Musa Laterita & velutina experience anyone?

[eddie]

Went for a walk in our university botanical garden today.

Outside were Musa Laterita & Velutina. Didn't know they are hardy here. Does anyone have any experience overwintering these outside?

[grub]

I've left both of those out before Eddie (unintentionally, just too lazy again ), they never made it.

[DaveP]

Musa velutina is occasionally winter hardy in the extreme south where frosts are usually light and infrequent. It needs plenty of heat to resume growth if it becomes dormant and so rarely does much until mid-summer if left outside. Musa laterita is almost as cool tolerant, but more demanding of summer heat to resume growth after winter dormancy. I've grown and overwintered both successfully in the garden, but that was during virtually frost-free winters around the turn of the century. Even then, they were very slow to get going again after most of the top growth had died back.

Both species fare much better if overwintered several degrees above freezing in a frost-free greenhouse. They will happily exist and flower in large pots or tubs so that keeping them 'ticking over' during the colder months is much less of a problem than the large species of Musa and Ensete. A winter minimum of 5C will enable all of the top growth to remain and generate enough energy for new growth to commence once the weak N. European spring gets under way. HTH.

[eddie]

Thanks for the answers. Maybe the faculty left them in the ground as an experiment, don't know. They say Musa species are one of their specialties, with some very nice plants in their greenhouse.

[Dave Brown]

As my Musa was identified as NOT being Musa latarita, I have move the posts HERE