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nealnick5 · 11-01-2017, 05:56 PM

Hello all, this is my first post. My name is Nick and I live in Virginia. I am crazy about most plants but the Musa basjoo is what got me into banana plants in the first place. I discovered how cold hardy they were and decided I had to have one. I bought 2 4" potted basjoos online but that was not enough for me. I then bought 2 large ones for $45 apiece from a nursery and later 6 medium sized ones for $100 total. My good friend at another nursery gave me over 150 (not even exaggerating) and it's safe to say I finally have enough. I also have 1 zebrina and a dwarf cavendish that grew a ton this summer. And I also received a musa aeae in the mail today as well.

I recently discovered Musa ingens (as I must have the tallest of everything from the Mexican Cardon cactus to the Coastal Redwood). Unfortunately, they are essentially unattainable and supposedly will not live outside of Papau New Guinea's climate. So, I did some research and settled for the next best thing, the Musa Itinerans var Gigantea, growing up to 40ft in height and being surprisingly cold hardy.

After eons of searching Google, I narrowed the results down to seriously only 2 websites that sell seeds and only 1 site that sells live versions. After researching some more, I decided the live plant option was out, since they were simply selling the basic Musa Itinerans and passing it off as the Gigantea (according to a Bananas.com thread. So I settled with the seeds (what option did I have left?) I tried seedman.com after investigating and feeling they were trustworthy, and ordered 15 for $17.

I received them in the mail today and am soaking them in water for 24 hours. Only 2 are floating (which generally means a seed is not viable), so that's good. I have prepared a moist (not soggy) glass jar full of soil for them and as soon as they finish soaking, I'll put them in, close the lid to seal in the moisture, and wait. I will keep you all updated if I do or do not make any progress. Wish me luck!

11-01-2017, 05:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
nealnick5 Nick Location: Weems, VA Find me on the map! Zone: 7b Name: Nick Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 161 BananaBucks : 57,190 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 336 Times Was Thanked 372 Times in 107 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Musa Itinerans var. Gigantea Hello all, this is my first post. My name is Nick and I live in Virginia. I am crazy about most plants but the Musa basjoo is what got me into banana plants in the first place. I discovered how cold hardy they were and decided I had to have one. I bought 2 4" potted basjoos online but that was not enough for me. I then bought 2 large ones for $45 apiece from a nursery and later 6 medium sized ones for $100 total. My good friend at another nursery gave me over 150 (not even exaggerating) and it's safe to say I finally have enough. I also have 1 zebrina and a dwarf cavendish that grew a ton this summer. And I also received a musa aeae in the mail today as well. I recently discovered Musa ingens (as I must have the tallest of everything from the Mexican Cardon cactus to the Coastal Redwood). Unfortunately, they are essentially unattainable and supposedly will not live outside of Papau New Guinea's climate. So, I did some research and settled for the next best thing, the Musa Itinerans var Gigantea, growing up to 40ft in height and being surprisingly cold hardy. After eons of searching Google, I narrowed the results down to seriously only 2 websites that sell seeds and only 1 site that sells live versions. After researching some more, I decided the live plant option was out, since they were simply selling the basic Musa Itinerans and passing it off as the Gigantea (according to a Bananas.com thread. So I settled with the seeds (what option did I have left?) I tried seedman.com after investigating and feeling they were trustworthy, and ordered 15 for $17. I received them in the mail today and am soaking them in water for 24 hours. Only 2 are floating (which generally means a seed is not viable), so that's good. I have prepared a moist (not soggy) glass jar full of soil for them and as soon as they finish soaking, I'll put them in, close the lid to seal in the moisture, and wait. I will keep you all updated if I do or do not make any progress. Wish me luck! __________________ Growing: Ensete ventricosum 'maurelli', Musa balbisiana 'Thai Black', bordelon, basjoo, Dwarf Cavendish, Dwarf Orinoco, itinerans var. itinerans, lasiocarpa, orinoco (tall), saba, sikkimensis 'Red Tiger', TaNee, zebrina, VDN (green), 1000 fingers, praying hands, ornata purple, veluntina, french red, super dwarf cavendish, dwarf iholena, red iholena, balbisiana (yellow), kru, mananzo, zebrina var. gran nain.