Check out these two new banana varieties from Asia
 

First, here's a purple musa from Thailand, only had by a few collectors so far. Wow!



And here's a banana from Thailand with golden variegation. Pretty neat, huh?!

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Whoops, meant to add: photos courtesy of Hayes Jackson. (thanks, Hayes!)

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Very cool. Put me in the line for pups!

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Awesome!!!

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Wow! I love the purple one! Wonder how long it will be till we have a chance at one of those?

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Yeah, the purple one is pretty wild looking! There are many varieties in Asia that aren't available here yet, these are just a couple. Don't know if the purple one can be tissue cultured or not. A friend of mine sent me the pictures, and allowed me to post them. He just went on a plant-hunting trip to Asia (must be nice!), and took those pics in Thailand. He said that only a few collectors have that one right now. I'd like one too!

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sign me up for a purple! gabe, got any info on these?

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I second the request for more info please.

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Keep us posted about availability.

tropicalkid:cool:

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The secret is finally getting out! For now, I'll just say that the red one is slowly making its way into the US and will probly be available in the next few years, there is more info on it but Im not supposed to talk too much about it:rolleyes: Tim is up on this stuff but I bet he's been overwhelmed what with Katrina and all, he's pretty close to the diaster area being in St. Gabriel, LA.

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Gabe, can you tell us if the fruit is edible?

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Based on a little outside info and my own conclusions, I feel comfortable saying the fruit is NOT edible. Im pretty convinced I know what the plant is and how it came about.

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The red one is originally wild collected contrary to the idea of some that it is a sport of some edible cultivar. It should be a seeded species. I'd rather not say which island it comes from, but its indonesian from what i've been told... that narrows it down a bit :D . It'll be available within a year or two at decent prices, maybe by next growing season. I'm working on this and I imagine a few others are as well.

TimChapman

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Im about 108% sure exactly what it is and where it came from! And I still want one!!!

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You guys are just too much with the whole secrecy thing :) ! Darn it, I was going to make a trip to Indonesia and collect a few too. Just kidding, lol. I know it's important to keep locations of super rare stuff like that unpublicized. There are always a few unscrupulous people that would immediately go in and collect all that they could, destroying whatever is in their way along the way. I will patiently await its arrival to the States, wait for the price to go down, and buy one. Any info on its hardiness? I'm guessing not very hardy. That's ok...I have a shovel and a crawl space :D .

Tim, if it's a species banana, does it come true from seed or is it a mutation? Has anyone tried to tissue culture it yet, and if so, what are the results? It has to be THE most exotic banana that I've ever seen! And nobody's even talked about the other picture...gold variegation. Neat stuff. Wonder what else is out there, just waiting to be discovered? By the way Tim, how did your nursery, house, etc. fare in the hurricane? Hope damage was minimal.

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Well, I am glad someone explained the secrecy thing, I sure didn't understand, lol. I hope someone can answer your questions though, I sure would like to know.
I will do the same, wait for it to come, wait until I can afford it and get one then. I don't think the yellow one is as nice. Looks like the Namwah Pearl only not as pretty to me. Still if I had a chance to get one of those at a reasonable price that would be good too, lol.
It really does make you wonder what else is out there.

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There is lots more good stuff out there!

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""Tim, if it's a species banana, does it come true from seed or is it a mutation? Has anyone tried to tissue culture it yet, and if so, what are the results? It has to be THE most exotic banana that I've ever seen! And nobody's even talked about the other picture...gold variegation. Neat stuff. Wonder what else is out there, just waiting to be discovered? By the way Tim, how did your nursery, house, etc. fare in the hurricane? Hope damage was minimal.""

I've seen the gold one before, its a bit more "common" ie, available at least. Yellow is not my favorite, but I'd get one. I doubt anyone has info on the seeds etc, but my guess is that it would come true from seed (which for breeding is why I've been soooooooo hot for this thing). Its hardy in indonesia and thailand :D other than that there is no info.

I faired well thru the actual hurricane, no real damage other than branches and trashed plants. could have been worse. Three of my four scheduled fall talks/sale have already been canceled due to the lack of hotel rooms/conference centers etc. The after effects show up in some obvious and not so obvious ways around here. I live near Baton Rouge and the traffic there is ungodly now. If you've watched the news lately they've mentioned setting up the morgue to process the dead from N.O. ... that is less than a mile from my house and I see it everyday. That pretty much ends any thoughts of being "unfortunate" or upset at anything. I'm alive and have more than enough "stuff" including my health to be complaining. Its a sobering thought to imagine what goes through that warehouse.

That said, i'm still ticked about my M. siamensis breaking (only the taller ones about to bloom) and my chini champa (misspelled, but the blackstemmed indian one) fell over too. It seems to be recovering though. I was worried as its the only one. I had a massive stand of M. hybrid 'lavendar beauty' all in bloom, the leaves were trashed but the inflor.s are still up in the air lookin' good! M. laterita looks completely untouched, surrounded by plants that completely fell over.

Tim Chapman

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I think that give us some good ideas on wind resistance anyway. Here where I live though we very rarely have any wind, still it was interesting to know. Plus you mentioned some varieties I don't even know but will look into.

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I like 'em!

I'd be interested in both varieties. The purple is spectacular!

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I feel quite priviledged to read the postings by you people and am amazed at how seriously you take your collection of Musa plants.
The purple one I find very spectacular.
If you guys are prepared to wait for it to be available in the States then how long would it take an Englishman to take his turn in the queue.!!
But if you speak of SEEDS then I am with you (most of my plants originate from seeds)
Put me on your information list if possible please !
Good wishes.

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Can we get an update on the availability of the purple one please! :drum:

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It would be irresponsible for you northerners to get plants like that before they become common. Who knows what might be lost! As a service to the banana community I will be happy to propogate both plants in Florida as soon as you can send them.
PO

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Well...

It is a species banana. I am supposed to be getting one very soon. Supposedly, it is in the U.S., and he is just waiting to make sure that they don't die on him, and for them to start growing. Please don't ask me who or how much yet...I don't actually have it in my grubby little hands yet. Until I do, I am considering it all to be a nice dream :rolleyes: !

Tony Avent from Plant Delights Nursery brought one back from his trip to North Vietnam and Thailand last year. A source close to him told me that it died on him, which sounds slightly disturbing. Maybe it was just too much shock or something, who knows. He was going to try and tissue culture it.

On a side note, I have it from a reliable source that someone may have figured out how to crack the code of tc'ing the variegated AeAe! We should know sometime late this year or next. If you sell AeAe bananas, better start cranking them out fast and furious this Summer!! Prices will surely become much more reasonable if it is true.

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[quote=bigdog] Darn it, I was going to make a trip to Indonesia and collect a few too. Just kidding, lol. I know it's important to keep locations of super rare stuff like that unpublicized. There are always a few unscrupulous people that would immediately go in and collect all that they could, destroying whatever is in their way along the way. I will patiently await its arrival to the States, wait for the price to go down, and buy one. Any info on its hardiness? I'm guessing not very hardy. That's ok...I have a shovel and a crawl space :D .

QUOTE]
The one plus is that bananas grow so quick, unlike some rare cycads, which unscuplouls persons have gone and harvested the last remaining plants from the wild just so they could have a monopoly on them.
I'm glad they are coming in to the US! I'll just be patiently waiting for a chance to get one(hopefully not on Ebay for $300 bucks or more), but wouldn't doubt it.

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As beautiful and striking as those plants are, I would rather grow an Ingens outside as a centerpiece, then save the pups for next season to plant out.

Just dreaming I guess. :rolleyes:

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That is a nice dream! :rolleyes:

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Very nice!
Can't wait!

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So it is a species banana. :drum: Wow. I'll have to ask Tony all about it the next time I see him. I wish I'd have known a week ago, because I was thereand had time to talk plant with him. Very interesting info, Frank.

Zac

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Zac, please ask him why it died, if it did. That is very concerning to me. If a great plantsman like Tony killed one, what chance do I have :confused: ? Maybe it just never recovered from the trip overseas, barerooting, etc. Who knows? I would like to!!

I should have mine in another couple of weeks. I got put off recently because he wanted to make sure that they would live, and because they need to be shipped. They are growing though. And it is still quite cool here, not really banana-growing conditions (unless you're a musa ingens :D ).

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Any more recent updates on these bananas?

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Hey Scot,
The "purple one" is Musa 'Siam Ruby' and can be found on many online sites. Actually, many of us on the forum have one through Brian's Botanicals last year. There are a few pictures of mine in the Banana album in my gallery.

Prices for the Siam Ruby is about $10-30 depending. No updates on the variegated one as far as I know of...

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the siam is a beautiful nana, its the next one on my "have to have list". theres only like 20 more on my list, so one down 20 to go. lol!:woohoonaner:

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I got the Siam Ruby from Brian's Botanicals, but what is the other one? That one really looks nice!!!!
Gotta have one! Want to TC that bad boy.

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What is the fruit like from the Siam Rubys'?

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Nobody knows. i do not think anyone has managed to fruit one yet.

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isn't the last pic, the yellow/white variegated more a plant like a ae ae? difficult to cultivate and not many pups haves also the coloration?