12 year old Ensete and still no flowers!

[Yorkshire Kris]

One interesting piece of information that I picked up from the head gardener of Harewood house was regarding their ensete ventricoseum. They were planted in 2000 so are now 12 years old and have never flowered!!!

I double checked with him and yes, they are the very same plants that have been overwintered for 12 years. So it's not the age of these that couses flowering, must be climate??


Anyone know of any older plants? or of ones that have flowered outdoors in the UK?

[miketropic]

I wondered that myself...there are a few types that will flower out in my area and fruit.. I know some at Brians had flowers when I went last week.. If you can't flower them in the UK that really is awful..the leaves and plant are beautiful but the flower puts the topper on it.

[Dave Brown]

with Ensete the whole plant dies after flowering as it doesn't produce pups, so although interesting if they all flowered every year, you'd be forever buying more.

Renae has a ventricosum that flowered after 2 years, and the seed it produced also raised Ensete that flowered very small and young, so there could be some genetics coupled with the Perth (Aus) climate.

The info I gleaned from the university studies on Enset production in Ethiopia, is that higher in the mountains they can take up to 15 years to mature. This was a combination of slow growth due to cold, and leaf damage due to frost.

Other factors at Harewood, could be... are they potted or planted? How do they overwinter ? feed? amount of water given? temperature of the water etc, etc.

My potted 4 year E ventricosum is 4 feet tall and although producing loads of leaves, isn't getting any bigger. I presume if they don't get to a certain size they will never mature so could go on forever, in theory.

[Dave Brown]

Mike, I agree Musa would be nicer if they flowered, but just getting the leaves is exotic in my garden

[Yorkshire Kris]

with Ensete the whole plant dies after flowering as it doesn't produce pups, so although interesting if they all flowered every year, you'd be forever buying more.

Renae has a ventricosum that flowered after 2 years, and the seed it produced also raised Ensete that flowered very small and young, so there could be some genetics coupled with the Perth (Aus) climate.

The info I gleaned from the university studies on Enset production in Ethiopia, is that higher in the mountains they can take up to 15 years to mature. This was a combination of slow growth due to cold, and leaf damage due to frost.

Other factors at Harewood, could be... are they potted or planted? How do they overwinter ? feed? amount of water given? temperature of the water etc, etc.

My potted 4 year E ventricosum is 4 feet tall and although producing loads of leaves, isn't getting any bigger. I presume if they don't get to a certain size they will never mature so could go on forever, in theory.

Up to 15years... so not long to wait then! They are all planted out in late spring and lifted in autumn and over wintered in heated green houses. Feeding and water I'm not sure but guess just as much as the other plants in the border which is mainly bedded out tropicals with yuccas, foxglove trees etc for structure. (I couldn't smell chicken poo)