Tropicallvr

I don't work for Rare palm seeds, but I get their monthy updates of new seeds. They now have(for a steep price) Ensete gilletii, one definatly worth getting if you're an Ensete nut like me.
Here's the write up-

Ensete livingstonianum (= Ensete gilletii)

A rare, smallish Ensete from the highlands of western tropical Africa
to
Malawi, where it is said to grow in grasslands between 900 and 1100 m
(2900 to 3600 ft.). During the dry season it can die down to the large
corm. In cultivation it has been virtually unknown.

EUR 78 per 100
US$126 per 100

A link for more info- http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drc/egilletii.htm
, and click on images for photos.

bigdog

Yeah, I saw it too. In fact, I had just finished placing my order when I saw your thread yesterday! Very expensive, but I know how difficult it is to find a reliable source of seeds in Africa outside of South Africa. With all the scams coming out of Cameroon, you just can't trust anybody there it seems. I'm glad Toby did the work. $1.26/seed! Yikes. I hope I can get about 10/100 to germinate so I can at least break even.

Why does rarepalmseeds.com give precedence to the name Ensete livingstonianum over E. gilletii? They tend to do that quite a bit I've noticed (like lumping Trachycarpus 'Manipur' in with T. oreophilus). Just a thought, not really expecting an answer, lol. It just seems to me that they should stick with the recognized and accepted name instead of causing confusion. At any rate, I can't wait to get my seeds!

Dean W.

I saw it yesterday too. To much for me. I'm also afraid they wouldn't make it outside in my zone.

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bigdog

Maybe, but Ensete species seem to be very easy to overwinter under the house, which is what I do with all of mine.

Tropicallvr

I don't get it either, seems to just add to the confusion of naming, and people buy one plant twice.

I bet you'll break even and get quite a few sprouts, that's one cool thing about Ensete, you might get more than you want(unless it happens to be like the madagasgar one, or the Thai superbum.) Good luck with them I wish I could receive them down here, but need to set up a good mail box first.

Dean W.

Frank, we don't have basements where I live. I would have to store it in the garage or make them houseplants.

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bigdog

I got my seeds in the mail last week, much to my surprise. Usually, RPS is pretty slow about mailing seeds, but this time they got here in less than 3 weeks! Anyhow, here they are with a US quarter for scale.



You can see in the photo that 2 of the seeds have the micropylar plug missing (top center and left center), and there are many more than that. I hope that is not a bad sign, but it usually isn't good. If I can get 10% germination, I will be quite happy with that. They have all been sowed already, so it's just a waiting game now!

Gabe15

Very nice Frank. Fairchild listed this plant in their accessions but I couldn't find it when I was there. Also INIBAP has it listed at the ITC, but say its no longer available.

The only species left not available is Ensete homblei, but who knows when that will ever make it.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

natedogg1026

Dean, FYI, they winter great in the garage. Didn't you see Randy's Maurellii?

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Banana's are a safe addiction. Right?Maybe I need classes.