cactus6103

I just picked this banana plant up from a local garden shop and was told it is a Basjoo from the owner. I already had a Basjoo so I thought, that is all green. This banana plant is green with these darker red or wine spots on the upper side of the leaf and almost solid dark red or wine on the under side of the leaf and stalk. Can someone identify this banana plant and tell me its name and hardiness? It looks like "dwarf cavendish" or "young blood zebrina" from searching web sites. I am a zone 7b just outside Charlotte NC. and want to know if it will survive my winter. Thank you so much for any help. Red

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Family, Friends and Bananas

JoeS475

Hi Red,

Its a musa acuminata 'zebrina', also known as blood leaf banana, musa rojo and other names too.

It will not be anywhere near as hardy as basjoo. My zebrina has been down to temperatures in the high 30's with no bad effects, but I wouldn't want to go lower than that. It will need to be brought indoors over the winter.

Good luck,

~Joe

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MediaHound

I would echo that but the chances are very slim you could have a Bordelon which is similar to the Zebrina.
If I had to pick one I would guess Zebrina as they're way more common than the Bordelon.

http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Bordelon

http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Sumatrana_Zebrina_(Rojo)

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STEELVIPER

Looks like a zebrina. But one thing i notice is that some of the leaves blotching is very light. or none at all! i know that over time zebrina leafs lose there blotching,but it takes time. Could it be lack of sunlight? Could it be a "red"? By the way Jarred, the corm you sent me is exploding with growth!! I'm averaging about 1.5 leafs a week!!

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MediaHound

Glad to hear it's exploding with growth!
A pic is worth a thousand words, got one handy?

They can take full sun, and I've also noticed that the splotches of reddish purple go away as the pseudostem matures, even in full sun.

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Lagniappe

I heard that M .zebrina likes a good bit of shade and coloration is directly proportionate . Mine got more color as they grew and started out all green .

The few that I have left are in full sun and seem to have plenty of color to the contrary . They are growing very slowly though .

I had Musa sumantrana(?) last year (a freind called it "christmas banana the nusery called it blood banana"?) and it looked exactly like yours .
Here's some pics of my Zebrinas

Pete

MediaHound

Very nice, Pete!

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cactus6103

Pete, your Zebrina has a little more wine color on the top side of the leaf than mine, but they are exactly the same otherwise. Mine has only been in the ground here a matter of days (full sun) and maybe that is the difference. I do think I have a Zebrina, now if I can only get them to grow better and possibly survive my pretty mild winter! I am new at this and want to succeed. Thanks for the help. Anyone else care to comment? Red

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Gabe15

They do not look like zebrina to me. The patterning is not right and there is too much red in the pseudostem. It is difficult to say exactly what it is though because there are many different hybrids out there as well. Plus ssp. zebrina is not the only wild variety with this type of coloration on the leaves, although these plants do not appear to be a wild type anyways. Pete's looks more like something Cavendish almost, not zebrina at all. To me, they look more like a Rhodochlamys/zebrina hybrid, similar to 'Bordelon' but not necessarily that particular variety as there are a few different similar ones out there. As is the case most of the time, for this one I wouldnt rely on any positive ID without a flower (but I still don't think its zebrina! )

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JoeS475

My zebrina had a mild almost tan colour pseudostem over the winter while growing indoors. It went outside this spring into full sun, and it turned first a bright pink and then deepened into a dark red. I figured it was a zebrina since it came tagged and all from Monrovia, but who knows - I'll try and get a picture.

Also, the pup has far more red splotching than the mother.

~Joe

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JoeS475

Ok, on closer inspection the pseudostem has faded back to a tan colour, but is very red on the pup. Here are some pictures:



The pup:


And 2 pictures of my young Bordelon for comparison:



Regards,

~Joe

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