Overwintering Musa Basjoo

Ginny Barker

I would really appreciate any advice or tips on how to care for my lovely Musa over the winter. It is in a pot so I can move it to the garage. However, what I dont know is if I need to remove the leaves & wrap in fleece or just leave it as it is. I live in Yorkshire so it can get pretty chilly. 

Fairygirl

Hi @Ginny Barker - they generally just need to be frost free, but garages tend to be damp and have inadequate light, so they aren't usually ideal. A porch is good if you have one. 
Many people just shift them into a greenhouse or polytunnel without any attention, but if you don't have that, you may need to bring it inside the house, with or without the foliage, depending on what room you have. 
I doubt you'd be able to leave it outside, even with lots of fleece etc, in your location. 

I'll tag @Hostafan1 as he may be able to advise. 

Ginny Barker

Thank you Fairygirl, that is really helpful. I don't have a greenhouse or polytunnel sadly so it looks like I look forward to any suggestions from Hostafan1

thevictorian

Frost free is the most important thing in my experience, you might loose the leaves but the roots can take a few degrees under 0c . I've had mine over ten years and it's in a pot. When it was young I used to bring it in the conservatory and then the greenhouse but it's by far taller than the roof for both now and I don't have the heart to just hack it back. Last year it stayed outside wrapped in fleece and an old plastic greenhouse cover.
Plenty of people leave them outside with a wire cage stuffed with bracken, fleece or similar to provide protection. 

When mine was in the greenhouse/conservatory it remained green the whole time but it didn't actually start growing until spring because it's dormant. This is why you can get away with a dark place over the winter but then you run into the tricky problem of cooler nights in spring when it does need the light. 

Ginny Barker

Thank you, that is helpful. So do you think the garage (which has a large window) will be ok? 

thevictorian

The garage should be fine. Musa need a little different care to the ensete which can be dried out and stored like a dahlia, so will need to be kept moist but not wet during the winter (overly wet is probably worse than cold as they rot off). The leaves may die off if there isn't enough light but this isn't a problem because in lots of the uk they will survive outside with a little protection. These outside plants might have the top growth killed off by the cold but will resprout from the base. 
We really keep ours indoors so we can maintain the height.

Ginny Barker

I am really grateful for you taking the time to help me out here. Hopefully I can get it right and enjoy watching it grow again next Spring. Thank you again.

Fairygirl

Glad you've got some help @Ginny Barker. Good luck with it