Basjoofriend

Hi,

for the first time the pup of my Musa basjoo is flowering in the nursery of Helton in Campo do Monte Alegre!



Some days ago Helton sent me one pic, I was amazed. Only one 1 year after planting! It is the only inflorescence of Musa basjoo, there are also in the same nursery Musa balbisiana, thomsonii, sikkimensis Manipur, microcarpa, itinerans and yunnanensis, they are mature huge plants which are already flowering and fruiting, they are also from seed from Rarepalmseeds. The open pollinating will give hybrids with these species, the seeds from the basjoo will not give the pure Musa basjoo, only hybrids. Helton will germinate the seeds and get basjoo hybrids from open pollinating. Helton will give me some seedlings.

The motherplant in my chácara never flowered and the growth went more poor because of the sandy soil, the soil in the nursery of Helton is much fertile. So that I parted the motherplant and got 2 plants, one planted at my house on the lawn where Musa Figo alias Orinoco does very well into the red clay soil and the other plant I planted at the pond in my banana special garden where bananas are growing very well and also already fruiting. So I hope that the both basjoos will flower and fruit in the next years, so that I will also cross here.

Best wishes
Joachim

designshark

That's awesome! They say bananas from Basjoo are not edible, Is it because of taste texture or what? I would think you could eat something off of them.

Anyway, thanks for the inspiration!

Illia

They're small, extremely seedy, and I doubt they taste good. All bananas are "edible" but most wild/non-"edible" types have large hard seeds that take up most of the fruit volume, and aren't as sweet as what one is typically used to.

Markku Hakkinen

Hi Joachim,

Can you find Musa paracoccinea from Brazil at:
Muda De Musa Paracoccinea - R$ 160,00 no MercadoLivre

Is it difficult for to take it to Germany? I mean from Germany it is easy to post the corm(s) to me. Otherwise our custom will confisticate it if it is coming from Brazil directly to here.

Thanks and regards,
Markku.

Basjoofriend

Hi Markku,

I got your email. I now asked Helton whether he can obtain the plant to produce pups and seeds in his nursery in Angatuba. It is the best, to order one or two for him, then he will propagate and produce seeds.

Best wishes
Joachim

Markku Hakkinen

Actually it is not Musa paracoccinea but it is Musa haekkinenii at:

Musa haekkinenii | Promusa - Mobilizing banana science for sustainable livelihoods

Markku.

bigdog

Hey Joachim,

Are you doing any controlled hybridization, or all they all open-pollinated? I'm concerned that you will get some great hybrids but not know definitively what one of the parents is.

Markku Hakkinen

In our botanic garden all Musa hybridizations have been done in controlled conditions in our greenhouses so we definitely know what are the parent plants.
Markku

Basjoofriend

Hi Markku,

I could order 2 plants at Mercado Livre from one Brazilian nursery, the both will be sent to my friend in Angatuba. He has also agreed that he will get the both plants to cultivate them in his nursery to produce pups and seeds for you and me.

It will take some years until you get one or two pups or seeds. The plants are very rare and also expensive, therefore my friend will propagate.

Yes, the hybrids might be hot and very interesting! I will try to cross Musa haekkinenii with Musa velutina, laterita, mannii, ornata and even with some parthenocarpic fruit bananas. But this requires one visa to stay for much more time in Brazil.

I am currently updating my website, the English and German version will be ready on November 1st, I hope this. Then I will write the Portuguese version and my guest daugther will help and correct (she does speak German very well), so that my Brazilian friends, neighbours and also Helton will read my page, perhaps I do get better chances to get one visa.

In the future I will plant pups of Musa haekkinenii at my pond in my special garden for rare bananas. This is the best banana place in my chácara, where two Musa Nanicao already fruited last year (the plants are huge) and Musa velutina already flowered.

Best wishes
Joachim