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View Full Version : mekong giant, what's wrong?


nucci60
07-22-2012, 09:35 AM
Heard so much about MG. I got one late last summer and potted it up. Overwintered it inside. My problem is, I put it out potted in May and it has been as slow as molasses. It is healthy but oh so slow. I have been growing basjoo and ensete maurelii for years. Two 3inch Maureliis I potted up at the same time are now dwarfing the Mekong Giant. Pot is largee enough and soil was changed in spring.:waving:

sunfish
07-22-2012, 10:27 AM
Heard so much about MG. I got one late last summer and potted it up. Overwintered it inside. My problem is, I put it out potted in May and it has been as slow as molasses. It is healthy but oh so slow. I have been growing basjoo and ensete maurelii for years. Two 3inch Maureliis I potted up at the same time are now dwarfing the Mekong Giant. Pot is largee enough and soil was changed in spring.:waving:

They don't like hot weather ?

nucci60
07-22-2012, 06:07 PM
Tony, was that an answer or a question, LOL.

sunfish
07-22-2012, 06:13 PM
Tony, was that an answer or a question, LOL.

Question

Yug
07-22-2012, 11:54 PM
I like the 'schmoo'.

natej740
07-23-2012, 01:03 AM
I got one of of Sandy late spring and it was only 8-12 inches tall but just a few months later it's almost as tall as me...I think they like part sun and not full sun maybe that's your problem. I read somewhere they like shade with filtered sun...if I get some pups I'll try it out. Good luck on yours!

sandy0225
07-28-2012, 03:43 PM
They don't seem to like quite as much water as a basjoo either.

garymc
08-23-2012, 01:31 AM
Mekong Midget. I planted one last spring. It has grown about 4 inches. Of course with the drought and extreme heat this year, I've done well to keep it alive. I guess I didn't know where to plant it. I put it in an open area. Fortunately a bunch of castor beans volunteered around it, so it has some shade. But I haven't been able to give it the water it needs. My question is whether to leave it where it is for the winter and move it in the spring or dig it up and try to winter it in the basement. It's about knee high.
p.s. I grow schmoos too.

sandy0225
08-28-2012, 02:22 PM
You are in zone 7 and I"m in zone 5. Around here we have to be having some pretty good growth on the bananas to make them pull through winter. But since yours already made it through one winter, I'd probably just mulch it heavily as insurance and take better care of it next year. Of course, it's not too late to start taking better care of it THIS year, either.

JuniPerez
08-30-2012, 08:02 AM
The Mekong I got from Sandy has been growing in a partially shady spot at what seems to be a faster rate than my basjoos actually... mine are all inground though (clay with added peat & vermiculite)...

jimhardy
08-30-2012, 10:18 AM
Mine has done so,so in part shade,maybe 4' tall now but really speeding up now.

natej740
09-04-2012, 09:38 PM
Figured id share my picture in this thread instead of making a new thread with the same title. Sorry for hijacking your thread.

My Mekong giant's new leaves keep coming out deformed. I don't think I've over fertilized it because I give all my plants the same dose and no problems from any of them. Any idea what could be wrong?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/7933705604_6842673e12.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49188869@N06/7933705604/)
IMAG2285 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49188869@N06/7933705604/) by natej740 (http://www.flickr.com/people/49188869@N06/), on Flickr

Blake09
09-04-2012, 10:23 PM
Figured id share my picture in this thread instead of making a new thread with the same title. Sorry for hijacking your thread.

My Mekong giant's new leaves keep coming out deformed. I don't think I've over fertilized it because I give all my plants the same dose and no problems from any of them. Any idea what could be wrong?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/7933705604_6842673e12.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49188869@N06/7933705604/)
IMAG2285 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49188869@N06/7933705604/) by natej740 (http://www.flickr.com/people/49188869@N06/), on Flickr


It could be Caterpillars or bugs crawling in the cigar leaf eating it from inside out.

Insects That Eat Banana Leaves | Home Guides | SF Gate (http://homeguides.sfgate.com/insects-eat-banana-leaves-29406.html)





.

natej740
09-04-2012, 10:26 PM
No its growing that way. It's like the leaf isn't all the way developed.

jmoore
09-05-2012, 01:55 AM
Has it not got enough water? I've had leaves like that after the plant has suffered from drought. I think it's a calcium deficiency.

danb0102
09-12-2012, 09:33 AM
Hello, I have MG in zone 5 as well. This year they grew much slower than last. I didn't do anything different from last year. I'm blaming it on the heat. I get leaves like that as well. The leaf coming out is a common problem I have. I found that it is due to a calcium deficiency. Just add a little lawn lime next time you water and the problem will be solved.

sidpook
09-16-2012, 07:26 PM
When they curl up, do they fry up and not unfurl to their full extent or do they just look deformed without drying up on the edges? There is a reason I am asking his. The two worst heat waves we have had here in Jersey have deformed the leaves that were unfurling at that exact time. Both weeks produced deformed and dry cracky leaves.

stevelau1911
09-18-2012, 02:47 AM
I saw something similar to that during the drought earlier in the summer, but after it started raining in late July, all the new leaves looked good. My mekong giant plants are now just getting up above 6ft, and starting to make pups which are around 1ft away from the mother plant.

I expect them to grow another ft or so with the rest of the growing season. These guys might reach the 12ft mark by next year, and maybe 16ft the following year if it is as hardy as basjoo.


When I grew my Musa basjoo, they went from 5.5ft the 1st year, 11ft the 2nd year, and closing in on 14ft for this year even though I've been constantly dividing off all the pups.



I think bananas might top off at around the 20ft mark here in zone 6.

JuniPerez
09-18-2012, 11:27 AM
Hey Steve... I was visiting a company called McAlpin Industries here in Rochester, and right at the corner of Hollenbeck & Rialto Street there is a house with very tall bamboo shielding the yard from view. Thought it was pretty cool. I looked it up in Google Maps, but the street view shows the bamboo still small compared to what they're at now.

natej740
09-18-2012, 12:18 PM
Steve is that measurement to tip of leaf or pstem?

stevelau1911
09-18-2012, 12:45 PM
Hey Steve... I was visiting a company called McAlpin Industries here in Rochester, and right at the corner of Hollenbeck & Rialto Street there is a house with very tall bamboo shielding the yard from view. Thought it was pretty cool. I looked it up in Google Maps, but the street view shows the bamboo still small compared to what they're at now.

How tall and thick were the culms?


Nate, the getting near 14ft is the measurement at the leaf tip. If it was pstem, that would be awesome, but that might take another couple years.

stevelau1911
09-30-2012, 03:03 AM
I saw that there was literally a rip in the soil that leads directly to my mekong giant banana plant so I decided to dig to see what was happening under there.

I discovered a 1.5 inch rhizome about 2ft long so far running about 5 inches deep right from the mother plant. Given this type of performance already, I can see this banana producing 6ft long 3 inch diameter rhizomes that run rampantly eating up everything in its path in a few years. :woohoonaner:

pushak513
09-30-2012, 03:31 AM
this is what your in for...off a 9 year old plant

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n370/pushak513/mekongrhizome_zpsb4809f9a.jpg

JuniPerez
09-30-2012, 11:13 AM
Now, can these rhizomes be cut off and still produce a pup? or do they need to draw energy from momma?
I know that on some of my elephant ears I get these runners and I can cut them off and they'll still root and produce a pup.

stevelau1911
09-30-2012, 01:49 PM
It might be possible, but I think it is much safer to let the rhizome produce a pup, and then divide the whole thing.

One of the weakness I see with this rhizome is that it only appears to have the ability to produce 1 pup due to the lack of buds along the internodes. If one of these rhizomes gets damaged, it may not have the ability to regenerate.


This is a great banana to fill in large spaces.

sunfish
09-30-2012, 02:00 PM
<a href="http://s950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/musanamwah/?action=view&amp;current=002-42.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/musanamwah/002-42.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

pushak513
09-30-2012, 02:07 PM
It might be possible, but I think it is much safer to let the rhizome produce a pup, and then divide the whole thing.

One of the weakness I see with this rhizome is that it only appears to have the ability to produce 1 pup due to the lack of buds along the internodes. If one of these rhizomes gets damaged, it may not have the ability to regenerate.


This is a great banana to fill in large spaces.

Right..one pup per rhizome and let it pup like sunfish pic then remove the rhizome..with a chainsaw :ha:

JuniPerez
09-30-2012, 04:13 PM
Lol.. Chainsaw...
That's amazing... looks very strong, like it can break through concrete...

austinl01
09-30-2012, 07:41 PM
That's really an amazing picture. Are you sure it is not bamboo? Lol. Can the runners go through clay pretty well? I wonder if Mekong is actually an itinerant of some kind?

austinl01
09-30-2012, 07:42 PM
Sunfish, where is the mother plant? About 1 foot away or more?

stevelau1911
10-01-2012, 02:23 AM
Here's the picture and link to picture showing the running habit of itinerans. I wonder how this banana would work if it were used a a privacy screen. One question I have is if this was grown in zone 11 in lets say Hawaii, would it be capable of sending out 20ft 5 inch rhizomes?

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=6191&size=1

Coolest Types of Bananas? What are they? - Banana Forum - GardenWeb (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/banana/msg120954556601.html?16)

pushak513
10-01-2012, 07:29 AM
the furthest I have personally seen was about 6 feet. That was in clay/compost mix. that pictures I posted is from a plant about 15ft tall. the runner hit somthing and came above ground then went back down. we were looking for a lost veletina and I tripped over it LOL. they are very strong and go through the sides of plastic containers with ease. This is all in zone 6 so in a warmer climate I have no idea what they could do.

sunfish
10-01-2012, 08:13 AM
Sunfish, where is the mother plant? About 1 foot away or more?

About 2' away.

pushak513
10-05-2012, 08:37 PM
found a whole skid of these at this backwoods nursery near my house. looked like they had been forgotten about. Got a 4 ft plant for 15 bucks today. gunna go back and get a few more since no one even knows that there in there

the smaller ones are 2 months old from TC. the larger one is the one I picked up yesterday for 14.99. will make sure I go get a few more since the size is so nice

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n370/pushak513/001.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n370/pushak513/004.jpg

Nice purple stem on em

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n370/pushak513/003.jpg

stevelau1911
10-12-2012, 10:29 PM
Those look pretty good. Now the challenge is to get it through the winter. I would suggest putting it by a south facing window with supplemental light from at least a 400 watt metal halide to keep the corms strong.


Here is the entire documentation of my mekong giant banana plants for the entire year.
Steve's garden: Progress of the musa mekong giant "itinerans" (http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/2012/10/progress-of-musa-mekong-giant-itinerans.html#more)

pushak513
10-13-2012, 02:23 AM
they look like they came along nice steve. Mine are still outside, only brought in on the nights frost was projected. once the temps even out and stay cool I have a grow closet for my other tropicals they will go in. once there out next year there staying out no time for sissy plants that claim to be "hardy" you make it or you don't just the way I roll :ha: we will see what next years growth does.

JDE222
10-13-2012, 05:01 PM
Mine tends to burn in afternoon sun in western ky. I have it in a 22" pot in morning to early afternoon sun. I water mine profusely with a tray underneath it to hold overflow. It is 7 ft tall (including pot) and about the same width. Fertilized with a general purpose mix 2 or 3 times over the summer.

pushak513
10-13-2012, 05:10 PM
Mine tends to burn in afternoon sun in western ky. I have it in a 22" pot in morning to early afternoon sun. I water mine profusely with a tray underneath it to hold overflow. It is 7 ft tall (including pot) and about the same width. Fertilized with a general purpose mix 2 or 3 times over the summer.

havent had any problem with leaf burn on them. next year there going on the ground in a semi shaded spot anyway.where are you at in western KY, I had an unwanted/unplanned vacation there awhile back.

JDE222
10-16-2012, 07:26 PM
Henderson, KY...right across the river from Evansville, IN. I like it.

pushak513
10-17-2012, 06:59 AM
Henderson, KY...right across the river from Evansville, IN. I like it.

Been there, wouldn't say I would go back but glad you like it. :ha:

troutarm
12-05-2012, 11:59 AM
I purchased 2 Mekong Giants this past spring from Plants Delights. They were very healthy when I received them and planted them. I planted them in the same area as my Musa Basjoo, which grow like weeds (20 feet tall this year). The Mekong Giant's put out about 4 leaves the entire summer and never reached over 2 feet tall. They still looked very healthy but they just grew VERY slow. I kept them fertilized and watered but they just wouldn't grow like my Basjoos. I will see if they take off next spring.

pushak513
12-05-2012, 06:27 PM
it seems the TC plants do take a little while to get going. once they get to about 2 feet they take off like a rocket. some of my small TC's are still that..small but once they hit that 2 ft mark there monsters.

bigdog
01-19-2013, 07:21 PM
I think it could just be a puny tc plant. Sometimes you get one that languishes for a long time before it ever does anything. Remember, they basically have no corm when they are tissue cultured.

jimhardy
01-19-2013, 08:42 PM
Looking forward to next year with mine-did o.k. in it's first year,in spite of the drought...

Omaha_Banana
03-12-2013, 12:53 PM
I bought one, planted it in the shade, and it grew maybe 4 inches (one leaf). The drought didn't help at all :P I dug it up and brought it inside for the winter. It has doubled in size, so it's probably a foot and a half tall now, but really scrawny looking. I will plant it in a sunnier area this year and pray for rain this summer.

sandy0225
03-13-2013, 07:45 AM
I've found that mekongs just grow really slow when they're little. Once they get to be a couple of feet, they seem much better. I struggled with my tc's I got in this last year, they got spider mites really bad in late spring, and I had trouble with them not wanting to grow. They like a lot less water then basjoo when they are small. And less fertilizer. I think that's why they grow slow when they're little.

floridagrower
03-15-2013, 05:57 PM
It handles the heat fine here. It throws down some mean roots. Those running pix are accurate.

garymc
04-18-2013, 01:41 AM
I put mulch and a plastic barrel over mine for the winter. It died down to the ground under the mulch. It was only a little above knee high by the end of the summer last year, so I'll be mildly surprised to see it come back.

troutarm
04-21-2013, 07:02 PM
My Mekong Giant is coming back out this spring. I bought it and planted it last spring and it didn't seem to grow much last summer, only 2 feet max. Hopefully it will take off this summer, I will have to wait and see. I will let you know how it does.

garymc
04-22-2013, 02:21 AM
Well...I'm mildly surprised. It's about ankle high.

troutarm
05-14-2013, 11:28 AM
My Mekong Giants are coming back but growing slow like they did last year. My Basjoo are already about 7 feet tall and the Mekong Giants are about 8 inches. This is year 2 of having them and if they don't take off this year then I will just give up on them.