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chong · 01-22-2007, 04:37 AM

I have not tried growing M. textilis (abaca) from seed, however, I grew up in the region in the Philippines where the majority of the world's supply of abaca rope used to come from. The mean temperature in the region is 85F (29C), with summer highs of 95F (35C), and winter lows of 74F (23C). Typical daily range (lo to hi) rarely exceeds 10F (5.5C). So, I don't think you'd need to vary the temperature necessarily, since the since the daytime and nighttime temperatures of the plant's native area do not vary very much, anyway. If you want to try varying the temperature, however, you might just put a timer in series with your thermostat to turn on the heater during the day, and off at night. (I'm assuming that your propagation mat is in a room with the temperature set at 70F-72F (21C-22C)).

Here in Seattle, WA, I've successfully germinated M. glauca with a heating mat set at 85F (29C) constantly.

01-22-2007, 04:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
chong Senior Member chong's Photo Gallery Location: Seattle, WA Find me on the map! Zone: 8-9 Name: Chong Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,851 BananaBucks : 124,513 Feedback: 6 / 100% Said "Thanks" 1,309 Times Was Thanked 1,702 Times in 759 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 991 Times	Re: Musa Textilis germination I have not tried growing M. textilis (abaca) from seed, however, I grew up in the region in the Philippines where the majority of the world's supply of abaca rope used to come from. The mean temperature in the region is 85F (29C), with summer highs of 95F (35C), and winter lows of 74F (23C). Typical daily range (lo to hi) rarely exceeds 10F (5.5C). So, I don't think you'd need to vary the temperature necessarily, since the since the daytime and nighttime temperatures of the plant's native area do not vary very much, anyway. If you want to try varying the temperature, however, you might just put a timer in series with your thermostat to turn on the heater during the day, and off at night. (I'm assuming that your propagation mat is in a room with the temperature set at 70F-72F (21C-22C)). Here in Seattle, WA, I've successfully germinated M. glauca with a heating mat set at 85F (29C) constantly.