Mark Hall

Can anyone tell me will basjoo set seed ? and does it need cross pollenating or is it the same as Velutina and it will produce viable seeds .

I ask as I have a basjoo in flower with a few small bananas in a greenhouse at work. Can I try using a small paint brush to try to pollenate it or does it require another basjoos pollen

Many thanks Mark

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Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

Gabe15

M. basjoo is not self pollinating, only very few species actually are (off the top of my head for reference M. velutina, M. monticola, M. ingens, M. boman, M. mannii and perhaps a few others) However, you can use its own pollen from the first few male flowers to pollinate the last hand of female flowers if you get the timing right. This method works with Rhodochlamys species as well if you ever grow M. ornata, M. laterita, M. mannii or any of those types. It does not work with most Callimusa species because the female flowers perish before the male flowers open. You should be able to get a least one hand pollinated. And although basjoo doesnt always cross well with others (except M. itinerans in tests), if you have anything else flowering that is either A Rhodochlamys or Eumusa wild species you can try to use that pollen too.

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

Mark Hall

Thanks gabe. I am unsure of the male and female flowers so I just run the brush over all of them. There didn't seem to be hardly any pollen on the brush after I did it so it was probably a waste of time.

Thanks for the help anyway

Mark

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Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

mrbungalow

Mark; if you want musa basjoo seeds check out trebrown nurseries in cornwall. Phil Markey has previously sold seeds of musa basjoo labeled "Musa Formosana", but they are basically the same species as Musa Basjoo. The difference is that these seeds are collected in habitat in China/Taiwan(?) at some altitude.

Atleast my formosanas grown from seed are identical to regular musa basjoos bought at garden centres.

Erlend

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Mark Hall

Thanks Erland. I wasn't after any I just thought that if the basjoo I have at work set seed it would be a bonus.

__________________
Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

Gabe15

keep checking it mark, eventually the flowers will change from forming bananas (the female flowers) to just small fruitless flowers (the male flowers), it is at this point you can take your brush mack over the new flowers and go over the last of the bananas.

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

Mark Hall

Will do gabe. Once again thanks for your help.

__________________
Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.