I have a friend who is in a suburb of Philly and she is zone 6 but warmer than we are here sometimes as much as 10 degrees.

Penny

Hellow fellow WNY gardeners-
I just discovered this forum! I usually am on Aroids or trees. I have Musa basjoo planted by my basment foundation that faces SW. I planted it during the summer of 2004, it survived as I have good drainage and I mulch it with leaves and it' s own remains!
It grows very good here in Hamburg!
HTH - Gerry aka krazyaroider

Hi and welcome Gerry,
It is nice to see a new name on the upstate NY forum. Don't be a stranger.

Penny

Oooh - outside banana?? I can hardly believe it. I bought one last year, but brought it inside for the winter. I'm afraid to leave it outside, but would love to hear how yours fares this winter. I have never heard of anyone in this area keeping it outside, so it's good to hear from you.

Wow! It's hard to believe its been almost a year since I started this thread , thanks to all who responded and welcome to the new folks. I did purchase one last year and planted it outside near the pond hoping for a microclimate situation. I will let you know if it made it . Kareen

Hi Kareen,

Please let us know, I received 1 in a trade last year, I would love to plant it outside, but I don't want it to die on me, I just mentioned this plant to my neighbor down the road, that I know has microw climates in her back yard, I was thinking of planting it at her house, I sure hope yours makes it, that will give me enough hope to keep mine at home...

I live near Fulton and have been researching large leafed plants. The Musa Basjoo is fine in this area with plenty of mulch. I've seen photos but not tried it yet. I just found one at a greenhouse in Auburn. I'll be planting it this year. I'll post pics next year but that's an awful long time to wait!!

PS. I'm new to the forum so Hi everyone. Does anyone know how to post pictures? I have a gunnera plant I bought almost a week ago. It GROWS BY THE DAY! It was maybe an inch tall and you should see it now!

Hello All - I just purchased one as well and can't wait to see it grow. I'm not sure where I am going to put it yet. I have one spot that would be south facing and protected from the wind, but it doesn't drain the best. Does anyone know if it will tolerate moist soils?

GPL - I would love a gunnera plant, but I thought they were only hardy to zone 7? What are your plans for it?

Giant,
You have to have a host site to post PICS here, I use Picturetrail, I am not sure how many you can host for free on the site?

So, How about them Bananas, I kept mine in the basement, got chicken when I did not see any one from zone 5 having real good luck.
Think I will stick to my DL's:)
{{gwi:1324245}}

Looking forward to current updates on the musa basjoo. It may be something I would like to try here in Niagara county.

Penny

I totally forgot about this post ....thanks for bumping it up . The plant did not make it thru the winter ....my fault..we were in the process of moving out of the house to remodel and I didn't mulch it. I may try it again though now that we are back home and I can get my focus back on the gardens. Kareen

I've been overwintering mine in the house since I did not get it planted last summer. It's almost 5' tall now, so I hope it doesn't get too much bigger before I can plant it outside in June.

I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject and it seems it needs at least 3' of mulch all around the crown to survive. I think I need to rethink where I am going to plant it, because with that much mulch, it may invite voles and mice to build a nest in it and I don't want them near the house.

Howdy Folks;
I am lurking your board since my hubby is considering a job offer in the Rochester area. Musa Basjoo will grow in quite cold areas. We have a professor here in the area (Dr. David Franko, Miami, OH), who researches growing tropical plants in cold climates. He has a great book "Palms Won't Grow Here: and other myths". Anyhow, I tried growing Basjoo twice without overwinter success. I went to a talk by Dr. Franko and asked him about it. Here are some tips he gave me. The key is a good root structure, with good drainage. They are killed more often by rot than cold. So, plant them as soon as you can after your frost date. Once the plants have a good root base, cold should not kill them. Plant them on a bit of a hill or ensure good drainage. This was my problem. I had nothing but rotted stumps in the spring. If you are still worried about them in the fall, build a cage around them that you fill with leaves and protect from moisture with plastic. Once they are well established you may not have to do this. Check out the "tropicalesque" (sp) board. Lot's of people are growing them there. I hope to put a few in this spring, provided we are not moving to Rochester :). Good luck.

Welcome to this forum Bananasinohio,
Thanks for the tips....makes me want to get one asap. Kareen

Hello~

Musa basjoo grows well here in Hamburg. It is in a well drained area by my South facing basement wall. I am going to divide it and move it as I have a Celeste Tennessee Mountain Fig on order and it is going where the bananas are now.
~ Gerry

Hi,
My basjoo has been in the ground for 4 years now. Give some thought to how it is positioned in the garden. If it's planted in a spot in front of a south facing wall with decent drainage, it has a very good chance in zone 5.
In the spring, don't be in a hurry to call it dead. The first year it overwintered, I thought it was dead, the roots seemed to be gone. I was digging up the spot to plant something else, and I almost destroyed a live offshoot.
Good luck, they're fun to grow!

Thanks Jerry and Starina,
That is promising info. Kareen

Resurrecting this thread, Well, I'm doing it this year, I'm getting a few Musa Basjoo, so I will have a few to try outside, I found out the one I got in a trade is NOT Musa Basjoo, so I'm so glad I chickened out & never planted it outside here,

Thanks for all the tips that have been added
{{gwi:1301834}}