Musa basjoo

ocimum_nate · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:14 pm

I tried this one outside this year. It seemed to do well I was hoping it would get bigger but it did pretty good. Anyhow anyone know any secrets to keeping this through the winter outside?

foxd · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:48 pm

I don't know any secrets, but I'm tempted to try a Musa basjoo myself. Would you be willing to trade a small Musa for a Monkey Pod Tree? Perhaps a Surinam Cherry Tree? I have a Purple Double Queen Datura seedling that would look spectacular in your garden next year. Admittedly an annual in our climates, but kept inside it will grow very large for next year. I could be persuaded to part with it for a Musa and start more seeds for next year.

There are also some Paw Paw Trees growing here that I could offer, but it would be better to dig them early in the Spring so they are more likely to survive transplanting. Then again, I may have some more potted Paw Paw seedlings I could offer instead.

bepah · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:55 pm

The banana nuts live at a site www.bananas.org

There is a ton of stuff regarding overwintering bananas, including 'Basjoo'.

Someone will have your information, or you can post a request.

Good luck!

boonut · **Posted:** Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:01 am

I think you are supposed to cut them off and put hay over the stumps and they come back next year.

boonut · **Posted:** Sat Oct 04, 2008 1:18 pm

One of my all time favorite places to get bananas and information is: http://www.banana-tree.com/

Back in the early 1990's, I had over 21 varieties of banana. I really enjoyed getting corms in and seeing how they grew. Probably the best banana for fruit I ever had was a clone from a plantation in California. It only grew about 6 feet tall, but it had bananas in the shortest time and had the biggest bunches... I always ended up using bamboo and lumber to keep the bananas off the ground. I gave away bananas by the sack.

One of the best looking bananas was the "aie aie green".... I don't remember exactly how to spell it, but it is variegated. It had quite a few shades of greens, greys, and whites. Absolutely stunning, but it didn't pup out very often, and one day the person that was helping me with the beds killed it. It was supposed to be a Hawaiian banana that only royalty could possess. Some day, I will find that one again.

Here is a list of what I have currently:

Musa Sikkimensis, Musa Kru, Musa Laciocarpa, MUSA X sikkimensis "Daj Giant", and a couple from my old collection. When I moved to a new home in 1999, I left most of my collection at the old house. Most of these you can get from the "Banana Tree".

bepah · **Posted:** Sat Oct 04, 2008 4:06 pm

I think the banana you are referring to is the Ae Ae banana.

They are tough to come by and very expensive as well. It is reported that they are a little more sensitive to culture (more acidity than normal, less sunlight). So I guess your helper may have not known it was meant for royalty only.

Too bad. It grows to 18-20 feet and, from what I understand, the bananas are also camoflage in color. They are also supposed to taste pretty good as well.

Ny favorit is the Blue Java (Ice Cream) banana, with a hint of flavor of vanilla ice cream.

Good luck in your search!

boonut · **Posted:** Sat Oct 04, 2008 6:34 pm

I think you are right... it was AE AE Green. Mine actually had bananas and they were the same colors. Very cool...

gardenmonkey · **Posted:** Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:06 am

I just got 2 plants I will be trying out this year so I dont have any actual experience. But I have been doing a lot of reading on that very subject and have found that many people agree that the best way is to cut off the leaves in fall, pile 10" or so of mulch/bark around the roots, and cover the plant including the stem/trunk with a frost blanket (aka horticultural fleece). I have read that by cutting the stem off or letting it completely die it may not get as big next season. I plan on trying the frost blanket method this next winter for mine. I am looking forward to see how these basjoo bananas do in my yard. The pictures of them sure look cool.

ocimum_nate · **Posted:** Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:57 am

My stems died all the way to the ground dispite a 3ft diameter cage packed full of leaves. On the up side though I notice a pup starting to emerge today. I hope it survives and grows well.

ocimum_nate · **Posted:** Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:28 am

My pup is now about 4" tall. I put a wall o water on it to accelerate it's grown.

gardenmonkey · **Posted:** Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:44 am

Mine are not looking so good as of now april 22nd. I have one about 2 and 1/2 feet high and one about 5" high. Both are brown and looking rough. We just had the first nice week of weather so hopefuly they will wake up soon. sheesh I am so impatient for my plants to come alive with growth. It seems like we had the longest winter ever.

Steve in France · **Posted:** Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:16 pm

One tip is when you plant a Basjoo is to make as wide and as deep an area posible and fill it with organic mulch and manure. Basjoo slows down in terms of growth when the deep organic mulch is used up. This can take a few years, top mulching will help but the deep root mulch is the key. Here in Maryland people tend to do what you did and pile on the leaves to two or three feet and let the Basjoo come back in the Spring , they still get to between 12 and 18 ft in a season. I grew Basjoo in my garden near Paris France and it would get to 10 to 12 ft even with the cooler Summers we have there. In mild conditions it's possible to protect the stems through the Winter, even in cold spots it can be done. Jos VDP the Bamboo man protects Basjoo with a system of pallets turned on there side and screwed together to make a box. I guess they are four or five foot pallets and he stacks them two high to make a tower of 8 to 10 ft. Then the tower is filled with straw, and a top cover of rainproof material is use to keep the whole thing dry. Seems like a lot of work but it works, it's the only way to keep stems long enough for them to flower.
Hope this helps
Steve

shuboo · **Posted:** Mon Apr 27, 2009 12:43 am

[quote="bepah"]I think the banana you are referring to is the Ae Ae banana.

They are tough to come by and very expensive as well. It is reported that they are a little more sensitive to culture (more acidity than normal, less sunlight). So I guess your helper may have not known it was meant for royalty only.

Too bad. It grows to 18-20 feet and, from what I understand, the bananas are also camoflage in color. They are also supposed to taste pretty good as well.

I was bidding on an Ae Ae musa yesterday on ebay. Once the price past $100.00 i was out. They usually end around $180.00 +/-. Pretty pricey for a musa. Beautiful though.

foxd · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 6:42 pm

Last Friday we drove through Oxford, OH and checked out Miami University looking for palms and bananas that had survived the Winter. To make a long story short, we found them growing on campus along with three species of bamboo. I suspect that one of the bananas I saw is the legendary Hcunz Tvnag. GPS coordinates are available for a price.

Since we were in the area, we swung down past Jungle Jim's which had Musa Bajoo, Fargesia rufa and Phyllostachys bissetii for $39.95 a pot. (IIRC)

Also seen on the trip were bamboo kiosks, WWII Enigma machines, flooded roads and a statue of a man flailing a couple of small bears around.

And we have given up on IHOP.

ocimum_nate · **Posted:** Wed May 20, 2009 11:52 am

Foxd,
I agree the last few times I have been to IHOP I have left thinking why do we come here.
Are you still looking for a division of Musa Basjoo?
Let me know $40 seems a bit high for a Basjoo considering that mine even precloseout was I think about $15

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