Lau

In 2013 I purchased a Musa Sumatra X Gran Nain. It is finally blooming. Any Ideas?

JP

It's gonna take more pics than that to properly ID... Contrats!

Lau

Is anyone growing the true Musa Sumatrana X Gran Nain?

Thanks Susan

crazy banana

I was thinking of your Gran Nain x Sumatrana lately, because we both have posted photos here on bananas.org a couple years ago.
Mine is still in a pot, struggling each winter with the cold. This year it is gorgeous and I will take photos of it as soon as I get home later.
Can you please post photos of the leaves and the p-stem?
Would love to hear from others if their plants have fruited, if so were the fruits edible and what was the taste?

Lau

I added additional photos.

crazy banana

Thank you.
Too late for me to take photos tonight, sorry. Will do tomorrow.
The leaves on my plant have lots of wine stains. The p-stem is the prettiest of all my banana plants and it has also some beautiful dark red.
Tomorrow

crazy banana

Sorry that it has taken so long, but here you go:

Photo 1 shows the entire plant "Gran Nain x Sumatrana"



Photo 2 shows the p-stem of the "Gran Nain x Sumatrana"

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Will probably plant it in the ground next spring, but it is very cold sensitive.

Lau

My plant never looked like that. I think when it was small it had some wine spots but it never had the maroon color on the underside of the leaves. I don't think my plant is the real deal.

The bud on my plant is starting to open. I can't wait to see the babies bananas. The plant has a few pups too. I know it's not the true Sumatrana X Gran Nain.
Hopefully time and some experts will be able to give this plant a name.

Thanks for the pictures your plant is beautiful.

Susan

Lau

I just added more pictures

venturabananas

Not sure. The color of the female flowers suggests something with an all A genome (likely AAA), but it's hard to say from those photos. Post more as the bunch progresses.

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venturabananas

That said, the petiole canals seem awfully closed for an all A variety...

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Gabe15

Almost seems Plantainy in a way...can you post photos of the young suckers? Is there red markings on the leaves of the young suckers? If so can you get a good photo of them on the topside of the leaves?

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

Lau

I posted more photos. No red markings yet. Weird color plants. I purchased it from Florida Hills Nursery as a Sumatrana X Gran Nain. I was looking in your Gallery and saw pictures of unknown zebrina type edibles. Are all those unknown plants different Zebrine Crosses? Could my plant just be one of those TC Mutations?

Whatever it is it is very interesting. Very small bud with small bananas.

Lau

If the peduncle stays red could it be in the Iholena Group? No coppery color on cigar leaf.

Lau

I added a few more pictures. The Bunch Stalk (peduncle) is maroon and hairy. The Bracts are a little different too.

Lau

I found this old post that has some small photos of the plant when it was a baby.

Not Sumatrana X

Lau

The flowers on the end of the bananas have started to open.

Lau

I just added more pictures. I hope that will help in the identification. Please let me know if additional pictures are needed.

Thanks Susan

venturabananas

Do the fingers seems long for this stage? I wonder if Gabe would stick with the plantain hunch now that he's seen more or your plant.

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Gabe15

I'm still thinking you have a Plantain, can't say exactly which cultivar just yet, but there are not that many available in the US anyway. The yellow-orange compound tepals of the female flowers along with the long pointy female bracts and photos of the young plant with faint red markings on the top of the leaf which reach to the edge of the leaf margin lead me to this...for now.

The female bud appears to be relatively small at the latest stage of development you showed a photo of, this is normal for bananas which have a quickly degenerating bud as there is not many flowers left in there. This is common for False-Horn type Plantains, such as what is commonly referred to as 'Dwarf Puerto Rican' as well as a taller common cultivar 'Maricongo'.

The bud behavior in Plantains narrows down the possibilities quite a lot, many cultivars have a quickly degenerating bud, or no bud at all (which is not the case for your plant as it already has more than one hand, which rules out a true Horn Plantain).

There is only one supposed "zebrina" type hybrid edible plant commonly out there I know of, theres a lot that could be said about that plant and a lot of missing information about it, but you do not have that plant.

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