Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Plantfiles for Ensete, 1 by bwilliams

bwilliams wrote:
Proper ID is a great thing and should be saught after. I just find a lot of people seem to not be interested in it unless they are asking for it specifically. So if any of you want a ID on a plant just ask I will do my best. But I hate correcting people it can step on toes at least for me it seems.
As for Ensete TC seeds maybe your best way. They are sterile and easier to handle. If you do well I can supply you with some interesting forms in the spring. I have superbum and a few other new species out of Thialand and Africa. The flowers on these plants are amazing and hybridizing them is extremely easy the only hard part is getting them to bloom at the same time. I have been working on breeding more bananas as well. It is a bit of a pain to get out the ladder not to mention dig the plant up in the fall to have the fruit rippen. But it is worth it and so few try breeding them.

As for hardiness the following bananas have shown to be hardy if properly mulched here in zone 6 Kentucky. -10f , Proper mulching meaning 8 inches to 2 ft of hard wood mulch or dried leaves. Cyperus mulch does not rot well neither does the chunky wood mulch. You would need a mulch that breaks down fast producing a cacoon over your plant. Usually I can have 2 inches of frozen material and the center area can have steam coming out. Saw dust works well. A piece of black plastic on top can help a lot as well to heat up the spot and keep water out I do not do this often but people in colder climates could use it to keep from digging up the plants. Here is the list of bananas
Basjoo
velutina
sikkimensis
itinerans
cheesmani
as well as three other species I am testing have shown to be fairly hard so far. Most of these other forms are not yet named out of china.


I also added a photo of Ensete ventricosum from this summer. This plant is now 5 ft taller and blooming size.