Bananas.org

Welcome to the Bananas.org forums.

You're currently viewing our message boards as a guest which gives you limited access to participate in discussions and access our other features such as our wiki and photo gallery. By joining our community, you'll have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload photos, and access many other special features. Registration is fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Go Back   Bananas.org > Banana Forum > Cold Hardy Bananas
Register Photo Gallery Classifieds Wiki Chat Map Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Cold Hardy Bananas This forum is dedicated to the discussion of bananas that are able to grow and thrive in cold areas. You'll find lots of tips and discussions about keeping your bananas over the winter.


Members currently in the chatroom: 0
The most chatters online in one day was 17, 09-06-2009.
No one is currently using the chat.

Reply   Email this Page Email this Page
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 07-17-2012, 07:40 PM   #1 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 3
BananaBucks : 13,165
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 2 Times
Was Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

I just got a Musa Basjoo and considering location, soil and climate I expect it to do fairly well. I plan on placing it in full sun with lots of horse manure.

I read that the fruit is inedible. Any particular reason why?

Also can the leaves and flowers of Musa Basjoo be used in cooking? I know some banana leaves and flowers are used in cooking in some places. I figure in a few years this thing will be huge and just wondered if I could use parts in cooking even if the fruit isn't possible to use.
Tivona is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Tivona
Said thanks:

Join Bananas.org Today!

Are you a banana plant enthusiast? Then we hope you will join the community. You will gain access to post, create threads, private message, upload images, join groups and more.

Bananas.org is owned and operated by fellow banana plant enthusiasts. We strive to offer a non-commercial community to learn and share information. Receive all three issues from Volume 1 of Bananas Magazine with your membership:
   

Join Bananas.org Today! - Click Here


Sponsors

Old 07-17-2012, 07:55 PM   #2 (permalink)
Member
 
john_ny's Avatar
 
Location: Staten Island, NY - southernmost county in NY State.
Zone: USDA7- Sunset34
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,014
BananaBucks : 605,135
Feedback: 5 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 1,057 Times
Was Thanked 2,284 Times in 832 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 37 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Fruit is full of seeds, which can be as large as peas. They will not hurt you, but can be rather unpleasant to eat. We have used the leaves, several times, to wrwap things, when putting them on the grill. I certainly don't think the flowers would be harmful.
__________________
John

john_ny is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To john_ny
Old 07-17-2012, 10:53 PM   #3 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 3
BananaBucks : 13,165
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 2 Times
Was Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Thanks. That's what I was needing to know.
Tivona is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Tivona
Old 07-18-2012, 04:28 PM   #4 (permalink)
Puerto Rican Gone Bananas
 
JuniPerez's Avatar
 
Location: Rochester, NY
Zone: 6b
Name: Juni Perez
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 313
BananaBucks : 77,248
Feedback: 1 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 153 Times
Was Thanked 202 Times in 117 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 13 Times
Send a message via ICQ to JuniPerez Send a message via AIM to JuniPerez Send a message via Yahoo to JuniPerez Send a message via Skype™ to JuniPerez
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

I give lots of leaves away before the frost hits them... and perfect timing since it's approaching the holidays, which is time for making what we call "pasteles". We wrap them in basjoo leaves before cooking.
JuniPerez is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To JuniPerez
Said thanks:
Old 07-18-2012, 11:27 PM   #5 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 3
BananaBucks : 13,165
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 2 Times
Was Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Thanks for the tip on harvesting before frost. I think that sounds like a great idea and I will definitely try the pasteles. I googled recipes and it looks fun. I am an adventurous cook and not a picky eater and love gardening so I it sounds like I am going to have some fun!
Any other varieties that are cold tolerant but might be better in fruit that I should keep an eye out for?
Tivona is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Tivona
Said thanks:
Sponsors

Old 01-15-2013, 04:25 PM   #6 (permalink)
__
 
Zone: 7
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 114
BananaBucks : 43,914
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 116 Times
Was Thanked 46 Times in 32 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 7 Times
Question Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Hi, does anyone know if the stems of these are edible like some other bananas?
banana13 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To banana13
Said thanks:
Old 01-16-2013, 01:04 PM   #7 (permalink)
Relaxin Under the Nanners
 
Hammocked Banana's Avatar
 
Location: Toronto, ON and Peterborough, ON
Zone: 6a and 5a respectively
Name: Brady
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 958
BananaBucks : 52,900
Feedback: 2 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 3,178 Times
Was Thanked 1,156 Times in 555 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 30 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Tivona, where do u live/what zone are u in? Orinoco and namwah are good varieties with decent hardiness, however they will still only survive outside in zone 8 or higher.
Hammocked Banana is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Hammocked Banana
Said thanks:
Old 02-25-2013, 05:47 AM   #8 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 15
BananaBucks : 5,425
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 35 Times
Was Thanked 8 Times in 2 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

A very timely post for me as I was about to order 3x Basjoo this morning thinking they were quite hardy and produced eatable fruit ... I'm back to square one, narrowly missing my first mistake, thanks.
Banafan is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Banafan
Old 02-26-2013, 02:20 PM   #9 (permalink)
Northern Tropics
 
sandy0225's Avatar
 
Location: Muncie, Indiana zone 5
Zone: zone 5
Name: Sandy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,718
BananaBucks : 353,610
Feedback: 31 / 97%
Said "Thanks" 38 Times
Was Thanked 1,801 Times in 682 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 9 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

I don't know why you couldn't eat the stems of the basjoo. You certainly can eat the leaves, and they are really just extensions of the stem. You can eat the flowers but mine has never bloomed.
So far, I haven't found a hardy and fruiting banana for our zone (5-6, depending on which chart you look at). I think the main problem would be that it would probably run out of time to finish the fruit before the stalk froze up and fell over, unless it bloomed in the spring. Which I haven't had an edible-type banana bloom in the spring. The edible ones always seem to bloom in the fall here, maybe they are triggered by shortening day length? Maybe some one knows the answer to that. If that is the case, it would be fun to play with some mature ones and a grow light and see what happens.
I have had many bordelons bloom towards spring, or in early summer, but they don't set any fruit.
__________________
Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!
sandy0225 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To sandy0225
Said thanks:
Old 02-26-2013, 05:09 PM   #10 (permalink)
__
 
Zone: 7
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 114
BananaBucks : 43,914
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 116 Times
Was Thanked 46 Times in 32 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 7 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Quote:
The edible ones always seem to bloom in the fall here, maybe they are triggered by shortening day length?
I don't think that bananas are triggered by day length. I am not an expert on this, but I'm pretty sure that fruiting time has more to do with the size and number of leaves on the plant rather than the day length.
banana13 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To banana13
Said thanks:
Old 06-24-2019, 01:05 PM   #11 (permalink)
 
Location: SoWeFlo
Zone: 10a - Cfa - Humid Subtropical Climate
Name: PH
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 10
BananaBucks : 5,439
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 3 Times
Was Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Found this while searching today.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/cookin...a-leaf-3217239

Thought it might interest you.
__________________
~PH

We are the people, our parents warned us about.
phmaddnes is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To phmaddnes
Said thanks:
Old 10-06-2019, 12:43 PM   #12 (permalink)
 
sirdoofus's Avatar
 
Location: Central Vancouver Island, BC Canada
Zone: AgCan 7b, USDA 6b
Name: Mike
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,029
BananaBucks : 16,393
Feedback: 1 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 3,129 Times
Was Thanked 1,157 Times in 592 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 98 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sandy0225 View Post
I don't know why you couldn't eat the stems of the basjoo. You certainly can eat the leaves, and they are really just extensions of the stem. You can eat the flowers but mine has never bloomed.
So far, I haven't found a hardy and fruiting banana for our zone (5-6, depending on which chart you look at). I think the main problem would be that it would probably run out of time to finish the fruit before the stalk froze up and fell over, unless it bloomed in the spring. Which I haven't had an edible-type banana bloom in the spring. The edible ones always seem to bloom in the fall here, maybe they are triggered by shortening day length? Maybe some one knows the answer to that. If that is the case, it would be fun to play with some mature ones and a grow light and see what happens.
I have had many bordelons bloom towards spring, or in early summer, but they don't set any fruit.
Hey Sandy - Just curious, do you move your bordelons inside during winter or do you leave them outside and protect the mat?
__________________
Who keeps calling me nuts??
sirdoofus is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To sirdoofus
Said thanks:
Old 10-31-2019, 06:18 AM   #13 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 12
BananaBucks : 2,296
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 11 Times
Was Thanked 15 Times in 8 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 15 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

I was under the impression that basjoo were inedible as well, but scrolling thru Netflix this morning, there is a series called Flavorful Origins. In season 2, episode 7, "Hardy Banana" they state in the title that basjoo is the variety they are cooking and eating.
pouncingfox is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To pouncingfox
Old 10-31-2019, 05:30 PM   #14 (permalink)
container grower
 
cincinnana's Avatar
 
Location: Southwest Ohio U.S.A.🇺🇸
Zone: HZ 6/5 Microclimate - Elevation 750 feet- 228.60 meters
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 8,771
BananaBucks : 1,026
Feedback: 7 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 3,860 Times
Was Thanked 11,691 Times in 4,865 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,943 Times
Smile Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Eat to your hearts content.....
__________________
🌴
cincinnana is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To cincinnana
Old 11-01-2019, 07:49 PM   #15 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 238
BananaBucks : 12,657
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 2,462 Times
Was Thanked 224 Times in 131 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 102 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Helen's Hybrid is close to basjoo supposedly in hardiness and has an edible fruit (but like seeded watermelon, need to get rid of seeds :-)
pjkfarm is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To pjkfarm
Old 11-22-2019, 04:26 AM   #16 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 61
BananaBucks : 15,275
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 2 Times
Was Thanked 64 Times in 33 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

Quote:
Originally Posted by pjkfarm View Post
Helen's Hybrid is close to basjoo supposedly in hardiness
It's a hardy banana but I would not say it is "close" to basjoo in hardiness.

"hardy" is a relative term, of course
SoCal2warm is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To SoCal2warm
Said thanks:

Join Bananas.org Today!

Are you a banana plant enthusiast? Then we hope you will join the community. You will gain access to post, create threads, private message, upload images, join groups and more.

Bananas.org is owned and operated by fellow banana plant enthusiasts. We strive to offer a non-commercial community to learn and share information. Receive all three issues from Volume 1 of Bananas Magazine with your membership:
   

Join Bananas.org Today! - Click Here


Sponsors

Old 11-22-2019, 04:29 AM   #17 (permalink)
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 61
BananaBucks : 15,275
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 2 Times
Was Thanked 64 Times in 33 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

I don't see why basjoo should be any different than any other banana when it comes to edibility, so long as we are not talking about the fruits.
SoCal2warm is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To SoCal2warm
Said thanks:
Old 11-26-2019, 08:06 AM   #18 (permalink)
 
Longwoods Tropicals's Avatar
 
Zone: 6
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 104
BananaBucks : 31,316
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 53 Times
Was Thanked 244 Times in 73 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times
Default Re: Are Musa Basjoo leaves and flowers edible?

I found out a few weeks back that horses love musa basjoo plants. This year they did all the cutting back for me, a little more than usual...LOL. It'll be 12 inches of overwintered p-stem as opposed to the usual 36+.

https://twitter.com/HaroldCarr10/sta...55916260757504

Last edited by Longwoods Tropicals : 12-06-2019 at 04:06 PM.
Longwoods Tropicals is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Longwoods Tropicals
Said thanks:
Reply   Email this Page Email this Page






Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Musa Basjoo fruits. Edible? doubravsky Main Banana Discussion 4 10-04-2013 11:47 AM
When can I expect flowers or leaves from these? Want Them All Other Plants 10 01-11-2010 10:07 PM
Does Anyone Know Which Varieties Have Edible Stalk and Flowers? curriedrice Main Banana Discussion 8 06-03-2009 05:02 PM
virgin musa basjoo owner,are the bottom leaves suposed to die off? rcaddydeville Cold Hardy Bananas 5 03-26-2009 08:06 PM
Edible Banana Flowers Davido Main Banana Discussion 4 02-07-2009 12:00 AM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:14 PM.





All content © Bananas.org & the respective author.