Pisang Ceylon
 

I haven’t really even seen any pictures of this variety flowering, so I took some pics as well as stats. This is my first bunch of these so I am excited to try!


I got this plant from Ty as a tissue culture in the fall of 2019 and planted spring 2020. Pic is from December 2019:





Planted March 2020!





June 2020:






July 2020:





October 2020:









She sent up a flag 13 months after planting at around 9 1/2 feet tall, but subsequent pups will definitely get much taller, probably between 12 and 15 feet tall before flowering. This variety is tall and skinny, so it needs support and would definitely benefit from a location sheltered from wind, i.e., in between two houses (as long as it gets sun), or surrounded by stronger banana varieties to help block wind. The leaves have an erect habit, as well as a pinkish, reddish hue to the petioles and midrib. The color is most pronounced in young pups. The bottoms of the leaves on young pups also have a rust colored hue.











I will be updating this thread showing the progress of the bunch as well as any other things I notice about this variety. If you grow this variety and have tips or pictures of it, feel free to post them here!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Looks awesome, congrats on the flower! The Mysore types really are beautiful plants.

I also got a TC Pisang Ceylon, from sddarkman in April 2020




Planted it in the ground in August:




And here it is today:




Currently at around 10.5' at the crown. I'm hoping it will flower here in the next couple months!

As you said, the stalk is quite thin for its height. I tried to plant it in a spot where it was sheltered from the normal winds that come off of the lake to the West. However, the past 10 days or so the wind has been consistently coming out of the East with daily gusts up to ~25 mph, so its leaves have gotten pretty well shredded. I had to tie it up this week to keep it from leaning too much, and I've got further plans for propping when it fruits.

I'll likewise post an update when mine fruits!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Wow, yours looks awesome! I saw one of pitangadeigo's posts where he said they taste very, very good, and in a different post how it's definitely a keeper. Here's a video I found on them:


https://youtu.be/HKww4KJ25-w

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Thanks! Everyone seems to have great things to say about the taste of these guys.

It seems really cold hardy too. We had a fairly mild winter but the Pisang Ceylon looked completely unfazed and still put out 3 leaves from December to February, meanwhile some of my other varieties essentially completely stop growing until March. Really the only drawback as far as I can tell is the need for support/lack of wind resistance.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Here's a couple threads I found:


http://www.bananas.org/f2/pisang-cey...ight-4140.html



http://www.bananas.org/f2/joshs-pisa...=Pisang+Ceylon

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Pisang Ceylon came through and made a rather impressive 12 hands bunch! :nanadrink:


I did a finger count, but forgot what it was. I’ll have to count again tomorrow. One things for sure though, these aren’t “lady finger” sized bananas, these are “baby finger” sized bananas :ha:

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

This is my second favorite banana to look at after my reds.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

:08:

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

:08::08:

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

I love mysore! I really wish they would do better here. We are just a tiny bit too cold. The years they do make it my whole family gets excited! Amazing tropical almost berry like flavor to me. You will love them!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Noticed a flag leaf on the Pisang Ceylon today. Earlier than I was expecting!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Congratulations! Keep us updated on that! You should be looking at a nice sized bunch!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Sounds good! I got the plant from you fall of 2019 as a tissue culture. It needs propped though!! Lol

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Just a little update:

My Pisang Ceylon made quite a small flower



Yet somehow it made a nice 12 hand bunch. I'm very pleased!




Now I wait!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Congrats to you both! I have a pisang keling which I believe is the same as pisang ceylon? I also have a pisang Klotek.. cant wait to fruit one of these.. Ive heard great things about the fruit!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Thanks! I've heard that Keling and Ceylon are the same but can't confirm it myself. Will be very interesting to hear your thoughts on the taste of Keling vs Klotek once they fruit!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

That is a very impressive bunch there..... Congrats! That thing is healthy! :woohoonaner:

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Bunch is filling pretty quickly and I am excited to try them hopefully soon!

My plant does have BSV, and from 75’s second picture, it looks like that plant does as well, but it isn’t affecting the growth or productivity of the plant as far as I can tell.




The bees and wasps adore the male flowers of this variety, and the male flowers are always full of bees (some wasps but mostly bees) and when the flowers have fallen to the ground, the bees are still climbing all over them sucking the nectar! Watch your step! :ha:

And when there aren’t any male flowers open, there is usually some wasp or bee on the bud waiting for another bract to lift to reveal more male flowers! You can see the wasp waiting on the male bud lol

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

That is a fine looking bunch.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Can't believe how quickly yours are filling in - definitely faster than mine. At any rate it's good to know these things won't take 6 or 8 months to ripen up!

And regarding BSV, it looks symptomatic in the pic from when I planted it in the ground last year but looking at the plant now it looks perfectly healthy and none of the leaves look like any of the pictures of symptomatic leaves. I'm not exactly experienced at identifying this disease though, so who knows...

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Mine too, it made one leaf with yellow streaks, and that was it. I can see red streaks on some of the trunk and some blotches last year on the parent plants trunk. I think these are indicators of the virus as well. I'm not sure though.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Yeah I mean I'm not gonna pretend I know the entire range of symptoms that could present themselves but I don't think mine looks like the BSV images I've seen. Also I'm kind of confused because Pisang Ceylon/"Improved Mysore" is supposed to be BSV resistant, correct?

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

It is, I think the "improved" part is the resistance to BSV. So I am confused too. Lol


Would it be necessary to remove the mat if it has BSV?

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

This thread is mostly just an argument thread over semantics and Pisang Ceylon's susceptibility to BSV, but perhaps it could be of some use: http://www.bananas.org/f2/musa-pisang-ceylon-21069.html

But based on this thread it doesn't sound like destruction of the plant is necessarily required: http://www.bananas.org/f310/virus-nu...nal-22592.html

My understanding of BSV (and I could be wrong) is that there can be a huge range of symptoms, from a tiny yellow streak on a single leaf all the way to rotting/splitting pseudostems and necrotic fruits, all based on the "amount" of virus present in the plant. It seems that if the plants are healthy enough to bear fruit it's probably okay to keep them.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Good news, thanks! I was worried because I didn't want to remove the mat, especially right when it is finally established.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Currently growing: Tall Namwah, Dwarf Brazilian, Patupi, Veinte Cohol, FHIA1 Goldfinger, SH3640, Raja Puri, Dwarf Cavendish, Manzano, FHIA18, TC Gros Michel, TC Pisang Ceylon

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Joe and 75north,

Love the look of the banana. Now wondering how they would do in my yard? How long are they going to take to ripen?

I love coming on here and reading posts like this one cause I always seem to learn something new. Thank you both for sharing your photos and experiences

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

I will update the thread with that information when it ripens! Glad to help. :nanadrink:

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

:drum:

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Thought I'd post an update since it's been a couple months...



They're filling in, though clearly more slowly than Joe's.
But hey, as long as I get ripe fruit before winter comes - which looks likely at this point - I'm all good :0489:

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

When I plant that plant the plant was beautiful I’m super happy with it. Then it was super healthy. The rain came in that area was flooded not only Pissang Ceylon was flooded Saba ,Orinoco,tall namwa there all flooded.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Came back from being out of town to a nice surprise...a ready to harvest Pisang Ceylon bunch!




Quick taste report:
They seem to be at peak ripeness with just a few brown spots on a completely yellow peel. Texture is good, about the same firmness as a store-bought banana but they are smoother/less pasty than a normal Cavendish.

They have a definite acidity to them that decreases as they ripen. Eating a slightly underripe banana with some green left, the acid flavor is dominant. As they ripen they mellow out some and have hints of lemon and berry with a nice level of sweetness. They definitely still taste like a banana though too, I've heard some people say these taste like strawberries or like green apple candy or whatever, and...I'm not so sure about that.

They are really good though! I've given some away to a handful of people and I've already heard three times that "it's the best banana I've ever tasted." Granted, these aren't connoisseurs like we have here on bananas.org, but it's nice praise nonetheless :ha:

Overall, when factoring in ease of growing in the Florida climate, it seems like Pisang Ceylon is a definite winner!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Great looking bunch!

How long did it take to flower i.e. peeper to flower? My Pisang Klotek is very slow growing and I didn't get a flower this year. Hopefully next year I will get to try those tasty bananas again. Jealous!

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Thanks! I got it as a tissue culture in April 2020, planted it in the ground last August at about 3 feet tall, it sent up a flag leaf in early June, and then took about 4 months to ripen the bunch. Seems to be a pretty quick grower for me.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Awesome! My bunch ripened as well but I haven't posted pics yet. I would say that taste description is definitely accurate. Manzano is still my favorite, but they were delicious. One thing I will add is they have a super thick skin, so they can't be jostled around as much as some.

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Pissang Ceylon and Mysore are the same?

Re: Pisang Ceylon
 

Pisang Ceylon is a Mysore type. There is also a standard variety in this family just called Mysore. But they are different.