saltmarsh

Can anyone give me any information about this pretty, red leafed banana?

Thank you.

Bob

Click on the "wiki" in the blue bar above. Scroll down and there are several listed.

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saltmarsh

Oh, so the Sum must stand for Sumatra, right? I probably should have figured that one out, Big Duh. Wiki mentions a cross with Grand Nain I wonder if that is the cross I have.

Thanks so much.

Eric

Welcome aboard, Saltmarsh ! Checked & see that you just joined today but have no Intro thread or photo gallery yet. No prob, but ya might wanna start a gallery and upload a photo of your banana plant. There are lots of expert ID people here who could look & tell ya what you have!
The Wiki is a great resource But does not contain every banana plant. New cultivars are being created & discovered all the time.
Once we know what cultivar ya have, info here is practically endless!
If you're unfamiliar with starting a gallery, uploading, or posting photos, there's a great guide for it in the "Site Help & Feedback" section. Just click this link:
Creating Albums & Posting Photos
Hope ya have a great time here & learn a lot - I sure have!

BTW, Sum is definitely Sumatra.

saltmarsh

Thanks, I just have a pup and the leaves were stripped off so a picture would not be much help. The tag just said 'Sum x cross' and I didn't have a chance to get more information. I bought it at the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens in Savannah yesterday. I might call them tomorrow and see if they can give me a name for the cross.

Eric

Sounds like a great idea! For ID, a banana plant needs to have at least 3 leaves - I'm no ID'er but that's what I was told. I figure, then, that you must be in Savannah Georgia? Nice (& fun!) down by the gulf! Bamboo Farm sounds super, too! I have my own Timber Bamboo jungle I've been growin since I was 10!
Anyway, great to have ya aboard & if ya have any questions about using the forum, just ask! Lots of friendly people here to help out!
Btw, I just got 2 Orinoco banana plants, myself, without leaves. It'll be the first time I've tried to grow a banana that way, too.

saltmarsh

The Bamboo Farm was originally a UGA experimental station doing research on Bamboos. More recently they have focused on cold hardy bananas and citrus. I also picked up a M. Sweetheart and a M. Goldfinger at the sale.

And yes, I am just a bit north of Savannah in SC.

Eric

Even better! Bamboo was the 1st plant I ever wanted to grow. Didn't even think about bananas till 2 years later and didnt have more than 1 kind till this year. Not familiar with Sweetheart or Goldfinger but I can look them up. I started with Blue Javas then added Sikkimensis, Giant Sweet plantain, Ruby Siams, Gran Nain, and (yesterday) added 2 Orinocos. Had Zebrina, Basjoo, & 2 dwarf Cavendish but had to give them up - too much time & work.
Won't be on-line anymore tonight (homework & chores) but will be back tomorrow night. Feel free to look around. Lots of great stuff here! Especially in the Tiki Hut section. You can find recipees, story-telling games, Favorite music section, etc... Lots of great stuff to learn & fun stuff to do!
Have fun!

mike

Mixture of grandnain and a ornamental that is my understanding from what I was able to find on the web. I saw a picture some place on the web of one flowering. I cant remember where. I was told that they were not very good eating but they are nice looking to me. I have been visiting the bamboo farm for some years now. I never saw any of these fruit. I seem to get better results at my house then they get with this one. They die back to the ground in the winter until they get some size but I dont have any problem with them coming back in the spring. Good luck and welcome to the Org.

CValentine

Welcome Saltmarsh!
Glad our members helped you out!
When it gets some leaves...don't forget to post some pics of that beauty!! ~Cheryl

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Gabe15

It is actually short for "sumatrana", which is a subspecies of Musa acuminata. This plant is a supposed hybrid between Musa acuminata subsp. sumatrana (a seeded wild species) and Musa 'Gran Nain' (an edible Cavendish), the sumatrana being the female and 'Gran Nain' being the male. It was performed by Bill Lessard and is described in his book "The Complete Book of Bananas". However, since 'Gran Nain' does not produce pollen and decades of banana breeding have never had success using any Cavendish in breeding due its complete sterility, it's hard to say how valid the story is.

Basically, whatever 'Sum x cross' is, its an ornamental banana that does not make edible fruit.

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Simply Bananas

Welcome Saltmarsh. I suspect that Beaufort will be a great place to grow Bananas!

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saltmarsh

Thanks all, I appreciate your help.

pitangadiego

Sumatrana X or "Cross" is very slender, topping out at about 5-6' of trunk, and leaves are red underneath, much like Red Iholena. Top sides of leaves have red splotching, though I noticed this weekend that I have one in the patch that is completely green on top. Choked spectacularly the one time it flowered. Very sensitive to cold (anything below 50F). Some sources say edible, but doubt it. Very small finger banana at best.

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saltmarsh

This particular cross must be hardier. As an educational facility the Bamboo Farm only sells plants that have been reliably hardy for more than 5 years. We are a warm 8b or perhaps a coolish 9a in this area.

mike

Saltmarsh not all produce. I am not sure what goes into their research or even how its done. Most of the ones they have out there has produced. I personally have not seen this one produce a flower. I visit the farm at lease once a month during the growing season and have been for about four or five years. The one I have here appears to have grown bigger then the ones they have there probably because of location and mine died back last winter. I am sure that they just die back then come back in the spring. They occasionally get new ones and I noticed that some are no longer there. They kept this one and I cant say why. You may be the man that show us flower to put in the wiki. Remember the Bamboo Farm do not protect there plants for there research. Everything is grown in that field so depending on your plant location and extra love you may be able to give to a single plant maybe you will get that flower if it flowers but I want to say I saw one on the web somewhere.

saltmarsh

Thanks Mike, I am out on an island and we are a bit warmer than the Bamboo Farm location so who knows what will happen. Whatever, this plant is such a lovely color and shape.

Greg really loves those bananas doesn't he. I was at the
presentation he did at 10:30 or 11:00.

mike

Yes he does. If you get the chance to meet doctor Wallace who is one of the researchers there you will see love and passion for nanas. Knowledge growing bananas in large scale in the tropics is Greg specialty. Growing bananas in this area I give to Richard Wallace because of his love and he lives here. If he cant get you to love growing bananas you just want love it. He shows pictures of his house and he has no lawn.

saltmarsh

Yes, I know Richard and although I have grown non edible bananas for years, he got me into experimenting with the different edible varieties.

mike

It sounds like you are in a great place to have real good results. Richard knows it all what the book says and how they grow in our area.