Musa Sikkimensis, not very hardy but certainly resilient...

[cordyman]

2012 I kept it in the shed with insulation around the stem, it died, and a pup regrew as big as original in one season.

2013 I kept it in the unheated greenhouse with quite a few fleece bags. x2 potted Musa Basjoo sailed through, the sikki died again.

Was about to bin it as no sign of life whatsover, when noticed this today,..

[B19bst]

O dear I have just bought one. Saw they are ment too be as hardy as the basjoo. Was going to plant mine up and straw it over winter with the basjoo's.

Good job you never got rid.

[GREVILLE]

I hung on to my corm of the 'Bengal Tiger' version when there appeared to be a firm 'eye' on it. Gave up on it last week when what remained went completely soft. Plus I bought a replacement corm a couple of months ago which is motoring away.

My potted standard version has continued to decline and now I''ll wait for a new pup after seeing yours, Cordy. Strange how the planted out one survived with minimal protection.

[Alexander]

On a Dutch forum someone in the center of the country, Almere, has allready 4 years Musa Helens in the garden. Well it looks more like M. sikkimensis Bengal Tiger, it has red stripes on the leaves. In the winter it gets protected with it own leaves. So it shows that its possible to grow it outside provided you get a very warm spot to grow it.
Almere is in a part of the country where it got - 20 C in one of those recent cold winters. So in the UK it should be easier with the average milder winters.

Alexander

[Somerset77]

With my two Sikkis that I overwinter outside I use the cage straw method and had success. This is now their second season and both have pupped well.
I basically wrap them so that there is approximately half a foot of straw between the stems and the outside and wether this makes a difference I put a plastic sheet over the top and about a foot down the side, and had no rot atall. I also double layer the fleece.
With about 6inch of manure as a mulch.
I will be doing the same this winter too.
I've done the above with my Basjoos for the last two winters and again have had no problems with only about an inch of mush to cut off each time.
They are sited in the middle of the garden with no 'extra' protection from fences etc.

[Dave Brown]

Sikki seems to be very variable, and as can be seed grown we can end up with poles apart. Some say they are as hardy as basjoo, but my experience is.... even if protected you lose the pseudostem, and in some winters you lose the hole corm.

I had Helen's Hybrid dies to ground level but reshoot after winter 2007/8, but the whole plant died in winter 2008/9. Helen's keeps the stripes on the leaves, where as sikki Reg Tiger loses them when larger.

I have both sikki Red Tiger and Helen's Hybrid in tubs, and overwintered in a frost free poly. I'll take a couple of pics later.

[B19bst]

Pics dave.

[flounder]

I lost both my sikkis last winter. They certainly don't like being treated like a basjoo in my garden

[Kristen]

Sikki seems to be very variable, and as can be seed grown we can end up with poles apart.

Someone made a suggestion in another thread to grow Sikkis from seed every year - until the overwintering ones don't die, then you will have found a hardier strain

[Yorkshire Kris]

You can treat them as biennials. Sow one year, overwinter when small then plant out second year.

[Mr List]

just out of curiosity why can basjoo not be grown from seed?

i'd give anything for a sikki that was 100% as reliable as basjoo here

I think I read that sikki is more susceptible to cold with wet than basjoo so clay soil here does not help at all.

[Leigh]

I've been abusing or should that be trailing some Red Tiger's in pots with no protection here and at my Dads plaice in Gosport for the past couple of Winters and apart from having to chop back the top couple of inches in the spring they seem to be coping ok, just waiting for some Basjoo's to finish there flowering thing to give me some space to plant mine

[Somerset77]

Here's my pics of my two Sikki's both on the right hand side (Basjoo to the left).
As mentioned earlier these all get wrapped together in one big cage.
This is the second season in situ for this whole grove.

[Kristen]

just out of curiosity why can basjoo not be grown from seed?

I presume either sterile, or doesn't come true from seed.

[Conifers]

just out of curiosity why can basjoo not be grown from seed?

I presume either sterile, or doesn't come true from seed.

More likely, UK summers aren't hot and wet enough for the seeds to mature. Give it 4-5 months of 30°+ steam sauna like it gets in its native region, and it'll produce mature bananas.