bigdog

Just a little update today. I've potted most of the seedlings up. One of them died soon thereafter, and 2 are looking kind of rough, but the rest (5) look pretty good. I've been exposing them to natural sunlight as much as I can, but taking them indoors at night (since we've been having lows in the low 40s recently). It's been really nice and warm here the past few days, so they are getting some good heat and light to hopefully beef them up a little before I have to take them inside for the rest of the winter. They are still pretty puny, and I really wish I had a greenhouse right about now. I have my doubts as to whether or not I can get one or two to pull through for the next several months indoors, but will do my best! I still have 2 more in the box to pot up when they get a bit larger.

Cindy M.R.

That is awesome!

jmoore

I am assuming from the seedlings that the cross was self fertile, unless there is more to this story that you haven't been telling. Arr hang on you did tell the rest of the story, I just didn't read it. Excellent result!!

As for a name how about 'Musa Magnus Canis'

Basjoofriend

Tis is astonishing, that 4 years old seeds still are germinating. I am now thinking about the old seeds from Musa hirta, peekelii and other species from PNG and Borneo. I will try this in Brazil in my chácara when I am definitively moved to Brazil after getting a visa.

Best wishes
Joachim

bigdog

I never expected those seeds to germinate. I just didn't have the heart to throw them away! I wasn't sure if I'd ever get the conditions to make that cross again. I'm glad I kept them, and even more glad that I re-hydrated them! I think there is still a lot that we don't know about germinating Musa seeds, how long they can remain viable while dormant, etc.

My main concern right now is keeping the seedlings alive for the next few months. I have grow lights, humidifiers, etc., so hopefully I can give them what they need until spring.

austinl01

Totally cool! Go Frank! I wish I could make some cross with Velutina. I think that's the one that would definitely make a great cross with something else. How does one decide whether to make Velutina the male or the female in a cross? Doesn't it go female x male when naming?

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bigdog

That's correct, Austin. In order to make M. velutina the female parent, one would need to cut the immature anthers off of the flower before the pollen came close to ripening. Since M. velutina has hermaphrodite flowers, it will pollinate itself unless you take measures to make sure it does not. That means making sure the pollen from nearby flowers didn't get on the stigma as well. It's much easier to have M. velutina be the male parent, especially with another Musa that does not have hermaphrodite flowers. You just hand-pollinate your target female flowers with M. velutina pollen, then make sure to cut the first few hands of male flowers off of your female parent plant.

bigdog

Well all but two are dead. They just don't seem to have the will to live. I have them under a grow light with a heat mat as well, but the 2 left are struggling, working on their third leaf. The others rotted off pretty quickly, as if they decided all at once to die. Very frustrating! I still have the two parent plants, so I suppose I can always make this cross in the future.

blownz281

Sorry to hear that. Are they staying to wet?

RobG7aChattTN

Well, all you really need is for one to live. I've never had much luck growing Musa seedlings indoors. If they germinate in early summer they do fine started in shade outside. I guess I need to experiment some more. Maybe one if those high Kelvin LED lights closer than a traditional bulb would allow. Come to think of it, I might try Eucalyptus again that way. They get so leggy without super-bright lights that otherwise would cook them.

bigdog

Yeah, my enthusiasm seeing them germinate was definitely tempered by realizing what time of year it was. I knew the challenging part would be to get even one through the winter.

I have been keeping them very warm, and letting them dry out between waterings (although not completely dry). The heat mat underneath them, combined with the grow light right over them keeps them pretty warm. Still, it isn't ideal conditions obviously...but I'm doing what I can.

kernowmike

well i live in cornwall only about 12 miles from trebrown, but it seems to be rather private and doesnt appear to be open to public - please correct me if you see this, having plenty of success germinating velutina seed bought on ebay from mark davies now that i purchased a vitopod propagator - run it at 30degs 10 hours a day. nothing big enough to show yet but will post pics when they develop.

c2h6

BigDog, update? Did any survive?

bigdog

No, they all died. I'll attempt the cross again sometime though, since I still have both parents. I think my light may have been part of the problem. It is a metal halide, but not a grow light. Then again, maybe the seedlings were just weak because the seeds were so old. Wish they had germinated in the summer!

siege2050

I tried to cross Orinoco x Velutina but nope lol, but I am not that familiar with the workings of banana pollination.

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c2h6

Orinoco is a triploid, velutina is diploid; while the cross might work, you would have to make the cross a bunch of times as that is what the banana breeders do. Like maybe one seed per bunch if they are lucky.

Snarkie

How about Musa bananasorgii var. Biggus Doggus Moderatus?

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SoCal2warm

Very fascinating trying to breed new hybrids.

At least for citrus seedlings, I've found that they grow much better inside an enclosure to hold in the humidity and some of the heat.

Heat mats underneath the growing seedlings sound like a good idea but in reality they tend to cause the soil to dry out quickly, and then you risk the seedlings suffering from dry soil if you even once forget to constantly keep the soil moist (so it's too much maintenance). (I've had much better luck with a small 250W heater on a therostat outlet heating up the air inside the tent enclosure. That way it heats the surroundings evenly, without drawing moisture away from a heat gradient (when cold air is warmed, it suddenly can absorb more water, or similarly, when warm plant leaves are in contact with colder air, they lose more moisture).

co_tranh2006

Hi all,
I want to ask everyone, How do you pollinate for two musa species when the time of flowering is different?

druss

Plant lots of plants of each species you want to cross, try to get them at growth stages to spread flowering times to get crossover.