Holy enormous banana leaf Bananaman

Musa basjoos are most hardy but I also grow Musa sikkimensis amoungst them as they are all well protected together. I lost my first Musa sikkimensis when I still protected them individually with flue liners. Ensetes are moved out in May from the house till about October when I bring them back in again. :D

 

It is so sad that after all the love and attention you give them, they flower their hearts out, then die........


... on a more cheery note, you say you have yours in gravel, BM. Is that mixed with anything special, do you have a "secret" mix??? I managed to traverse the building site last night to check on my babies, and they are looking really happy....

 

Hi MF

Ensete glaucum

This species is thinly distributed over a wide range in Asia from north-eastern India, Burma, Thailand, through southern China to the Philippines, New Guinea and Java. Although mainly tropical to sub-tropical in distribution, the occurrence of E. glaucum at high altitude in Yunnan does seem to indicate the cold tolerance of at least some forms of this species. Ensete glaucum seed has only been available commercially since 2000 so no-one has any great experience with this plant yet. It may be that the most cold-hardy provenance is not yet available (see Ensete wilsonii).

Ensete glaucum is potentially a very large plant indeed. The pseudostem grows to 5 m and is blue-green, glaucous with wax, and conical rather than distinctly swollen at the base. The great blue-green leaves grow to 2 m long and 50 cm wide. Although it is extremely unlikely to reach its full potential under UK conditions, inside or out, it should prove to be a spectacular foliage plant. Ensete glaucum quickly forms a distinct, glaucous green conical trunk and this would seem to make it quite suitable for the type of in situ overwintering treatments used successfully for Musa basjoo. Some experimentation with this species is required and if you do not want to risk it in the ground grow it in as large a container as you can manage.

Ensete glaucum 'Vudu vudu'

This is a clone of Ensete glaucum from the island of New Britain off Papua New Guinea. Plants of Ensete glaucum from the same region were previously called Ensete calospermum. This plant is from a distinctly tropical climate and so it is probably not very hardy but could probably stand outside in the summer in a lightly shaded spot.

Mostly I grow ensete in pots as I had no luck overwintering them beyond April as it warmed up and then cooled again. They can suffer from the 'strangles' which is where the leaf dries to a point where it can't open and mostly proves fatal in growth as it rots. The mix is my ususal compost, chick pellets minibark and grit.

They are easy to move in and out initially but eventually they get too huge at which point I have a go at overwinterig them outside and then replace the following year with a new one if i fail.

You are a clever dude getting them to germinate I believe it is pretty hard to do because you have to get moisture in to a seed that resembles a ball bearing only twice as hard! You will have to give me your secret. In terms of growing them on just keep doing what your doing, but if my experience with lush seedlings like cannas is anything to go on, don't grow them too quickly as stocky plants are preferable to lanky ones. So lay off the heat if growing too quick. :D

 

Hi HBee, they grow in the gravel path straight into the soil around them is enough space to sucker before the landscaping membrane for the path. The gravel is 20mm shingle cause cats don't tend to poo on gravel this size but other than that it is just acting as a deep dressing which I can part and fill with Chicken pellets when necessary. :D Glad your babies are doing well, and yes it is very sad that a plant you look after for so long just to get it to do the very thing that kills it, bonkers as that sounds!

 

Musa sikkimensis bring a bit of colour interest to a grove of basjoos.

 

I've got a sikkimiensis I grew from seed, unfortunatly it doesn't have the red marking yours has banana man.
Mine just has a reddish back to the leaf.
Incidentally its very slow to get going this year, my basjoos are away no problem but the sikky looks sick. :(

 

They do grow slower in my opinion, and they struggle to cope if overwintered outside as a stem. Because mine are overwintered in a bananahouse i always leave the leaves on and they cope much better. The strain I have of sikki was selected by KobaKoba at seed for the markings. I will post some more pictures later on in the year as the leaves are yet to get their summer rythmn.

 

Mine came good last year, it was later than basjoo starting, but once it got going it overtook the basjoo.
Its just that I think by now last year it was really moving but at the moment no new leaves, but the stem is green.

 

Beautifull bananas, beautiful monkey and what a beautiful, lush garden too.

 

:D

I bet you can grow some stonking palms and bananas in Italy.