Basjoofriend

Hi,

I saw seed of Musa formosana in the shop of Sunshine Seeds. Is Musa formosana really one provenance of Musa basjoo from the island Formosa (Taiwan)??? If yes, this is the Musa basjoo for Brazil and I will order seeds and send it to Frutas Raras to let grow them from seed and Helton then will send me seedlings to Lucianópolis. So that I will try cross Musa formosana with Prata, Jaipira, Precosa, Vitorio, balbisana and others. Yes, the seed of Musa balbisiana is already germinated in Brazil, Helton will send me the seedlings to Lucianópolis later.

Best wishes
Basjoofriend

Gabe15

Musa formosana could likely be a variety of M. itinerans, though very little is officially known about it. However, you must remember that what a company is selling as one may species may not be accurate.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Panaroma

Hi Joachim,

I was wondering. If Formosana would be the same as Basjoo, could it then in fact be crosed with A, AB? Could it be done with itinerans?
For a fact it works with Sikkimensis; cfr. Helens hybrid (with Chini Champa). For me (in Brussels,Belgium) those grow very well. I've even heard from another cross with Sikkimensis and Dhussray, witch said to be seedless. Bokiro Child has one, and as I understood he bought it in a gardencenter in France somewhere.
Anyways, it looks like a pretty interesting concept you're working on there. My bet though, would be on that Précoce banana. Cold hardy/tolerant and a short cicle to fruitsetting/ripening. I like your work and dedication. But hey, someone 's gotta do it, right! Succes, and I hope you'll get (a) very satifieing hybrid(s) in time.

Gunther

bigdog

Having ordered Musa formosana seeds from sunshine-seeds.com and germinated them back in 2007, I can tell you that they are indeed NOT Musa formosana. I have discussed with Markku Hakkinen, and he believes based on pictures that I sent him that they might be a new species from Taiwan which is set to be described sometime next year. Both of my plants have grown huge in relatively small pots, and are extremely reluctant to form pups. They have waxy pseudostems and very upright leaves, both of which are not characteristics of M. formosana. They are also clumpers, whereas M. formosana is rhizomatous, like M. itinerans. I would post some pictures, but I don't have any recent ones, and both plants are back in the greenhouse at school with no leaves at the present time (couldn't fit them in the van with the leaves on them!).

Basjoofriend

Hi,

thanks. Is Musa formosana as hardy as Musa basjoo or even hardier? Already tested in hardiness in cold winters? If yes, then I will order seeds and send them to Brazil.

Best wishes
Joachim