bigdog

Well, I reexamined the seeds today after they dried out. They are NOT Musa sikkimensis, at least the straight species. They are all warty! Something I didn't notice when they were wet, but very apparent after they dried out. Musa sikkimensis seeds are quite smooth, with no warts. So, perhaps a hybrid, like M. sikkimensis X balbisiana, is a possibility here. Cool.

RobG7aChattTN

Hey Frank, just a reminder...worst case scenario I do have a seedling (actually two off of the same seed) so even if none of my other seeds and none of yours make it you will still be getting a plant.

Tropicallvr

Sounds even more like Musa sikkimensis hybrid, which seem to often have more than one sprout coming from the same seed, as my Musa sikkimensis X balbisiana(paradisica) did.
My only helens hybrid is pure green, but my incredibly vigoursly growing M. sikki X darjeeling giant has purple leaf undersides, but this maybe really random because of the different parents.

Mike_J

Hello rob its me mike from that other board. I was looking online to find info on the banana plant we both have. My search dug up this old thread I guess, sorry to bring it up. Thanx for the info again. I have had it for almost 4 years now and never new what it was. I want to make a plant label for it should I just put it as musa Balboa? or sikkimensis hybrid? I found 2 other pics of it when it was smaller when I first got it

bigdog

Mike,

While somewhat similar, I don't think your is the same banana plant. Yours looks like one of the "Reds", a fruiting cultivar. Here's a closeup of the pseudostem on mine, which I got from Rob:



Yours has more red on the pseudostem. Also notice that the new leaf on yours emerges from within the last leaf, whereas the new leaf on the 'Balboa Park' emerges straight out of the middle. It also has a reddish underside on the new leaf, and yours look green.

Tropicallvr

If anyone is interested I have a bunch of Musa sikkimensisXparadisica seedlings that are on their second leaf, and I'd like to trade in a couple months or so for a seedling of that type. PM me or email.

Mike_J

Have any Idea what the one I have could be?

RobG7aChattTN

I'm starting to get a pup at the base of my Musa 'Balboa'. With this drought I am a little surprised that it is doing so well. I've been watering all my Musa, but the basjoo are turning brown anyway.

bigdog

Mike, yours is probably one of the "Red" cultivars, but I couldn't tell you which one.

Rob, good to hear you have a pup already! I don't yet, but I do have another pup poking up from my 'Helen's Hybrid'. Just wish I could remember who I promised it to, lol. One of about 4 people...
My Musa basjoos look pretty good, all things considered. A little bit of browning, but not much at all. Got a couple of others that don't look so good though.

Tropicallvr

Has anybody compared this plant with Musa sikkimensis 'Daj Giant'. The P-stem in bigdogs photo looks alot like mine. They both are supposed to have the recurved leaf(where it meets petiole) like balbisiana. I have some of the balboa park seeds and they are bigger and less bumpy than Musa sikkimimensis X paradisica seeds, but I don't have any Daj Giant to compare them to. Has anybody done this comparison? Does anybody have some pics of mature Daj giant?
I'm actually hoping that they are different types of sikkimensis hybrids. That would make the total sikkimensis hybrid count at 4 types that members here have.

bigdog

If I remember correctly, the 'Daj Giant' seeds were much bigger, but I could be wrong. I have both plants growing side-by-side in the greenhouse, and they are very similar. There are subtle differences in the leaves, but the pseudostem on both is quite waxy. I need to remember to bring my camera to the greenhouse tomorrow to get a few shots for comparison.

bigdog

OK, here's a shot today of my Musa x sikkimensis 'Daj Giant':



Leaf closeup of 'Daj Giant':



Pseudostem closeup of 'Daj Giant':



And a shot of my Musa x sikkimensis 'Balboa Park':



Leaf closeup of 'Balboa Park':



Pseudostem closeup of 'Balboa Park':



Side-by-side:



The leaves of 'Balboa Park' have some red markings on the leaves, whereas 'Daj Giant' does not. Also, the red midrib has faded quite a bit with my 'Daj Giant', while 'Balboa Park' still has a prominent reddish-purple midrib. Both have waxy pseudostems. They are very similar, but have a few subtle differences. Clearly both have M. sikkimensis as a parent, but who is the other parent? Possibly M. balbisiana?

Tropicallvr

Thanks for posting Frank. That's good news, and the balboa park looks really nice. I wonder which one will grower taller.

RobG7aChattTN

I just wanted to state that Musa 'Balboa' has now overwintered for me two winters in a row (and for Randy4UT as well). Bigdog, you need to get yours in the ground this year.

bigdog

Yeah, I do! Something weird happened to mine in the greenhouse this year. The main stem rotted, so I dug the corm out and separated four smaller corms off of the main corm. Well, one of them sprouted quickly, and is really nicely marked. The mother corm rotted away though! Two other corms have grown roots, but haven't sprouted yet. The professor had the water temperature way too cold, and it caused lots of problems.

So I do have one to plant still! It is a nice plant too. How big did yours get last year, Rob?

Frank

RobG7aChattTN

I probably took too many pups off, but the pseudostem got up to about 5'. The mother pseudostem died, but this year's pup is already at about 4' of pseudostem so this should be a pretty good year. Also, I took a pup way too late last year, but it is coming up from the original pseudostem. As a pup, it had a pseudostem almost as tall as the mother pseudostem at about 4 1/2'. Randy4UT has the other pup and it is coming up as well. I'll be interested to see how big his will get this year.