Bananas for bamboo

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needmore
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by needmore »

Steve, when I dug your moso last spring I dug 3 extras that initially looked shabby so I put them aside. They look decent now and one has a rhizome running out of the drainage hole, dunno if the others are doing the same in the pots or not but I really don't want to overwinter them so I will either plant them out or trade them - interested in more?

Or anybody else for that matter...
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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stevelau1911
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

The one I got from you produced 1 rhizome that reached about 1ft in length, but it looks like that has stopped, but I suspect that there will be another boost of rhizome growth once that small rhizome gets filled up with starches. It's already viable, and enough for me to take observations so I think that's enough for me because it doesn't take me much effort to throw it in the tarp pile with the rest of the potted bamboos for the winter.

I have observed that it is behaving clearly different from moso bicolor in that it appears to have the ability to shoot sooner, but doesn't fire off shoots quite as easily as the clumping moso seedlings I've been accustomed to. It should successfully send a few good culms next year.


It's tough to tell from these pictures, but my ensetes are getting up to the 3ft range with super thick stems in the 5 inch range which is still nothing compared to my neighbor who has it up to 8-9ft with massive trunks. Since you have an indoor greenhouse, if your ensete is much bigger than the ones I have, it may be OK to take a pie cutting off the main plant for propagation, and still have enough time to get the piece to callus over to produce pups without taking away that much progress from the mother plant.

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foxd
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by foxd »

I have some Musa zebrina bananas that I would be willing to trade if anyone is interested.
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stevelau1911
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Re: Bananas for bamboo

Post by stevelau1911 »

Here's what ensete maurelii can do in zone 6, and these can probably still get bigger for the year. Just by looking, the highest leaves were around 11ft, and the base of them are close to a foot in diameter.
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A smaller one.
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My larger one is barely 4ft high at the tip, but it's lack up height is made up by it's near 6 inches of diameter at the base. It's still possible for them to get to 5ft tall with a few more weeks of warmth.
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the other one is just a bit behind.
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I wished I was more successful with mekong giant, but unfortunately mine died over last winter.
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