Musa Basjoo
8/17/2007
This is the Musa Basjoo (hardy non-fruiting banana plant) that I posted about a lot last year. I don't know why it didn't make my blog in 2007 yet, I didn't lose interest in it or anything. I guess I just never got around to it.
In any event, it's doing great and getting pretty tall even though it's in a pot. To give you an idea of it's size, the pot in the picture has a 24" diameter and the tip of the highest leaf is about 10 feet up.
The added bonus was that there were two pups that grew in the pot with it last year. They got to be about 3 feet each by the end of the season. So I brought all three into my garage to overwinter sometime around late September. It's hardy and would probably live through a New Jersey winter with some heavy mulch and maybe some plastic to keep it dry, but I like to play it safe.
I planted the other two in the ground near my pool to give it a nice tropical look. Each on is about 5 feet tall now.
And you can see that I have another pup growing in the pot again. These things are awesome!
Posted by Anthony 5:57 PM 7 comments
Labels: Musa Basjoo
Big Leaves Update
8/10/2006
I may be blogging less lately but that doesn't mean that my plants have stopped growing. Here is a picture of my Musa Basjoo (hardy banana) and the Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain (big ass elephant ear) and they're both doing great.
We recently had my son's 4th birthday party during the 100 degree weather here in NJ. Guests still made their way outside to look at the giant leaves. If you're looking for a plant that's a great conversation starter then definitely go with the Giant Elephant Ear.
If you're interested in tracking their growth, here are links to my past updates.
First Received Plants in Mail
04/27/2006
Musa Basjoo Updates:
05/09/2006
06/03/2006
Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain Updates:
06/01/2006
In the future, I plan on posting about cutting away the pups on the banana to create more plants (if I actually do it without killing anything) and how I plan on overwintering these guys.
Posted by Anthony 11:42 AM 7 comments
Labels: Colocasia Gigantea, Musa Basjoo
Growing Musa Basjoo - Update
6/28/2006
Growing this hardy banana tree has been really interesting. I took this picture yesterday and the musa basjoo now has about 7 leaves with more unfurling every couple of days. The plant is about 4 feet tall now and doing pretty well.
For those of you who are interested, I've been keeping track of it's growth. When I first got the plant in the mail (mid April) from Plant Delights, it looked like a stick
After about 3 weeks, I finally saw a leaf unfurl, which was promising but not all that exciting yet.
Another month went by and the stick finally started looking like a banana tree.
And now with 7 leaves and more on the way, I'm very happy with this plant. I didn't plan on growing it in a pot but due to some unforeseen pool/landscaping problems, I haven't been able to put it in the ground yet. At this point I may leave it in the pot so that I can easily bring it in the garage to overwinter.
With another two full months of summer weather, I think this banana tree will get to about 6 or 7 feet. Not bad for my first try. I'll update again soon.
Posted by Anthony 11:54 AM 2 comments
Labels: Musa Basjoo
Musa Basjoo Update
5/09/2006
It's been about 2 or 3 weeks since I received my Musa Basjoo (hardy non-fruiting banana) from Plant Delights and it's making good progress.
I choose the biggest pot I had as a temporary home. Once the pool contractors are done with their work I will not only have a pool that actually works but also a lot more places to plant things. At that point the musa basjoo will have a permanent home pool side for that tropical feel.
Since all banana trees are heavy feeders I filled the pot with a mixture of manure and compost. I also mulched the top to help retain some moisture. I guess this musa is enjoying his new home because there's been some growth. 
It's really amazing how a few weeks ago I planted what looked like a stick into a pot and was happy about it. Even more puzzling is how much happier I am now that my stick in a pot has a leaf on it. And even better than the leaf, there is also what looks like a leader growing out of the stick now.
Hopefully by mid summer I should have a 6 foot tall banana tree by my pool. I will create some more Musa Basjoo Update posts to track it's progress.
Posted by Anthony 12:21 PM 1 comments
Labels: Musa Basjoo
Big Leaves
4/27/2006
Meet the newest members of my yard. My Plant Delights order came in the other day. With a newly built 5 foot tall retainning wall now circling my pool area, I needed some green to soften them up a bit. I chose Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain (Giant Elephant Ear), Musa Basjoo (Hardy Banana) and Stuttgart Variegated Canna. All of which should grow taller than my walls and definitely green up the stone dominated area.
At this point the Musa Basjoo looks like a stick in a pot but it could grow up to 12 feet tall if I can get it in the ground. But my yard is on hold for a week or two while we wait for the new pool liner to come in. That means I'll have workers stomping around my yard for at least another month. I better stick with the pots to keep these guys safe.
For the first time I was able to overwinter my Hibicus standard indoors so I figured I'd make my fall chores a little hardy with this purchase. If I keep these plants in pots, I'll have to bubble wrap them and store them in the garage over the winter but the Musa Bajoo may make it into the ground. That will mean that I have to cut it back and heavily mulch it and put a tarp over it to keep it dry. I have fond memories of helping my Grandfather build a giant box to overwinter his fig tree every year so maybe it won't seem too much like a chore.
Posted by Anthony 10:23 AM 0 comments
Labels: Colocasia Gigantea, Musa Basjoo
