bigdog

Well, not really. The description of Musa itinerans by Cheesman and Hakkinen match this plant, which is why it is M. itinerans. There are other Musa species that send rhizomes out in the same fashion, but aren't M. itinerans (M. laterita, M. siamensis, M. insularimontana, M. formosana).

Steve, M. itinerans would have no problem at all in your climate, I'm sure! Thanks for the beer offer...just make sure to send it here really quickly, LOL. I'll have to see what the mat looks like next year.

Frank

SteveW

Cheers Frank!

Caloosamusa

Good afternoon Frank!

What were your average daytime highs, and nighttime low temperatures during the growing season?

Thanks!

Caloosamusa

The prolonged cold in January damaged all of my other Musa, but not this one!! My Musa itinerans itinerans is also having a great year!

bigdog

That's awesome, Ken! Sorry I didn't see your request earlier, but here are the monthly summaries from 2009 for the growing season.

April 2009:
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 89 04/24
LOWEST 30 04/08
AVG. MAXIMUM 72.4
AVG. MINIMUM 47.8
MEAN 60.1
DAYS MAX >= 90 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 1
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

May 2009:
................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 90 05/31
LOWEST 45 05/19
AVG. MAXIMUM 78.5
AVG. MINIMUM 60.7
MEAN 69.6
DAYS MAX >= 90 1
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

June '09:
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 98 06/28
06/21
LOWEST 57 06/06
AVG. MAXIMUM 90.7
AVG. MINIMUM 68.8
MEAN 79.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 18
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

July '09:
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 94 07/26
07/25
LOWEST 59 07/20
AVG. MAXIMUM 88.3
AVG. MINIMUM 68.5
MEAN 78.4
DAYS MAX >= 90 10
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

Aug. '09:
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 95 08/10
08/08
LOWEST 61 08/31
AVG. MAXIMUM 88.9
AVG. MINIMUM 69.3
MEAN 79.1
DAYS MAX >= 90 19
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

Sept. '09:
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 88 09/25
LOWEST 50 09/29
AVG. MAXIMUM 80.5
AVG. MINIMUM 66.0
MEAN 73.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

Oct. '09:
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 83 10/09
LOWEST 34 10/19
AVG. MAXIMUM 68.3
AVG. MINIMUM 50.9
MEAN 59.6
DAYS MAX >= 90 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

Nov. '09:
TEMPERATURE (F)
HIGHEST 74 11/08
LOWEST 31 11/28
AVG. MAXIMUM 63.8
AVG. MINIMUM 41.4
MEAN 52.6
DAYS MAX >= 90 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 1
DAYS MIN <= 0 0

Normally I wouldn't add November as part of our growing season here in Knoxville, but as you can see our first frost was on 11/28 last year! Hope this helps.

Frank

Caloosamusa

Awesome! Thank you Bigdog!

Was there new growth out in April when the 30F was recorded, and did it effect the foliage?

My guess is that it did not.

Thank you for obtaining and growing this Goldmine of DNA, and data!

Caloosamusa

After the hardest winter in terms of cold duration I have seen in Southwest Florida one cultivar really stands out. It is actually a musa species, Musa itinerans itinerans. Thanks to Bigdog and Bananaman88, I have been able to try my hand at this species and gain some valuable knowledge and insight!!!





Hopefully it will be a productive prodgenator!! Thanks Bananaman88 & Bigdog!!!

Bananaman88

Looks like it is doing well!

Caloosamusa

It is! If you notice the Banana mound in back of it in one of the pictures, and compare. The itinerans tolerated the freezing temperatures for hours. It was devastating to most of the other cultivars.

Thanks Brent! See PM.

This cultivar is a great teaching tool! I have observed many Extremes with this Musa. It has excellent cold hardiness, and It has the most strongly winged petiole of any Musa I've seen!





It loves winter and early spring weather in South Florida!!

blownz281

Anyone want to trade a small pup for all my banana bucks ?

Caloosamusa

Good morning Blownz281,

See PM.

Good weather and good growing to you!

blownz281

Same too you! replied to your pm

Randyk

Old thread but I'm really curious how they look now @BigDog!

victoriablake

Wow, it is so beautiful!

bigdog

Randy, I moved out of that house over a decade ago, and have been lugging the itinerans around with me in a pot ever since then, lol. It’s still alive, and I live in FL now, so it’s going back in the ground soon!

subsonicdrone

hi bigdog!
thanks for replying
great to see you on here!

do you still have musa thomsonii?
any backstory or developments there?
i have a small plant started from seed and i have been comparing it to some of youre pictures
there are not many other pictures and info out there

thanks to youre threads i have been attempting to overwinter pstems dormant and hopefully i will get it dialed in and be successful at it soon

thanks again!

bigdog

I lost my thomsonii many years ago. I had it growing here in FL at my folks house (I was still living in TN) and it was severely neglected. I think Dad killed it with the lawnmower.

subsonicdrone

thanks for the update
i guess it will remain a mystery until it flowers
here are a couple pics of my seed grown plant
i did mix up my seeds so the id of musa thomsonii is a guess at this point

as a side note, i have been watching a youtuber from gainesville who hunts for fossils and antique bottles in the area
keep an eye out for megalodon sharks teeth when you are driving the backroads!
especially where the rain has exposed the gravel (creeks are good too)

thanks again
its the one on the right... the last couple photos show how it grew out of the red underside to the leaf trait
it has the ear like lobes where the petiole meets the leaf blade

bigdog

Looks exactly like the one I grew as Musa thomsonii years ago. Beautiful plant!



I've seen people searching for shark's teeth in Hogtown Creek. You can find them there!

Adnan Kovačič

Good post