v1rtu0s1ty

Hi folks,

I really want this plant. However, I would like to put it in a pot and put it in our living room since winter is near. I would like to know if it's ok to put them inside the house as indoor plant then bring it out in spring.

Also, I got a bit confused after reading a thread. Someone said that Ensete ventricosum and Ensete Maurelii are different plants. However, on this link, BBC - Gardening - Plants - Plant Finder - Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii', it says that they're the same. The thread that I red was telling the difference between the two. The former being fewer red stripes and the latter have more reds in them.

So which is true?

Thanks,

Neil

Bob

I just got a Maurelii that I'll be overwintering in a pot and doubt there'll be any trouble at all. Will It get plenty of sun in your living room? As I understand it the primary difference is the red coloration, cooler temps and sun making the Maurelii a deeper red .The ventricosum is primarily a green.

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v1rtu0s1ty

Where did you buy it? Can you post a picture please?

Also, for people who have owned them, how do they look like when young? This way, if for example, I buy from ebay, I'll be able to tell that they're really maurelii.

Thanks!

damaclese

they are the same species the Maurellii is a sport of the normally Green Ensete Ventricosum so in Essenes it a sub species "Ensete Ventricosum ss. Maurellii" its not going to look its best indoors do to the low light levels if you put a grow light on it its color will be much better I'm sure it Will do fine indoors just don't over water it keep it damp but not wet! and don't fertilize it until spring that will keep it smaller and more compact so its not all leggy when you put it out in the spring

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damaclese

ya don't fall for it will get red when its older routine they turn red in just a couple of months after germinating but not all Ev seeds taken from the Maurellii will turn red its a variant they get the consistent red ones from TC'ing in other words they can be red from seeds but its kinda rare the only way to get them for sure is to get ones that have been TC'ed sorry if I'm repeating my self there but Ebay is a terrible place to buy just get it from a reputable plant dealer you will be much more happy and there wont be the stress of will this guy rip me off!! and good dealers give money back guarante

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v1rtu0s1ty

By the way, what does TC mean?

Thanks for the advice!

D_&_T

TC is tissue culture.

Check out classified on the Org Sandy has a sale going on!

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v1rtu0s1ty

Just sent a pm to Sandy.

Thanks!

Chironex

You can also buy bananas from her directly on eBay. Some of them are a few cents less there, too. Some other sellers were also offering them.

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Scot

JCDerrick

I purchased a Ensete Ventricosum Maurelii off eBay (not from Sandy) and I'll admit so far I have yet to be impressed with it. It hasn't grown much at all and I'm starting to wonder about it - I've had it for several weeks now. I plan to over winter it in a pot in the heated garage, so hopefully next Spring it'll respond better in the ground. Though I'm guessing since it's not hardy here - I'll likely have to dig it up again for winter.

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Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

damaclese

JC Ensete are not like Musa they do not grow at the speed of light!LOL they can live for 5 years or more some times even up to 10 years so they grow slowly don't dishearten its going to take its time getting there but the nice side to that is if you can put it in your land scape it makes for a good semi permanent planting at leas 5 years Worth.
although i don't know your particular EV I'm sure its doing what nature intended i have 4 and they only put on about one leaf ever 2 to 3 weeks it sorta painful to watch next to the Musa. good luck post some good close up pics and we will look at them for any signs of bad health!
PS defiantly dig it up they wont survive in zone 8 Ev's are hardy zones 11/9

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Lagniappe

I can say That Ensete Maurelii outpaces all of my Musa in terms of hardiness and growth (emerging even earlier than Basjoo). They do seem to have a ceiling though. Maurelii is the first plant to emerge here in the spring and gets at least 6 leaves on it before the Musa emerge.
Ensete Glaucum does well without any mulch here in zone 8a.
I can't say about E.ventricosum because mine went from seed to bloom in a few months. They bloomed at 6' and were very large plants. I suspect that these were Superbum that were mislabled though.
This year, I have many Maurelii plantlets and Ventricosum seedlings that will be left out to test the hardiness of the smaller plants.

damaclese

I'm looking forward to hearing from you on your test if you do well then next year I'm going to leave min out here in zone 9 and for my Ensete growing slowly its probably do to the fact i have to protect them from the sun here they only get 3hr of sun a day and still burn around the edges a bit so that mite be the answer how ever several people told me EV grow slow so i don't know for sure could also be that mine are so young and really only got out side about a month ago plus i repotted them I'm sure they are growing roots like crazy! but with a mature hight of 20 ft and a life expectancy of 5 years they can't grow that fast compared to Musa

ps did you take any pics of the EV we can certainly ascertain there identity if we had a any

pss i thought of this after the fact so I'm posting just to help maybe it will give you an idea if yours were mis-marked


EV notes the shortish stout looking stature with a marked swelling of the base of the stem this is typical of EV's also but not always the red mid ribs and vary long leaves
as apposed to the ultra short and highly thick trunk of the superbum
with its much shorter mature hight of only 12 to 16 ft verses 20ft for the EV

this is not the best picture to compare as they are obviously of vary different ages but you can clearly see the difference in the foliage and the significant differences in the thickens of the superbum how it hugs the ground although you cant see the trunk in the last picture its vary thick all the way up to the point of leaf emergence

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Lagniappe

They do tend to take off once they get a little size to them. Musa are the same way.

JCDerrick

That's probably my issue then, it's the size of the plant itself. I assume EV has a corm like a banana? I've definitely seen photos of places are far north as Kentucky where they are the largest and fastest growing items in the garden, but they are also much more established and larger plants.

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Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

Lagniappe

Pauly, I posted pics last year. They were mostly green. I post pics of all the blooms too. Tropicallvr commented on one that it appeared to be Superbum (The seeds were from Banana-Tree and marked Ventricosum). Bigdog had similar experience with them blooming at that height,but those were potted.
I have 5 potted that will overwinter indoors as a contingency so I can see if they bloom early like the last ones.
If I can find a way,I'll get the pics off my old hard drive. I purge my gallery now and then because I take a lot of pics and I don't want to hog up the orgs resources. I did post pics of a few of the Ventricosum and Maurelii that have been earmarked for this test.

JCDerrick

Pete, can you post a photo of that Rewnfrow plant too? I've been dying to see it since you were describing it.

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Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

v1rtu0s1ty

Good morning folks. I ordered 2 maurelii's from Sandy. Hopefully, it will be here by next week. Will it be bad if it will only be getting 2 to 3 hours of sun inside our house? I couldn't find an area where it will get more than that. I will monitor the door to the backyard since it's facing west. I remember, around July, it starts to get sunlight after 12:30pm.

Thanks!

dablo93

I dont think it will be a big problem, if they are the rest of the day also on a light spot.

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Lagniappe

My little seedlings have survived several hard freezes and ,with our heat wave of 70 degrees today, are trying to push out new growth.

I know that winter is long from over but this is a great sign.

You can see how small they are by comparing them to the oak leaves.