I was a docent on a garden tour today and saw this EE in bloom. I don't believe I have ever seen one like this blooming before. The owner did not know which EE it was.
Isn't this cool?
Just lovely!
ROX
Wow! It's amazing. Is it as big as it looks?
Deb
Oh yeah, it was in a large container and it just towered over us. The sun was so bright when I was there and it washed out the picture; I wish the photo would have shown how bright the white flowers were.
Colocasia Gigantea
Thanks Brian.
Hi Alice, that's a beauty. Love the flowers. I think I have one (not that large), I'll have to go look.
Brian, what zone will this over winter?
Linda
I do have a baby. Planted it in the ground, how old will it have to be to flower like that? Should I plan on digging it for the winter?
The gardener whose plant this is had it in a huge, probably 30", pot. She has greenhouses almost 2 stories tall and moves all her tropicals in for the winter. Luckily she also has a fork lift to carry these things.
I have 2, I'll try to remember to take 1 in and leave 1 out to see the comparison. (My gh is not 2 stories high and I don't have a fork lift).
And I thought I was a serious garden person...forklifts and 2 story greenhouses?!!! Sounds like I have a ways to go...now that the thoughts have been planted!
Rj
LOL, she has a back hoe too. I am sooooooooooo envious.
LOL...me too...I wonder if she has an old cement mixer to mix potting soil...then she'd have it all sown up.
Good idea.
My greenhouse is 2 feet tall. ;)
What are we without our dreams though!
Deb
Their are two forms of Colocasia Gigantea one is hardy here in zone 6 I grow many of them. The other Giant Thailand form has shown to be much different in that it flowers something the other form has yet to do for me and it never really produces offsets. It seems much less cold tolerant.
LOL...that's right Deb
How can I get a hold of the giants..? I have been scouting for them for a while, can't seem to find them accessible
rj
rj - check this site out -- I just ordered 2 of them from Brian Williams . . .
http://briansbotanicals.net/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=100&osCsid=85e5f2548cce51e5d2912ef77858a1f8
They grow very well here and are evergreen. Here in the subtropics they top out at about 9', in a real tropical setting about 15' or more (?). I have never been to the tropics to see.
This is in a public garden in Orlando.
Dale you photo is different it is a pic of Xanthosoma Sagittifolia a bit more common specially in florida were it is sometimes considered a weed.
I'd love to have that "weed" in my yard !
Thankyou -
That'll be my BD present to myself!
Rj
Well - Happy Belated Birthday RJ ! I am 1 day older than you are. lol.
So, Brian, does the one on your web site produce the flowers like shown in ardesia's photo? Looks like they can't be in full sun???
LOL...happy birthday fellow Gemini!
I have mine in full sun and they grow very well. It has also flowered for me many times. My main interest now is all they hybrids like black magic that I crossed with it are going in the ground this season.
I can't wait to order some...I've been wanting them for a while.
Brian-
That should be a gorgeous cross!
ROX
Hello,
This is my first try at growing EE and Banana trees I had two banana's that died and put off babies and now there are two sets of banana's together, I am not sure if I should seperate them or just let them grow like they are. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Susan
Also I think this is just so cool that these ears have gotton this big already...
Susan
This is the second banana trees.
Susan
Now that I'm back on the coast of NC, I'm getting ready to order a couple of colocasia gigantea from Brian. Wanted to share a funny story......on one of my trips back here to scout for a house, I brought a few of my plants up in the car for a friend to look after until I moved back. One of them was what I thought was a portodora (sp?) but I think it might have been one of these colocasias since the darn thing bloomed before I got here. My friend never even noticed it! Brian, does the portodora bloom?
portdora will bloom as well. The stems usually have some darker color and bandings around them.
Thanks, Brian.
Susan, I'm no expert on bananas, but, since you didn't get any answers, I'll share what I know. Your bananas look like Dwarf Cavendish (or maybe Ice Cream). You can let it continue to grow as it is with the two together or you can separate them. You're likely to get more pups in either case. If you separate them, make sure you get a "clean cut" smack down in between the two so that each have good roots.
You won't ever get fruit in Danville unless they go in a greenhouse for the winter as it takes 10-12 months of no freeze and better weather to produce fruits. Have you kept them in pots so that you can move them inside for winter? They will grow faster if put them in the ground. I've had some in the ground for the summer then you can dig them up and leave them in a basement or garage for the winter. I just lay them down and throw a blanket over the roots of them (probably don't even have to do that) and leave them till spring when I put them back in the ground and start to water and fertilize.
I find bananas fun and easy. They love sun, water and fertilizer.
I'm sure one of the pros will jump in and add to this post and you'll get some good advice.
Good luck,
Barbara
Lucky you for being a docent on that garden tour, Alice. I bet it was incredible.
Barbara,
Thank you so much for the help... No this is my first year of them ... I put them in the ground and I believe they will die to the ground and then come back next spring... At least that is what I have been told by a few others that grow in my area... I am not taking the chance.. I will leave maybe one outside to just see then the rest are being dug up also my EE are coming in... I am going to split the bananas this weekend... They are dwarf somethings but I dont believe the name you said... I will try to look up on ebay and get back to you.... These were TWO very big bananas trees I got from HD for 30dollars at the end of the season... I did buy a couple from ebay but those diffrent from these two.. These have red or maroon in them... really pretty...
I thank you for your help.
Susan
Will I broke down and had to go to Brian's Botanical and buy 1. I don't know how many plants I have purchased from him and every one is great. He does have some nice plants, and they always arrive in such great condition.
This was sent to me as a red velvet banana. It now has a bloom that seems to be making tiny bananas. Does anyone know if the fruit will mature and be edible? We have about 6 or 7 more weeks before frost and the plant is in the ground.
Louise
I'm not an expert, but I'm not sure your banana is red velvet banana, musa velutina, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/979/ . If it is, its fruits are suitable only for ornamental purposes. To my eye its flower is too orange. Musa ornata has an orange flower, and its bananas are edible , http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2531/ . :)
I'd be concerned that six to seven weeks may be too little time for the lil' nanners to set and develop. I've heard of people cutting the fruit stalk and bringing it inside in to finish ripening in a bucket of water.
-Joe
Joe,
My camera made the bloom look more like orange, but the bloom has a rosy look to it. How do I adjust the color perception on a Sony Cyber-Shot 6.0 ?
Thanks for giving me the links with the names. I'll check them out.
Louise
I checked this site and the bloom looks just like mine:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/11702/
This message was edited Sep 13, 2007 6:22 PM
After looking at both links, I don't have the velutina one. I have the ornata one.
This message was edited Sep 13, 2007 6:28 PM