Comments on: Going Bananas for Musa and Ensete

By: Becky Robert

Becky Robert — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:44:50 +0000

I’ve never tried propagating Ensete so I can’t speak to what the writer is asking about. Our Ensete ‘Maurelii’ have never naturally produced sprouts/offsets. There are videos online though that support/show chopping the bananas rhizome into sections for propagation. Missouri Botanic Garden lists propagation as by seeds or tissue culture.

Josh Coceano – Horticulturist

By: larry s Claffy

larry s Claffy — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:15:01 +0000

Ensete, known as the Abyssinian banana. Wil this banana produce sprout if the base is wounded instead of chopping into two or four sections? If so how much wounding needs to be done.?

By: Erik Johnson

Erik Johnson — Sun, 26 May 2019 19:26:16 +0000

Ensete ventricosum is cultivated in the Ethiopian highlands as a starch staple (corm & pseudostem). Processing appears to be labor intensive (fibers, not toxicity), so depending on your climate, you may find other crops more useful. E.superbum is collected as a wild food in India; apparently the same parts are eaten, as is the flower head and it’s stalk, as a vegetable similar to the flowers of true bananas though since this is monocarpic and normally non-suckering, the psuedostem is probably more productive. Seeds are used medicinally but banana seeds are tooth-chipping hard (think Canna). The fruit of any Musa or Ensete that can be grown from seed will be so full of seed that it would be nigh impossible to eat even if edible. It will also take 18 months for most Musa and several years for Ensette to flower, so if you get frost, you may be out of luck. “Raja Puri” (a seedless Musa banana) often flowers in 9 months, so it is the most reliable along the US Gulf Coast (USDA zone 8b)

By: answered. Weir

answered. Weir — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 05:15:04 +0000

Is the fruit of Ensete edible! Why does no one seem to want to answer this!? I have googled, and asked several websites, but the question is utterly ignored, even though the same question in regard to M. basjoo was abswered.

By: Josh Coceano

Josh Coceano — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 19:11:11 +0000

In reply to Chrystal. Hi Chrystal, First question, where do you live? A Musa in Florida has a great possibility of blooming whereas here in Eastern Pennsylvania I've never seen a banana bloom. Some local gardeners have been able to get Musa basjoo to bloom but such occurrences are rare. Our growing season is too short for banana flowers. Nonetheless, I love the foliage they add to the warm-weather garden.

By: Chrystal

Chrystal — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 22:03:45 +0000

Hi there I have a Banana Tree ( Musa Ensete) I have had conflicting information to whether or not it will produce fruit. Would you be able to tell me please?

Thank you so much.

By: Josh Coceano

Josh Coceano — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:54:31 +0000

In reply to Roxanne. Hi Roxanne. Musa basjoo is primarily grown for its tropical foliage. Sources state that fruits are small, green and inedible. Historically the plant has been grown in Japan as a fiber plant (fabric/textile). One common name associated with the species is Japanese fiber banana.

By: Roxanne

Roxanne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:38:02 +0000

[Death occurs shortly after fruiting]

Does Musa basjoo get actual (edible) bananas?

Thank you,
R.

By: Becky Robert

Becky Robert — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:59:40 +0000

Several Musa and Ensete selections will be available at the Unusual Tropicals and Annuals Sale on May 18 to 20, 2012.

http://www.scottarboretum.org/TropicalSale/index.html