bigdog

I noticed this yesterday while mowing the yard...a second pup on my Musa itinerans, right at 4 feet away from the mother pseudostem. This pup is a bit more vigorous than the first one though!! Check out the color on it:



To show you how far away it actually is, I laid out a tape measure (see the puny green pup that still hasn't grown a leaf yet, a few inches from the main pseudostem):



4 feet!



The mother plant took a beating in this heat wave/drought over the past month or so. Three leaves in a row unfurled, then promptly started to become brown in large patches. The last three leaves to emerge have not done so, so hopefully it's over that! I was sort of worried about it for awhile there. I bet it would do better in filtered sun, but mine gets lots of direct, afternoon sun. Here's a shot of the crown, showing 2 of the damaged leaves:



A shot of the pseudostem, which appeared to be falling apart! The leaf lying on the ground on the left was green when it fell down.



And here's what I found this morning...another pup, probably about 3 feet away:



Overall shot of the plant:



I just have this sinking feeling that this plant won't be that hardy though. Hope I'm wrong!

Steve in France

Great pics Frank , that's what I like to see , the living experiment . You have a plan for not losing the plant this Winter I hope
Later
Steve

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Always looking for a lost pup

Taylor

Frank,
Just an idea, Leave the mom outside and pot the pup up in th next week or so to be prepared for dormancy as a second incase something goes wrong with the mom.

Just a possibility...
Taylor

Taylor

BTW great pics!

Lagniappe

It'll be great to see what sort of mat this makes next year . Thanks BigDog !

BGreen

Great shots!

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Take care,

BGreen

Randy4ut

Frank,
I would have to agree with Taylor on this one!!! Why lose the whole plant when you could save at least one for next year... If you have any problems with overwintering one, hey, you know I just live a short ways away and am willing to sacrifice a few gallons of gas to come up and save a baby's life!!! Wouldn't do it for just anyone, you know that don't you, Bud!?!?!?
All fun aside, thanks for the pics and the info... Hope you are wrong about its hardiness...
Later...

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bigdog

I've thought about digging a pup also, but if the mother plant dies this winter, I would just be wasting my time trying again with it, wouldn't I? I don't know...I have enough bananas that I have to bring inside every year as it is! This one is fun to grow though. From what I understand, it is native to lower elevations in the Xishuang province, in valleys and ravines. There are other Musa itinernans out there somewhere that are native to much higher elevations, grow just as tall and just as attractive, but haven't been introduced to cultivation yet. My thinking with most of the bananas that I trial outside is "sink or swim." Hey, if they survive that's great, but if they don't...well, there are others to trial! Maybe I'll dig a pup anyway and give it my folks in Florida. I just won't tell them that it travels great distances, lol!

Still can't get over the size of that pup and how it basically just exploded out of the ground! And that color too! I'd like to see how big it can get before first frost.

Thanks!

Bamboo Conne'iseur

Wow, nice plant. What struck me was how far out it sent that pup. I wonder why it sends it out there so far....If its true that it can get to 30+ feet, then its diameter must be pretty big, and might need that distance so the plants grow properly. I am just a beginner when it comes to growing bananas so maybe some one else can answer that.

barna

I was wondering which of the M itinerans xishuangbannaensis that have been available are your.
Is it the 'Gigantea' or the 'Big Flower' one.
I am not sure if they are really different "varieties", but from the pictures in Natureproduct the seem very different

[Musa%20itinerans%20tall.jpg..............giant%20banana%20cutflower%204.jpg
'Gigantea'...........'Big Flower'


Does somebody had them flowered?

bigdog

Aaron, that's a characteristic trait of Musa itinerans, sending out pups on long rhizomes. Not really sure why it does that though! It is a forest banana, so perhaps it send out long rhizomes so the pups don't have to compete so much with the mother pseudostem for light, nutrients, etc.

Barna, it is my understanding that those two plants are one and the same. The flower has just been "fanned" out on the "Big Flower" picture.

Kylie2x

That is a very Manly pup!!! Amazing it would send it out that far... I hope you don't end up losing it..that would be a shame...I suffered sun scorching on a few leaves as the sun began to move with the progression of the season... It only lasted for about a 2 weeks before the house provided a little shade....Good Luck!!!
Kylie