Ensete gilletii seeds are sprouting already!

bigdog · 08-22-2008, 01:20 PM

I was mildly shocked to see that 3 of my Ensete gilletii seeds had already sprouted today! By "already," I mean less than 2 weeks! 13 days, to be more precise. That is the quickest germination I have had out of any banana species.

I have them in a plastic box, with a 75/25 mix of coco coir/perlite in it. The seeds were soaked for about 36 hours, and then laid on top of the mix and gently pressed into it, so about half of the seeds still showed above the media. Then I put the box on a heat mat with my Musa seeds, only I didn't realize that the heat mat was only coming on for 2 hours per day! I just looked at the timer today, because the mat wasn't warm, so I had to check out the problem. It's an old timer, and somehow got moved around a bit. Apparently, this species doesn't need much heat to germinate. It got ambient room temps for most of the past 13 days.

Could these be the first ever sprouts of Ensete gilletii in the USA?

mskitty38583 · 08-22-2008, 03:00 PM

that is so cool! congrats on your new nanas!!!!!

Chironex · 08-22-2008, 03:07 PM

Splendid job, Dog! Now if we could get Perrieri and Ingens to do the same.....

Dean W. · 08-22-2008, 03:10 PM

Way to go getting those to germinate.

If only other banana seeds were as easy.

bdollarbill · 08-24-2008, 08:43 AM

Good for you! I am looking to get intro growing from seed myself, I'll have to keep i touch with the "Seed Master" for info, Do you have any seeds for trade or sell? I have been looking for some Dean W hooked me up with a few but I want more, I did not want to go route of buying old junk seeds from Ebay etc..

Bill

bigdog · 08-24-2008, 08:53 AM

No, I don't have any extras. Try some of the seed sources listed in one of the sticky threads, like rarepalmseeds.com or europalms.be. Banana-tree.com also has fresh seeds occasionally.

08-22-2008, 01:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
bigdog ******* bigdog's Photo Gallery** Location: Gainesville, FL Find me on the map! Zone: 8b Name: Frank Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,002 BananaBucks : 745,380 Feedback: 7 / 100% Said "Thanks" 213 Times Was Thanked 1,787 Times in 502 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 131 Times	Ensete gilletii seeds are sprouting already! I was mildly shocked to see that 3 of my Ensete gilletii seeds had already sprouted today! By "already," I mean less than 2 weeks! 13 days, to be more precise. That is the quickest germination I have had out of any banana species. I have them in a plastic box, with a 75/25 mix of coco coir/perlite in it. The seeds were soaked for about 36 hours, and then laid on top of the mix and gently pressed into it, so about half of the seeds still showed above the media. Then I put the box on a heat mat with my Musa seeds, only I didn't realize that the heat mat was only coming on for 2 hours per day! I just looked at the timer today, because the mat wasn't warm, so I had to check out the problem. It's an old timer, and somehow got moved around a bit. Apparently, this species doesn't need much heat to germinate. It got ambient room temps for most of the past 13 days. Could these be the first ever sprouts of Ensete gilletii in the USA?

08-22-2008, 03:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
mskitty38583 banana junkie mskitty38583 's Photo Gallery Location: north carolina Find me on the map! Zone: 7b Name: mskitty Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4,071 BananaBucks : 193,163 Feedback: 26 / 100% Said "Thanks" 82 Times Was Thanked 890 Times in 617 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 136 Times	Re: Ensete gilletii seeds are sprouting already! that is so cool! congrats on your new nanas!!!!! __________________ WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION

08-22-2008, 03:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chironex The causasian Asian! Chironex's Photo Gallery Location: Jakarta, Indonesia Find me on the map! Zone: I have no idea Name: Scot Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 2,788 BananaBucks : 121,301 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 4,544 Times Was Thanked 1,406 Times in 808 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 609 Times	Re: Ensete gilletii seeds are sprouting already! Splendid job, Dog! Now if we could get Perrieri and Ingens to do the same..... __________________ Scot

08-22-2008, 03:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dean W. Dean W.'s Photo Gallery Location: Cedar Park, TX Zone: 8b Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 4,279 BananaBucks : 239,814 Feedback: 13 / 100% Said "Thanks" 6,325 Times Was Thanked 2,130 Times in 972 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 300 Times	Re: Ensete gilletii seeds are sprouting already! Way to go getting those to germinate. If only other banana seeds were as easy. __________________

08-24-2008, 08:43 AM	#5 (permalink)
bdollarbill Bdollarbill bdollarbill's Photo Gallery Location: Clemmons NC Zone: 7 Name: BIll Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 147 BananaBucks : 30,704 Feedback: 5 / 100% Said "Thanks" 6 Times Was Thanked 58 Times in 25 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 6 Times	Re: Ensete gilletii seeds are sprouting already! Good for you! I am looking to get intro growing from seed myself, I'll have to keep i touch with the "Seed Master" for info, Do you have any seeds for trade or sell? I have been looking for some Dean W hooked me up with a few but I want more, I did not want to go route of buying old junk seeds from Ebay etc.. Bill __________________ www.aerocustoms.com complete Aeroponic grow systems.

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08-24-2008, 08:53 AM	#6 (permalink)
bigdog ******* bigdog's Photo Gallery** Location: Gainesville, FL Find me on the map! Zone: 8b Name: Frank Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,002 BananaBucks : 745,380 Feedback: 7 / 100% Said "Thanks" 213 Times Was Thanked 1,787 Times in 502 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 131 Times	Re: Ensete gilletii seeds are sprouting already! No, I don't have any extras. Try some of the seed sources listed in one of the sticky threads, like rarepalmseeds.com or europalms.be. Banana-tree.com also has fresh seeds occasionally.

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