cincinnana

Mulched both plants today....

I have a small plant under cfl's.

I had grown the other new plants under cfl till safe outdoor size and had good results...

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cincinnana

Just a photo of the plants together.

The plants look the same.....except the mekong has tossed out runners in a few directions

Next season plants will be of same size for comparison.



The area is now mulched with 6 inches of woodchips for the rest of the season.
I do have a plant in a container under cdl's.


Mekong
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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cincinnana

I had to go to the mulch store...
5 scoops to the roof of the F-150

I got a few loads...
Photo is through the wind shield


Mulch by
Hostafarian, on Flickr

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cincinnana

This plant works well under low light conditions for overwintering.

My plant is in a shallow (planted low) 14 gal black landscape container.
Indor grow.....which is harder than an outside grow...
I will move the plant outside to take a photo
Thank you.."for the questions

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cincinnana

46-0-0 was applied to the plants today in the home landscape.
A triple 19 will be used later in the season

A general 16-16-16 is being applied to commercially maintained basjoo plantings during the next few months as well as touchup mulching for the season .

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Mark Dragt

Great thread! I will finally plant out my Mekong this spring. Should do just fine since I do absolutely nothing for my Basjoo mat and they keep coming back strong. It will be exciting to see the difference in growing habits.

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cincinnana

Awesome......I think your are going to find the plant is no different from your other plants.......Except for the runners.....

Give your subjective opinion for your zone comparing the plants characteristics.

Thanks for joining in..

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cincinnana

Well, the mekongs are just waking up and about 4 inches tall.
The plant is spreading because the runners are further apart.
I am very surprised they are just peaking the soil line and nothing is growing from the main corm yet

Ten feet away are basjoos that are chest high and on their fourth leaf.

Both plants are treated the same.
Plants were fed 46-0-0 in April and a follow up of triple 19.


Current soil temp is in the 68-75 range.
Triple 19 was scratched in a few days ago.
They are on cruise control for the summer

For comparison my container plants that were overwintered indoors some under lights, are on their first outdoor leaf.

Dwarf reds continue to be a beast wanting to pup instead making new leaves.

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Snarkie

Will the Mekong Giant overwinter where the basjoos will? I've thought about getting one, but wasn't sure it would survive here.

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The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




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cincinnana

In your zone the plant should be even more of a beast.
I did overwinter an 8 footer indoors just in case.
There are a number of gardens locally which have some decent mats.

I grow mine side by side for comparison.

.Mekong Giant vs Basjoo

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sirdoofus

Very cool. I am super interested to hear how the outdoor Mekongs do this year. I am definitely interested in trying one of those guys here if I can come across one. Please keep us posted!!

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Zalin124

In comparison, my Mekong Giant that’s 2years old blows my 3yr old Basjoo mat away. I will say that my Basjoo is in direct sun all day and my Mekong only gets morning sun. Mekong topped out at 10’2” and with two 9’ pups last fall and Basjoo was much shorter than them. they aren’t side by side, but I would love to try that. I apply 46-0-0 and 0-0-64 plus cow manure all season. The first two pics are the Basjoo and the last two are the Mekong. These were taken today. Hope this helps.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ADR...zxOKXw7M2PBg2g

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ErX...benhFVESllpYTg

Check my Flikr profile to see how tall the Mekongs got last fall

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https://flic.kr/p/2mRCU9s

Snarkie

But this thing gets like, 40 feet tall, right?

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The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




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Zalin124

Well..... I believe that they have the potential of growing much taller than 10 feet, but to really grow 40’ would be a huge stretch in my opinion. There is a person on a Facebook banana forum that claimed his was 30’ tall, but it was hard to tell in the picture. He cut a leaf and stood by and it looked like a huge surfboard. I bought mine as a tiny tissue culture from Brian’s botanicals in may Of 2018. Musa Ingens is supposed to get that tall in the wild from some articles I’ve read.

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Snarkie

My basjoos are like twelve (top of stalk) to fifteen feet (total height of leaves) right now, as I don't cut them back or even peel them. I think they typically top out around 20 feet by year's end. So, if these giants don't die all the way back, what might the potential be? I guess my two questions are:

1) Will they grow like basjoos and not die all the way back in a zone 8?
2) If they don't die all the way back, will that propel them more like a wild height? If my basjoos are topping at 15-20', would these giants reach 30'?

#3- Bonus question) Do basjoos typically get 15-20 feet tall? Would adding nitrogen boost them even more (giants)?

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The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




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Zalin124

They will grow just like basjoos if not better. Hardiness is very similar to Basjoo. Not better, but not by a lot. My zone is similar to yours and I might be slightly cooler. They start popping up in the middle of March, but I lost a ton of pstem, because I didn’t mulch it or anything. I lost about 6’ so they started pushing at 4’. I should’ve provided care for it. It started at 3’ last year and grew 7’ in stem height in one season. If they were protected they could’ve started out very tall and had a bunch of potential to be possibly 15-20’ pstem or more. I don’t have any clue if they actually get 30’ but I wouldn’t rule it out if the conditions are ideal. I would be happy to trade you one for something else. I’ve never personally seen a 20’ tall Basjoo, but I’ve seen mature mats around Atlanta that were around 15’ tall. I add granular 46-0-0 urea and 0-0-64 potash every two weeks and they react very well. Dwarf Namwa fruits for me in my zone and that’s all I use for speeding up the growth.

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Snarkie

I haven't fertilized mine and they get that big. I'm really curious now. To be specific, the 20' mark is the top of the leaves, not the stem. If they like urea, then I'll start a urine regimen on them next year.

These are mine as of 30 minutes ago. The circle at 25 feet is the power line for the street lights at the same distance for height comparison. Just so you know I'm not exaggerating my measurements. Also, the street is 16 feet wide. So, do the giants have potential here?

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The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




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Zalin124

I would think they would have great potential, but I’m curious about the total potential of the plant. My friend ty Taylor is in a warmer zone and hasn’t been able to grow his more than 8’. I not completely sold that those particular plants like consistently HOT weather. Like I said earlier, mine grow in the shade by the AC unit and get about four hours of morning sun and grow great. Actually, it grows better than the Saba next to it that I left outside overwinter. I’d say go for it. Get you some pups from the mother and plant then plant them in different areas of your land and find what works best. I’m growing a baby Mekong right now in my backyard to see if there’s a difference in its growth. Not far from my Basjoo back there. Just won’t know anything until next year. Only about 1’ tall. I don’t personally think they have 40’ potential here where we are. Who knows?

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Tytaylor77

Musa meKong giant has been proven to be a Musa itinerans var. itinerans. I actually have both them and itinerans var itinerans from seed. You can’t tell them apart!

They are very cool and beautiful plants! 40’. Absolutely not. 20’ not either. 15’ would be a stretch. The largest pstem ive grown is about 12’. I’ve seen some that may be pushing 13’+.. Don’t buy this one for the size! Buy a Saba, praying hands, etc. even a Musa wild Balbisiana.

Cold hardiness is amazing. The pstem with black plus yellowish/orange color is the best part to me. They seem to enjoy some shade here. Basjoo also. They also RUN! I have pups spread everywhere. I haven’t measured but I would estimate 50’+ from where I planted them years ago. Mine have sent pups over 15’ away! Perfect to plant like colocasia. Somewhere that they can just run wild and take over!

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Snarkie

I'm almost positive the location is the answer. They get varying sun, but the ground is good from years of Pampas grass and "dog dirt" in there, and all of the understory keeps the ground shaded and cooler; like a jungle. The ones on the other side of the driveway aren't more than five feet tall or so. They're in more sun with regular clay soil, and nothing to keep their feet cool. I'll be pulling them out anyway for more palms and yuccas.

What I have are pretty impressive; I was just thinking if I could get twice the height, it would look a little more exotic. Maybe I should just keep what I have and rip out all of the running blackberries that took it over and literally turned it into an impenetrable jungle and thin them out, as they have gotten quite dense; kinda like my ex wife.

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The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




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