BananaLee

Hey guys! I'm looking for some nanners with big P-stems and preferably for shade. Do you know any. At the Belle Isle Concervatory Belle Isle Conservatory Michigan!!! they have Musa Paradisica with really thick p-stems, about a foot in diameter. Do they get that thick outside of a greenhouse? Thanx! God Bless! BananaLee: basketballnaner:

Eric

I know of one that develops an 18" diameter pseudostem. Living in Michigan, I know youre in a cold climate. Musa Sikkimensis not only has an 18" diameter stem (at maturity) but is hardy to 3 below zero F. It was discovered in the Himalayas of northeast India at 2000 feet elevation. I'm growing one myself I got in a swap with (username) Bob!
The Sikkimensis has some reddish tones in the leaves and the "Tiger" Sikkimensis has red surface striping. Also, it can be grown from seed (there are a few large seeds in each nanner) and the nanner is edible. The only problem is it might be a little difficult to find since it's a fairly recent discovery.
Oh, one more thing. People have had trouble getting the seeds to germinate. There IS a trick that works. Put the pot in a sunny window & leave it. The pot will get very warm in daylight and cool at night. The alternating temperatures seem to cause the seeds to germinate very well.
Anyway, that's the only thick-stem nanner I know about but there are probably lots of others.

We'll need to get somebody else, into the thread, that's familiar with Paradisica.
BYE

austinl01

Raja Puri has one of the thickest pseudostems that I've grown.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

LilRaverBoi

Hmmm....well here is my advice for large pseudostems....Ensete Superbum. It produces seeded fruit, but is a nice foliage plant, and has a really FAT pstem! Don't think it's hardy in that zone, but you can always bring it in. I don't really think anything else with large stems are hardy there either, so you will deal with that dilemma anyway. Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure!

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saltydad

My sikkim did not make it through last winter in spite of protection. My lasiocarpa and of course basjoo did, so I'm not yet convinced of the cold hardiness of the sikkimensis. Course, it was only a sample of one.

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BananaLee

Thanks for the great pics! There are a lot of bananas hardy here actually. Bananas for zone 6 I have a tropical gardening book and they said Musa paradisiaca 'Mysore' has survived -2F. Has anyone grown that?

BILL MA

Howard, how big was the sikkimensis you tried to over winter and how long was it in the ground? I was thinking about leaving my red tiger from triple oaks in the ground but now I'm not sure. Your temps are much warmer then mine here in Southern Ma. Mine has a four foot stem with three pups, one draw back is it's close to the road. If we get tons of snow they might plow down my leaf pile.

Bill

jwmahloch

My dwarf cavendish has a p-stem that is about 12 in wide. I dug it up a couple weeks ago and have it in a trash bag in my basement. It still keeps growing even though it gets no light at all. I cut off the p-stem about 4 feet tall. My basjoos about side have p-stems about 8 to 10 in wide. If you use lots of fertilizer in the summer it helps.

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Jeremy

Bob

Bill Ma : I'd try to overwinter it indoors this year at least to get another years full growth on the corm. The snow if it's consistent is actually a good insulator but I just wouldn't count on it. This already seems to be a warmer winter than last this year. I'm trying another basjoo in the ground this year but it got to abot 6 1/2 ft tall ( p-stem_ this year. From now on this is the minumum size plant I'm going to try and overwinter here in zone 6.

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Seaner

Howard
I'm def with Bill on the more info thing. Sikkimensis is at the Top of my list and would def appreciate info from someone who's actually tried it out!

saltydad

The Sikkim that died was a small one, about 3-4 ft. in height, and still slender. It was protected with about a foot of straw mulch over the cut down p-stem. Again, it really didn't 'die', just failed to grow, as I dug it up, trimmed some minimal rot and replanted in another sunny location. It failed to show again this spring. That's why my current Sikkim (small) is in my basement dormant in a pot. I'd love to get a 'Tiger" variety and see if there is any difference.

__________________
Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and
http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad
http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

harveyc

Howard, do you difficulty also with the meaning of he word "is" like one of our former presidents?

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