Tandarra Red /maurelii Wintering

[fieldfest]

Bought a Tandarra red from ebay, its currently about 1ft tall, hoping to put it out in a west facing garden, maybe 10ft from my house come spring (isle of wight) I already have a maurelli which is currently being wintered in my dads lounge (way too big for my lounge) but i understand that the tandarra red is hardy enough to survive a winter if mulched /established. what are your experiences?

The blurb here says it is definatly a different species to maurelii:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0621679092

Further Blurb:This banana is relatively rare in the UK so this is a great chance to add to your collection or start growing these amazingly colourful and fast growing plants. A beautiful and fast growing member of the Ensete ventricosum family, the 'Tandarra Red' has deeper reds and greens than the more common Maurelii. Musa Tandarra is very beautiful with stunning foliage and can get very large if grown in the garden - if you don't want it to grow too big, just keep it in a large pot. Plant in full sun or dappled shade and keep it well watered with regular feeding.It's not winter hardy but it can be moved indoors to protect from frost or you can grow it on through the winter months under glass. When established it becomes more hardy and just needs fleecing or protection from frost. Alternatively, cut the trunk back to soil level and keep outside with roots dry and protected from frost to trigger new and vigorous growth the following year

Also assuming that the maurelii always has to be brought indoors, if i were to cut all the roots/mud off and dry store it out of a pot, would it survive the winter in the loft with no light?

[Dave Brown]

Hi fieldfest, and welcome

There is debate over whether Tandarra Red is actually Maurelli or not, but if not it is very similar, as is Montbeliardii and Hiniba. None of the Ensete ventricosum tribe are really hardy outside in the UK as our temps are too cold for growth, and it does not do cold and wet, and there is no way we can dry the soil out enough to keep it happy.

Unless you have a place indoors next to a bright window keeping it going over winter does not work that well, as warmth without light = leggy. Alternatively, it can be kept cool and dry and will become dormant, then it has no problem with being in the dark. We have found that keeping it upright is best.

I dig my Maurelii and Montbeliardii out , cut the roots off and stored dry over winter.

see HERE for how it was done over winter 2009/10

[Yorkshire Kris]

I got a "tandarra" last year as a 6 inch plug. It grow really strongly and probably grew to about 6 foot by October. It has now been stored along with my 5 year old maurelii and one year old 'Montbeliardii'. I checked on these three yesterday as I keep them totally dry and totally in the dark. The 'Montbeliardii' and maurelii are doing fine. The Tandarra is going very soft so probably wont make it. Whether this is because its a different type of banana (and less hardy) or because it wasn't dried properly before storage I couldn't tell you.

To me its just another strain of maurelii that grows very strongly.

[The Codfather]

where have you stored yours Kris and what lows have you had ?

[Yorkshire Kris]

They are stored under the stairs of my house but they can only be accessed from outside. Not sure of temps but definitely no lower than 5 degrees. Probably between 8-16. I have stored maurelii in the same place for the last 4 winters and never had a problem with them Here is a pic from Dec 2009

[Dave Brown]

Probably between 8-16. I have stored maurelii in the same place for the last 4 winters and never had a problem with them Here is a pic from Dec 2009

Yes, but December 2010 was like no other winter month in the last 40 years

[Yorkshire Kris]

True Dave, but the plants are indoor in my house. My halls/stairs never gets anywhere near freezing. On the other side of the internal wall in the photo I just posted there is a radiator about two foot away. The thermostat is set to 18degrees in my house at night and although the hall is the coldest room it probably only goes down to around 12 degrees and the storage space probably only a few degrees colder than that.

[musa_monkey]

I have grown Maurelli and Tandarra red side by side over the years with the Tandarra red obtained from several sources and both plants look identical to me.

Hence i would treat it the same and overwinter under cover after trimming roots and drying out.

[mushtaq86]

Tandarra red and ensete maurelii are the same plant.

[countrylover]

Can't wait to see the results of this experiment http://www.bananenhobby.de/dm-Maurellii.htm

[derrick]

Are be trying that next year thats some insulation Country .

[Nathan]

I had Ensete maurelii survive outside (protected) here for a few years, before being killed by last winter. If the winters get back to normal i'd say you could chance overwintering one in ground on the island, just wrap it up (well) if temps of below 0C are forecast...

[Andy Martin]

I actually prefer growing Ensete than Musa... they have a gracefulness about them. I have standard Ventricosum, Maurelli and Montbelliardi. Here are mine in pots in my unheated shed...
Montbelliardi on the right, Maurelli on left

And of course standard Ventricosum...

Ive just got some seeds of Ensete Glaucum and Superbum but Ive heard these are a little more difficult to grow that the others??
I put mine in with old roots in a dryish John inness No3. They will not be watered again until warm outside. Last year I tempted my Maurelli with water and it soon rotted at the base even though it was starting to grow.

[Yorkshire Kris]

Ive just got some seeds of Ensete Glaucum and Superbum but Ive heard these are a little more difficult to grow that the others??

I think it's Ensete Glaucum that's in Thompson's and Morgans latest seed catalogue is hardy and possibly the hardiest banana!!!

Any do you overwinter the plain green version in the same way as maurelii? I thought it needs to remain growing rather than kept dry?

[sanatic1234]

Where about's can i buy a Montbelliardi from? i would love one of these especially after seeing Dave Browns monster!