Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

I bought 2 banana mother plants on July 28th and the label said "Rojo / Blood Plant" and the ad said "Rojo / Zebrina". Now I'm totally confused. They are not camo like a Zebrina and it's getting colder so I need to know when I needa bring them in or even how to take care of them.
I would really appreciate any help I can get. :) Somebody said it might be an Ensete and that they dont make pups. Is that true?
The front plant is 3 foot 3 inches and the back one is 3 foot 9 inches [to the tops of the leaves].



If anybody needs more photos to help ID them, I can take pics and post them in less than an hour.

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

They do look like Ensete to me too.
:woohoonaner:

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

Looks like a Ensette Murelli(SP?)
Like dalmation soap said.
I jsut dragged mine inside now.
Hardy to zone 10 so don't wait for a frost or it could be too late.

Here is a link to the banana wiki with some more info on it.
Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' - Bananas Wiki
I am told pupping like other bananas do is very un commmon, but can happen.
Once they flower or I guess at any stage?? when chopped back to the ground they do throw new shoots which you can see in the link.

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

Thanks guyz! :) I think I will pot them and bring them inside since we're doing 40's F tonight. What I really wanted was Zebrina banana plants but they're def not easy to find.

Def thanks for the wiki link! :D
I just checked the photos and read it. I think that's def what I have and since I have 2 I'll prolly grow one and chop [and split] the other one to make pups! That thing makes tons of pups! And 20 feet?! Yes! That's perfect!

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

When they are 20 feet tall they have a pseudostem like a 55 gal. barrel!

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

Omg! :D I might need a fork lift and a back hoe, lol!

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

These two are Ensete ventricosum and the one with red undersides is the 'maurellii' form which doesn't produce seed in my experience. You can make them pup by sawing the plant off just above ground level (when its bigger but not full size) then gouge out the growing point down in the middle with a sharp knife blade. Once the meristem is destroyed it cannot produce the hormone that prevents pup formation and you'll start to get dozens of pups forming from between all the sawn-off leaf bases and after about 3 months they'll be forming new roots and you can start pulling them off and potting them up! Good luck!

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

LOL...I told you it was maurelii! Guess you didn't believe me!

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

Omg! I remembered that somebody told me but I couldn't remember who! Was that in IM? Anyway, thanks! :) I really wanted it to be a Zebrina but only cause I didn't think Ensetes could make pups and I didn't wanna have to try and do seeds since they can take a year or more! Now that i know it can do pups, I'm def gonna try and keep it for the winter but it's getting cold here at night so I'll def needa pot them up soon.
Russ, thanks for the info for pupping! I'm def gonna try that!

Seek Christ: Thanks for the 2 Zebrina pups you're gonna send me! :) I'll def take good care of those till spring!

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

Hint on the pupping suggestion.....it works best with a mature plant. If you try it on a smaller plant, it might end up dying on ya and you'll get nothing. Just don't want you to end up empty-handed.

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

Oh. I guess I should wait a couple years then. But I def like the red and how big they get! :D But didn't you lose one to spider mites? I'll def needa watch for that this winter! Do spider mites make leaves turn yellow?

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

Nah, wasn't spider mites.....that plant just hated the conditions here (too humid, I think). It never did well for me....looked sickly for a long time till it finally died (which I actually celebrated cause I was sick of looking at it's sickliness LOL :ha: ).

Re: Rojo, Zebrina, or what ????
 

ROFLMFAO! :ha: That's eggsactly how I felt about those 2 Thai Black banana plants I had! Somebody said they might come back even though the plant was dead. I really really really really hoped not! :ha: I dumped the pots to be safe! But the Red Absynnians seem to love it here so I'm happy about that! :D
Btw, it's been a month or more since you showed me a photo of your Traveller's Tree. Is it getting bigger now?!