Kostas

Hello!

I am interested to know at what temprature does leaf damage start for the following species:Musa peekelii,Musa sikkimensis,Musa itinerans natural varieties(for example M. itinerans var. itinerans if this is a natural variant),Ensete ventricosum,Musa textilis(Borneo),Musa acuminata,Musa paradisiaca(i think this is a true species and not a cultivar,its also called M. sapientum),Musa sp. Burmese Blue and Musa nagesium.

I would also like to know which of the above produce edible(raw or cooked) ,although full of seeds,bananas and what their pseudostem hardiness is. Which ones make very tight clumps and which more open ones?

Thank you very much in advance!

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Abnshrek

0 C not that it matters unless your going to dig them up to dry store them. None of the banana's you listed are etible I do believe which means they are nice to look at and collect more seeds from. :^)

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Kostas

For me,defoliation temprature plays some role as it determines if I am going to look at poles after middle winter or if I will enjoy them yearround with leafs. So is there no variation at all on the temprature the different species defoliate? I thought the cold hardy species like Musa sikkimensis would maybe be somewhat more cold hardy on it's leafs too. I know Musa basjoo keeps it's leafs most of the winters in Pyrgos for example but I don't know if the more tropical species would do the same. Do all Musa defoliate when Alocasia for example defoliates? This happens some of the winters in Pyrgos.

I understand that these will be full if seeds(which is good) and there won't be much to eat,but which of these have that little pulp they have taste very sweet? I must also agree that many big hands make for a better looking bunch too! Impressive flowers are a big plus too!

Do fruits damage at the same tempratures as leafs when maturing on the plant?

Sorry for the so many question!

Thank you very much in advance!

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Abnshrek

Well you could make it easy on yourself and just plant a Raja Puri or simular dwarf type, fast growing etible, and not have to worry about the seeds. In your temporate weather once it warms up, you should have plenty of time for a recovering corm to fruit out. :^)

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Kostas

Thank you very much for your reply and suggestion Migael!
I am a fan of pure species in everything so I could not put a hybrid/cultivar banana in my garden. I plan to only grow such bananas at another yard of mine in the future for fruit harvest. For my garden,a big,spectacular,sweet fruited,pure species banana,with beautyfull flower that won't be loosing it's leafs most of the years,is all I want!

Will Musa species be maturing their fruits before January in my climate or will the fruits have to pass a winter on the tree and complete maturation next spring? Or is this just random,depending on when each pseudostem is ready to flower and so for example a big clump produces fruits yearround?

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Jack Daw

That doesn't really play any role in your climate. Since you are not goinf to eat them, they will most likely mature even during your Greek winter without any problems. You have both - good temperatures and enough water in winter. Also to that temperature: it really depends, 1 hour of 0°C is not like 15 hours of 0°C and I dare to say that some naners (like my Grand Nains) started loosing the leaves only when the temps fell below -1°C for a shorter period.

Bananas produce fruit when they want. There is no way of estimating how much or when a clump will be fruiting.

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Kostas

Thank you very much for your reply Jack!

Thats very good to hear! Are the fruits hardier to cold than the leafs? In case for example i get -1C or -2C as the coldest temprature a single night,just before sunrise,would the fruits or even leafs survive? The starting temprature is always above 0C and during the night,on the coldest night,it may fall to -1C or every a few years,-2C just before the sun rises and warms things up.

So,would planting a cold hardy species like M. sikkimensis make any difference in anything than planting a more tropical species like many of the rest i mention are? Also,would any of the species i mention have any problems with tempratures above 35C(this is a quite common day high for most of the summer) or a min of -3,6C(record low) that can occur once in 20years?

Which of the above species do you think will do best for me and is also the most beautyfull one in your eyes? From all tall growing,big leafed, pure Musa sp.,which one would it be?




I read on the forum Gabe's comment on Musa paradisiaca that no such species exists and that its mostly equal to saying ''banana''. Is this still the case? Jungle Seeds sells Musa paradisiaca seed from wild growing,seeded plants as it says. Could this be the true species? It has a photo under that name too. Could you maybe id what is pictured to get an idea what that might really be if this name is a false one?

Thank you very much in advance!

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palmtree

Most bananas get burned leaves after a hard freeze. My cavendish get burned around 34F which I think is around 1C. The longer the period of the freeze, the more it turns to mush. Anything below 40 reallt slows them down to a halt until temps rebound.

Good luck!

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Kostas

Thank you very much for your reply palmtree!

I hope that the little time it freezes in Pyrgos wont be enough to damage the leafs too much then,as its not enough to damage the leafs of Musa basjoo much. They just get tattered and have margin necrosis.
No day in Pyrgos has 40F as the high temprature,its always much above it! Only during the night can it fall that low...

Thanks for your wish! I will need it as a beginner in banana growing!



I looked through the different species again,trying to settle on one to buy and the ones that win me the most are Musa sikkimensis(the regular and the red tiger),Musa itinerans var. gigantea(wish i could grow that one,it will take over my whole garden and probably not look perfect with the full sun and high tempratures it will be getting because i read it likes some shade)and Musa textilis. Due to lack of space for a banana as huge as Musa itinerans var. gigantea(unless you can suggest a way to incorporate it in my garden without it annoying my small palms),i think i will have to settle for one of the 2 others. Does Musa textilis(the true one,i will get seeds from the Musa textilis(Borneo) RPS sells if i end up choosing this one) has more upright growing leafs than Musa sikkimensis and most bananas? How tall does it grow and what is its clumping habit compared to Musa sikkimensis? Are its fruits sweet as M. sikkimensis are from what i read? How cold hardy are the pseudostems? Would a single sub zero night with temprature gradually falling to -3,6C just before sunrise,kill the pseudostems?

Thank you very much in advance!

Another question i have is regarding the heat tolerance of Musa sikkimensis. Would it have any problems with the 35+C we have as high for more of summer?Would that show it down or damage it?

Thank you very much in advance!

__________________
''To try,is to risk failure......To not try,is to guarantee it''

Jack Daw

Those are all very difficult questions, Kostas. I haven't tried it, so I can't answer, but some time ago, Paulie and Ventura started an interesting thread about growing naners in extremely hot climates (very similar to yours in summer, although maybe with slightly higher temps).

You could check the thread out and learn what they found out in a span of 2 or so years.
high temperature banana growing habits

Regarding the frost tolerance. It generally is so, that any commercial variety is almost exclusively less hardy than the popular seeded varieties sold in Europe. You could check out this experiment:
Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia

Georgia is in much lower and more humid zone, than Greece, so it will probably help you in one way or another.

And then there are tons of threads like these, laying forgotten in the continuum of this site, popping up each time you search for cold hardiness or drough resistance.

Have a look at these articles, threads... and they might help you. Your climate is very unique and you won't truly know, unless you've found someone who grows naners in your area. What I can say is that I saw edible naners growing, fruiting and thriving in Andalucia without any problems also in winter.

Good luck!

__________________
Thnx to Marcel, Ante, Dr. Chiranjit Parmar and Francesco for the plants I've received.



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