Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Other plants we have or landscape elements like ponds.

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stevelau1911
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by stevelau1911 »

Both of mine are in the ground, but I have a couple of pups that a couple of neighbors with greenhouses are keeping so it wouldn't have mattered if mine ended up rotting away completely as I could get a division right back to start all over.

Both of mine definitely look alive, but I am finding that the pseudo-stem doesn't seem quite as hardy as musa basjoo. It can still handle taking a few degrees below freezing, and with good protection, it is still possible to protect the pseudo-stem.

The problem is that if they run very far, it will get a lot harder to protect all of them as opposed to musa basjoo which is a clumping banana.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by canadianplant »

Well, if they run past the protection, let them spread lol. If not the cold would keep them in check I think..
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

My main pseudostem is finally gaining steam, the core is definately rising and it looks like there is healthy tissue under there. :cheers:
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

I decided to wash and cut out as much mushy rotten stuff as I could get at. I hope thats okay? It sure looks alot better!
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

Finally can see some life in the core.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by stevelau1911 »

Here's a blog back from 2012 on the musa basjoos.
http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/2 ... -2012.html

It looks like at this time of the year, the banana corms are much bigger than they were last year however if we have an overall colder season, I don't think they will make it back up to 14ft. The progress is way too slow so if I want to increase their size, I might have to solarize the soil around the plants once the last frost is over, and maybe add some manure around them.

Here's the progress this year.
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Last year: These guys really took off fast from this point on last year, but that might not happen with the cool start this year.
Image

Musa Mekong giant still hasn't pushed at all yet, but the soil is still under 40F so I can't expect much progress until May.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

Steve,

I think your basjoos are going to get HUGE this year! I wonder if you'll get blooms this summer?

Mekong giant is still growing glacially slow here, barely changed from the last picture I posted, while basjoo (and musella lasiocarpa) is putting out it's second leaf. Mekong giant needs warmer temps to grow faster I think.

I got all my bananas in march 2012 as small pups in 4" pots. I remember Mekong giant grew slower until the summer heat kicked in, and it then quickly caught up and passed my basjoos in size by the end of the season. I'm thinking that wont happen this year since basjoo overwintered better.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by stevelau1911 »

The musa basjoos really haven't been growing as it has cooled down, but they were bought back in the spring of 2010 as little 2 inch plug plants. They went from 6ft the first year to 11ft the 2nd year and up to 14ft last year so if they keep progressing, they could flower. Is flowering caused by size, or is it the age of the corm?

It's good to hear that mekong giant can take off at warmer temperatures. Mine really haven't moved, but I shouldn't expect much if the soil temperature is still at 37F.


My gunnera manicata inside the wall o water has started to send out its first leaf. This plant seems to love cool weather, and likes to stay damp.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

stevelau1911 wrote:My gunnera manicata inside the wall o water has started to send out its first leaf. This plant seems to love cool weather, and likes to stay damp.
Gunnera is doing fantastic here, it loves our cool damp climate most of the year. I have noticed some big patches around locally. I have to keep a close eye on mine in summer if it heats up and the humidity plummets, it can get very droopy without constant watering. If it gets too hot/dry the leaves start scorching around the edges even with watering. I moved mine from full sun to part shade to prevent leaf scorch, that helped alot.

G. Manicata has been leafing out faster than my G. Tinctoria this year. My Tinctoria is a year older and has a crown 3x the size of the other gunneras though 8) , Hoping it'll bloom this year and for a leaf 6' wide.

Sorry i'm veering a bit off topic!
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stevelau1911
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by stevelau1911 »

I just ordered a couple gunnera tinctoria plants off eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gunnera-Tinctor ... 51ab930c37

Hopefully they are at least as good as their picture shows them to be. I used to have a gunnera manicata that produced leaves up to 34 inches in diameter however I did end up splitting it, selling the bigger portion away to a local gardener, and I am left with the remnants which are still fairly small now.

At least it looks healthy and should get back to a decent size this year.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

Mekong baby is enjoying the greenhouse heat.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by johnw »

stevelau1911 wrote:I just ordered a couple gunnera tinctoria plants off eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gunnera-Tinctor ... 51ab930c37
Those seedlings are very nice. I hope he sells them all before the steam gets turned on in Louisiana, those tinctorias will melt away faster than an ice cube in Mt. Etna.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

My gunnera tinctoria is going to bloom this year! Exciting!
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by stevelau1911 »

I received my gunnera tinctorias yesterday, and they look very healthy, but they are seedlings so it will take some time for them to put on size as their corm is pretty much non-existent. The gunnera manicata is still moving pretty slow because the soil is still around 46F, not really warm enough to make most plants take off.

My mekong giants may be dead as I stll haven't seen any signs of life from them while the musa basjoos nearly have their first leaf out.

I've also had my ensete maurelii bananas out for 3 days so far. I didn't see any leaf burn from the full sun however both the plants appear to be bending their leaves downwards as if they wanted to catch more sunlight. They were pretty root bound in their 1/3 gallon pots which may have delayed their growth, but I'm expecting larger leaves to start getting produced in another week.
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Re: Musa mekong giant running banana plant

Post by JWH »

Hopefully its just the cool soil keeping your mekongs dormant Steve.

Mine is still growing slowly. It picked up a bit with the warm days we had last week, then pretty much stopped as it cooled back down. Warm weather comes back starting tomorrow until next monday, possibly longer if the long range forecasts are accurate.

I'm thinking about trying musa sikkimensis 'bengal tiger'. I had a cavendish banana last summer with reddish black blotches on the leaves that I really liked, it turned to mush after a light frost.
http://www.floridahillnursery.com/banan ... tree-p-457
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