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An important difference between a Variegated Namwa and a Variegated Dwarf Namwa is that the variegation gets brighter in each leaf as it ages with the non Dwarf varieties.

The Variegated Namwa in the photo below is a young plant and the leaf on the left is it's latest to unfurl while it's leaf on the right unfurled about 14 days earlier.

2/9/25

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Here's another good example of the variegation becoming brighter over time.

The variegation on the flag leaf is very dull compared to the variegation on the older leaves.

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2/19/25

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all43

Beautiful looking fruits!

Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Interesting that the dwarf and tall would vary that much in variegation color. I would have thought that the two would have originated from a single Namwa parent plant ay some point. Does this mean that the two could have come from a batch of seeds instead or is this normal behavior for a line of plants from a common ancestor? I guess it could also be explained by the dwarf needing more chlorophyl because it could not reach as much sun while the tall gets too much sun for it's needs.

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I believe all the plants in the Pisang Awak subgroup originated from the same single seed and the different cultivars were mutations that happened afterwards. Looking at mutations from a numbers point of view, I doubt a variegated non-dwarf plant produce the variegated dwarf version. It's seems more likely that a non-variegated non-dwarf plant produced a dwarf sport/offshoot and each of these mutations later produced variegated versions. If the variegated mutations were two separate events it's much easier to explain why the variegation is so different.

Most people that want a variegated Namwa opt for the dwarf because it's shorter without ever taking into account the difference between the variegation.

I prefer the variegation of the non-dwarf because it gets more beautiful as it ages.

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

That makes sense to me. To clarify, if I am reading this right, the variegation and the dwarfism was deep down inside the probable original tall all along as a recessive gene. I'm guessing dwarfism is a little more dominant but the variegation was also there and carried along to each line.

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I believe variegation is much more common but over the past 10,000 years there was little to no advantage to propagating it and as a result it was probably discarded countless times. But dwarfism had a functional purpose for maintaining the line and increasing it's numbers which then increased the chances of a variegated mutation happening when they eventually became desirable.

Variegation can easily be lost with this subgroup. If a variegated Pisang Awak is planted and left alone it would slowly over time be outnumbered and overrun by the more vigorous all green offshoots.

It's easier to maintain a nicely variegated line with culling than it is to enhance a slightly variegated line.

Many people don't want to force or damage their small plants for propagation purposes and that's why vertical propagation is so desirable. A grower gets to increase their plant count with absolutely no negative affect to a small plant.

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Same plant newest leaf.

Temporarily ugly

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I was eating some fried maduros with my dinner last night and found this seed. I don't have a clue who the father is but the mother is the variegated non-dwarf pisang awak in the bottom photo. I don't expect it to germinate after being fried but I'll find out in a few weeks. The bunch was not hand pollinated but hopefully there will be some more seeds.

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Hope you find more seeds but not by potentially cracking a tooth. Must be nice living in the tropics.

all43

I know for sure if I crunched on one of those bad boys I'd be in a whole lot of trouble!!!

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Banana seeds are not going to damage anyone's teeth. They can easily be crushed by squeezing them between your fingers, and teeth are harder than fingers.

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Just found a Variegated Namwa bunch and will be hand pollinating the top hand today. 3/15/25

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Seed squeezing is an important method I used to test seed viability. A bad seed will crush with less pressure than a good seed.

When I sell seeds I always send plenty of extras. Extra seeds give members the opportunity to crack a few open to see what the inside of a good seed looks like, this will help to later identify what bad seeds look like.

Yesterday I harvested seeds from some variegated Tani fruit. All the seeds immediately sank when placed in water, a good sign but not that important. Next, to check for leaky plugs, I let the seeds dry for about 12 hours and then placed them back in water and they all floated initially but eventually all sank after a few hours. Then I applied pressure to each seed and they crushed with less pressure than what it would take to crush good seeds of other varieties. All seeds were bad and failed visual inspection for viability. I've learned it's quicker to skip the water test and just do the pressure test, especially with Tani.

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Do you think the seeds did not get good pollination, were not mature, or something else?

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I really don't know and it seems unlikely that a wild banana is female infertile but that's what I'm leaning towards. I've harvested well over a million seeds and not to get one good seed seems impossible for a wild banana.

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@Jeff

How did your VDN do over the winter?

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

It has exceeded my expectations. It holds 9 leaves now, puts out a new leaf every 2 weeks, and does not skip a beat. All my other bananas just keep a leaf or two or even none over winter. Will try to post a pic. Tried to post a pic here twice now, over the last couple weeks, but I think I need to down size to make it post. It grows circles around my other indoor bananas.

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Good to hear.

The thread Vertical Propagation is aimed towards variegated Pisang Awak growers. It's important to massively propagate these plants to maintain a line of heavily variegated ones.

The lower part of the rhizome from your plant has produced many beautifully variegated plants for me. Selling the mother plant to you and keeping the lower rhizome appears to have worked out well for both of us.

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