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Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:16 pm
by The Codfather
Yep, I would settle for 20c all summer long.....
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:33 pm
by Conifers
The Codfather wrote:Yep, I would settle for 20c all summer long.....
So would I . . . but a Banana wouldn't, which is why they won't do well up here. Particularly as the summer average here is actually closer to 16 or 17 than 20.
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:14 pm
by musa_monkey
Dave Brown wrote:Alan, I lost my Helen's Hybrid to ground level down here in the winter 2008/9 but came back to about 4 feet in summer 2009. Winter 2009/10 killed it outright, so may be a bit of a gamble in NE.
Palm Lad, I said about your lack of summer as that is what most people up there say. A 20C summer day here is cool, but I have heard some in NE refer to those temps as "a scorcher".
Dave, I think they are all a gamble. Basjoo the least but it will look scrappy in the winds. my HH lasted 3 seasons until i did something daft with it
but it definitely resisted wind shredding more than the others i tried. Worth a try at least, maybe sikki gigantea and Mekong Giant will offer some hope but its early days for those yet.
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 7:56 pm
by mumfie
they are so cheap you might as well get one and shove it in the ground in spring. some of us get carried away with protection once they get big enough to call a specimen, but you don't have to if you aren't bothered about it cutting back to the ground.
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:06 pm
by palm lad
well thanks for the replies everyone!
and yeah, i would protect it if i had to to keep it alive but as long as they will grow back the following spring and grow tall thats absolutely fine with me!
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:07 pm
by palm lad
** by cutting down to ground level i mean
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:00 pm
by mumfie
the frost will turn the plant to mush down to the soil, but the roots will survive. the following year tiny pups will grow, but at a slightly faster rate due to more roots. this cycle will repeat year after year. each year, the emerging nanas will seem to grow stronger. it's at that point you protect the stems to get a really tall plant the year after.
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:33 pm
by palm lad
oh okay
so is that applying to basjoo or siki?
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:58 pm
by GREVILLE
Go for basjoo, PL, the sikki is a little less hardy.
A sheltered warm spot is best if you have it in as rich a soil as you can give it. The stem is easy to insulate against freezes and should you get it through to a second year,regular feeding and watering with warm water should see it take off.
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:19 pm
by Conifers
GREVILLE wrote:A sheltered warm spot
What's that?
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:40 pm
by GREVILLE
You won't know if you don't have it
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:51 pm
by Conifers
GREVILLE wrote:You won't know if you don't have it
No such thing in the northeast . . . therefore, We Have No Bananas!
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:23 am
by MikeC
Conifers wrote:GREVILLE wrote:A sheltered warm spot
What's that?
Ask mumfie
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... =1&t=12390
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 2:10 pm
by Conifers
Darlington isn't coastal, so it gets hotter summers (but also colder winters) and some shelter
Re: which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:37 pm
by Darlo Mark
I have grown bananas fine up here. Darlington can be up to 5 degrees warmer than Northumberland on a typical summers day. But you have cordylines where we have none
May, June and September 20 degrees would be a good day, but I think that would only be average in July and August. True we don't get that hot and not many days over 25 degrees (I'd say about 5 this year ( 1 in October!)But things do grow nicely and on my clay soil plants can romp away in summer.