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Charlie Pridham[_2_] · 15-09-2013, 10:08 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening

"Janet" wrote in message
t...
In article ,
says...

On Sat, 14 Sep 2013 18:16:09 +0100, Janet wrote:

Has anyone managed to over-winter this outdoors? I have just acquired
one (couldn't resist end of season sale knockdown price) and am torn
between which way to gamble with its life :-) , either plant it deep in
sheltered sunny spot, cut it back, give the crown max protection, and
cross fingers; or, dry it off and replant next year.

Janet (Isle of Arran, mild winters)

I once toyed with the idea of having one here, but the four-metre long
leaves would be torn to shreds by the wind, even if I managed to get
it through the winter.

A bungalow near here, further inland and more wind-sheltered than us,
had two in large urn-type planters, either side of the front door, a
couple of years ago. They were kept well wrapped during the winter,
but they're not there any more. The last two winters have been quite
cold by local standards and I assume they've perished.

They had at least one on Tresco when we were last there, several years
ago, and may still have, but whether they protect them in the winter I
don't know. The one I saw was quite shaded and overhung by taller
shrubs/trees, so may have been protected from radiation frosts.

Rob Senior* says about EV: "Thurston (1930) recorded Musa ensete
(Ensete ventricosum) at Rosehill (Fox Rosehill), Trewidden, and Morrab
Gardens, Penzance. Plants of this species thrive at Abbotsbury, Dorset
and in several Cornish gardens. Mulching and fleece wrapping help them
through most winters". And "The dramatic purple-red form of the
Abyssinian banana, Ensete ventricosum - E.v. maurelii or E.v.rubra -
grows at equally high altitudes in East Africa, including the
Transvaal. It looks tender, perhaps rewards 'fleecing', and being
tolerant of some shade would benefit from a radiation frost-protective
canopy, but has persisted for several growers in Cornwall. Glendurgan
has a fine example, as do Tremenheere, Ludgvan, and Avalon, Marazion".

In 'The New Cornish Garden'**, Miles and Rowe say that EV is less
hardy than Musa basjoo, and "in all but the warmest Cornish gardens,
ensete should be container-grown or, if planted, be containerised for
winter, kept frost free, and planted again in May".

I guess Miles and Rowe's advice would be the way to go at first.

*In 'Gardening on the Edge', chapter 10, 'Some Uncommon, Untried or
Tender Plants'. Editor Philip McMillan Browse, pub. Alison Hodge,
2004.

Many thanks Chris. Now I am tempted by the shade canopy frost
protection as have just the spot.
I should have bought several :-)

Janet.
I had one which overwintered fine the first time as a young plant, kept
green all winter above freezing, but the next year as a bigger plant it just
rotted when I tried to do it again, I think perhaps the difference was the
second time it was in a much bigger pot and the compost didn't dry between
waterings. People I know dig and dry theirs

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk