Musa Basjoo not suckering?

[clevelandtropicsmaybe]

I have a 6 foot (2 meter) tall Musa Basjoo that I planted back in May. Everything on it looks healthy, except that it hasn't produced any suckers. Is this normal and how long is this supposed to take? Will the banana make it through the quickly approaching Ohio winter if it doesn't sucker? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Chester B]

It will sucker next year, most of the ones I've transplanted need a year in the ground before they think about expanding.  They only die after they flower, so as long as you give it some good protection it should return for you next year.

[Merlyn]

I planted a tiny Basjoo tissue culture last December, it was about 10" tall at the time of planting.  I figured it would be fine in FL winters, and it did okay.  It grew to about 6' tall in around April-May before suddenly sprouting 4-6 offsets.  Now it's a pretty big cluster that I'm thinking of separating out.  I'd guess it'll take more than 3 months for it to root in and develop suckers.

For winter protection, I know that some people growing marginal bananas in the South like to dig up the corms and put them in pots in a garage.  Depending on your temperatures and how hardy Basjoo is, that might not be necessary.  In freezes here in Orlando most bananas can just be cut about 6" above ground and mulched, and they'll regrow in the spring.  There are some good YouTube videos about guys working with Ensete Maurelii and how they protected them from frost and/or dug and replanted them as needed.

[Trent]

Basjoo is one of the cold hardiest (6b) but if I was you and since it's the first season in ground I would definitely cut to the ground and mulch 6" or so over it for winter protection, also because you're at the edge of it's growing zone. From my experience with other cold hardy bananas they never suckered the first year and spent most of the winter expanding underground then in the spring I had a grove of them. Started with 3 of the typical bare root ones from the local nursery and next season had 20+, they became so thick in a single year here in DFW I had to thin them to maintain irrigation because they were blocking my sprinklers.

 

[clevelandtropicsmaybe]

Thanks for all the responses! Maybe I’ll have a forest next year then. Will a large pile of leaves work as mulch or should I keep them drier with leaves and a tarp?