which banana would be suitable for the north east coast?

[The Codfather]

Yep, I would settle for 20c all summer long.....

[Conifers]

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.

[musa_monkey]

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.

[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.

[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!

[palm lad]

** by cutting down to ground level i mean

[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.

[palm lad]

oh okay so is that applying to basjoo or siki?

[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.

[Conifers]

A sheltered warm spot

What's that?

[GREVILLE]

You won't know if you don't have it

[Conifers]

You won't know if you don't have it

No such thing in the northeast . . . therefore, We Have No Bananas!

[MikeC]

A sheltered warm spot

What's that?

Ask mumfie

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... =1&t=12390

[Conifers]

A sheltered warm spot

What's that?

Ask mumfie

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... =1&t=12390

Darlington isn't coastal, so it gets hotter summers (but also colder winters) and some shelter

[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.