Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Here are a few photos of my other Ensete perrieri that are growing on a hillside. These do not get any supplemental watering during the dry season and they are never fertilized.

A row of plants in the sun


More upright leaves in full sun


More relaxed leaves on the plants in the shade

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Very beautiful...you must be doing an excellent job with them! They all look quite healthy! Thanks for the pics!

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Keep us updated, Jeff. If and when they go to seed... I'd like to try a few.:goteam:

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Keep the faith. I planted 36 ensete seeds. I scarified,soaked in hot water for four days and had them on a heat matt under lights. First one germinated at
two weeks and damped off. Two more came up by the 3rd and 4th week.
They are doing well. I check my seeds every day & nothing. A few just rotted away but I'm hanging in there. I know I did everything right. These seeds are
difficult only if what you get isn't viable to begin with.:2722:

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Updated photos today

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Good job, 3 years ago we didn't knew much about this specie, i think there was only one single photo of the plant available at that time. Keep us
updated Jeff...


Ron

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Very nice! Costa Rica is on my travel list.

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Any updates, Jeff?

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

I'll take an updated pic tomorrow. I walked by that plant earlier today and as usual I had to stop and stare.... It's enormous!

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

I wonder what the flower would look like....

Can you tel us anything about the color of the sap when you cut a leaf? That seems to be a way of identification as well.

Kind regards,
Remko.

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Photos taken this afternoon

From the third floor balcony




in front


from second floor balcony

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Simply beautifull
:woohoonaner:

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

I realized that I didn't take any updated photos of the base of the plant so as I was walking by it today I took a few photos.



with a size 12 shoe for scale






Last photo for a while. I'll post some updated photos in a couple months

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Wow...that is huge! And the leaves look smaller...possibly getting ready to bloom? I dunno...just like to plant that seed of hope!

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

I don't know Bryan, these plants are almost three years old now (from germination). I'm not sure how long they take until they flower.

The leaves look larger than ever to me. But they could be getting smaller due to a big change in the amount of sun the plant is getting. It was planted in a spot where it only got a few hours of mid morning sun and then it was in shade for the rest of the afternoon. I thought that was originally why the leaves were so stretched on this one. Then around the first of June we had a damaging windstorm in this area and the huge ficus tree that was shading the Ensete came crashing down. It fell the OTHER way, into the forest (thank goodness!) otherwise it would have crushed the house and the Ensete. Now it's in full sun from mid morning until late afternoon. With the increased sun exposure, the leaves may be getting shorter.

BTW, the ficus that fell down was also blocking my view of the water. I live up on the hillside (behind this house) and over the last few years the ficus grew up and blocked my view. Now at least I have my view back! I stood next to the uprooted rootball and it was a few feet higher than my head. That was a big tree!

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Hi Jeff,
Do you know anything about thwe colour of the sap when you cut a leaf?
This seems to be a way of determination as well.
Kind regards,
Remko.

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Hi Remko, I've cut lots of leaves from this plant and never noticed anything different about the sap. As far as I can remember, it is clear although I will make a note to check it the next time.

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

I dunno, I was mostly talking about this picture:

Looks like the most recent leaf is smaller than the others. Overall, the leaves look MASSIVE!!! I want to have something with that big of leaves growing in my yard! I dunno, maybe they're not super close to blooming, but after 3 years, you're probably coming up on it sometime in the near future! Make sure, when they do bloom, that you get plenty of pics cause I've hardly heard of this species being grown and haven't seen any pics of the blooms.

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

You may be right. Maybe it is getting close to blooming. I was hoping it would get a little taller first, but if it flowers soon I will be happy.

Trust me, when it happens I will be taking daily photos of the flower!!

Re: Ensete perrieri
 

Well, if I were to base its size on E. superbum and E. ventricosum (which bear the most similarity to its morphology (especially superbum)), I would say it is nearly at mature height. Who knows, maybe since conditions are fairly good (now without the ficus) it might get a bit larger, but it's pretty 'up there' in terms of mature size IMO.

Def. want to extend some congrats on getting such beautiful plants to grow for ya! I really wish I had a few of those in my yard (the yard I don't currently have...aka the 'rooftop jungle' LOL)!!