greatshillelagh

So, I was at Lowes, a couple of days ago to pick up some dirt, and I was browsing the plants. I found this pot in with the hostas, no marker, no price tag, nothing. I asked several employees, and not one of them had the foggiest idea of what it was, other than "It was with the hostas, it must be a hosta of some kind, probably."

... It's not any kind of hosta I've ever laid eyes on.

I know what I THINK it is, but I know there other plants that kinda look like this, as well, so I'm not completely certain.

I'm not asking for help identifying a type of banana here, folks. I am a complete newbie, and I am asking for help confirming that it's a banana period that I've got, or if it's probably something else.



Can anyone confirm?

Please don't be scared to disappoint me. The cashier only charged me a dollar, because it couldn't be ID'd by anyone and it looked ragged and had no price. Whatever it is, if it just lives period and survives the transplant I did into a larger pot once I got home, I'll be happy.

Gabe15

It is a banana, and I can go one further and tell you what it is. It is Musa basjoo, a common cold hardy ornamental (in that it does not produce edible fruit) wild species.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

greatshillelagh

Thank you!

Just hoping it comes back from the condition it's in and does well. Hopefully, this will be decent enough practice for if I do eventually get ahold of an edible variety.

smeash

Just curious Gabe. what gave it away as a basjoo? I know its hard to ID plants prior to fruiting, let alone a small one like this. Your knowledge is impressive! Thanks for all you contribute to the forum and new folks like myself!

edwmax

It should recover. The plant is already stressed and over watered. Just make sure the new pot is very well drained and let the soil dry out between watering. .... The corm & pstem stores water, so don't worry about the soil being dry for a day or so.

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greatshillelagh

I've got it in a much larger pot than what it was in, to give the roots some room to stretch and breathe, all my large pots have holes drilled in the bottom if they weren't simply cracked for drainage with a hammer and screwdriver.

I tend to let the rain do my plant watering for me unless the summer heat completely dries them out. I don't feel like that should happen much, if at all, now that summer's almost over, but stranger things have happened.

I feel like the store employees having no idea is probably a huge part of the issue, here, but I can't be angry, because I know their job is to sell the plants, not know about them. Just kind of wish the stores would at least give their employees a bit more than "This is your routine, stick to it no matter what." to work with.

But at least that leaf is still growing out and starting to try to open up. As long as that keeps happening, I'm hopeful.

Gabe15

ID'ing plants is 50% context and 50% actually looking at it. This plant was a random unknown banana sold at a Lowe's store (presumably in the US), that alone narrows it down to about 5 or less likely candidates, of which M. basjoo is one. And then actually looking at the plant, it's pretty much all green (no standout red or black markings or otherwise), and you can see prominent winged petioles that curl out along the pseudostem. That pretty much rules out any of the other common suspects you may also find at a store like Lowes. Those physical traits could potentially match some other cultivars and wild species, but none of them would be sold at a hardware store as a random unknown plant in the US.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

greatshillelagh

Yep, I'm in the US. Extreme northwest corner of Pennsylvania about a mile from or two from Lake Erie, if we want to be exact.

I was really surprised to find ANY kind of banana here, and I wasn't even aware that there were cold-hardy plants that could work out with a little work and planning to keep them going, which is a big part of why I thought there was a chance it may not even be a banana I was looking at.

smeash

Makes sense.. Thanks!

Yug

Were the ridges / ribs in the leaf-blade that were coming off the midrib any indicator, or are those also present in other nanners, and I just didn't notice them before?