Musa Siam Ruby (Weedby)

[stevethelizard]

hello all hows it going? I have hankered after one of these since i saw one on an american website 2 or 3 years ago it cost more than i have left on my morgage .Now thanks to amulree i now have one of my very own but i have read it can be a butter to over winter any tips?? Mark??

[Dave Brown]

Mine is doing really well. Repotted it last week and it has rewarded me with two pups. The colour will probably fade as the sun's strength weakens, but defo a nice nana It seems to love this warm humid weather with warm nights and has grown a complete new leaf in the last week. I suspected it might have started to slow down by now.

[stevethelizard]

hi Dave it was a pic of yours that made me look online for it. I thank you sir
ill keep it in the porch for now then and try to get it a bit bigger before the .. no i cant say it!! we havnt had a summer so we cant have a w w winter

[Mark]

Steve, Good to see you posting again. As you can guess it is not hardy and will need heat for the winter.If its not too big to fit, the bathroom window cill would be ideal as it gets a bit of humidity and warmth. Try to remember not to pull the blind down and trap it behind against the cold glass. Keep an eye out for Red Spider Mite too.

[Dave Brown]

Mark, mine is bigger than the bathroom windowsill so won't be going on there, and wife won't let weepers indoors and everything I want to overwinter weeps

This is the pseudostem of the Siam. I like the vertical stripes. also one of the pups in the shot

[stevethelizard]

hi mark hows it going ? i have had a bit of a busy year takeing on a business from a friend of mine who is retiring so very little time to do anything. I will try it in the greenhouse that will be heated . what do you think is the min temp i should go for 5 or 10c?

[musa_monkey]

Dave, that's great colouring.
Unfortunately mine became Red Spider Mite magnets
It took a while to get rid of the little butters but the plants are recovering now.
I get the feeling that the Siam Ruby needs a lot more humidity than most nanas.

[Dave Brown]

Dave, that's great colouring.
Unfortunately mine became Red Spider Mite magnets
It took a while to get rid of the little butters but the plants are recovering now.
I get the feeling that the Siam Ruby needs a lot more humidity than most nanas.

MM, I spray occasionally with SB Plant invigorator which is a natural soft soap with hormones and vitamines to help the plant fight off pest attacks. It makes green bananas a really deep green, so I presume it makes Siam Ruby a deeper red. I also stand it in the middleof the lawn and hose off the leaves, top and bottom, every few days. Don't mess around with a mister..... blasts the little bu@@ers off if any are there

In winter I wipe off nana leaves with a washing up sponge with dilute washing up liquid

[musa_monkey]

Dave,

thanks.........heads off to search for SB plant invigorator

[Mark]

Dave, Thats a cracking picture of the stem Mine for some reason are all still green maybe MarkD was right and I got a pot of Cannas

SIMON!!!!

[Adrian]

It will be interesting to see who manages to keep them through winter and how they do it.
Marks Canna should prove easier

[SteveW]

Dave, Thats a cracking picture of the stem Mine for some reason are all still green maybe MarkD was right and I got a pot of Cannas

SIMON!!!!

Maybe you've got a pot of peridot instead?I'll swop you a green one for a thai one if you'd like mate

It will be interesting to see who manages to keep them through winter and how they do it.
Marks Canna should prove easier

The easiest way to keep them alive for this year at least is to keep them indoors,worked for me last year.This year I'll try a couple of pups in the greenhouse,but bring the largestr one in again just to play it safe

[Mark]

Maybe you've got a pot of peridot instead?I'll swop you a green one for a thai one if you'd like mate

Deal ( goes off down the poly to find a canna that looks like a banana )

They are not very big 6" or so.

[MarkD]

Mark, it may not be cannas but a different kind of nana altogether, Musa 'Siam Emerald'

stevethelizard, the colouring of your Siam Ruby looks good already. Ours were bought the same time as nearly everyone else. It has coloured up but nowhere near as intense as Dave or yours. It's been a busy period for us and we didn't even have time to bring any of our potted bananas out of the greenhouse so it's been in it all this time

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The newest leaf hasn't coloured up on the top surface but the bottom of the leaf is colouring up.

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Red Spider Mite was starting to get it but fortunately Phytoselius and SB Invigorator did it's magic

It'll go in the house over winter, too tender to be just kept frost free I'm afraid

[Dave Brown]

Dave, Thats a cracking picture of the stem Mine for some reason are all still green maybe MarkD was right and I got a pot of Cannas

SIMON!!!!

MARK !!!!!! You picked the one with most pups, not Simon's fault you picked up the wrong species

Seriously, are you sure your stress tactics to enhance variegation are not backfiring Variegation is enhanced by suppressing the natural leaf colour. Siam Ruby you need to enhance the natural leaf colour I use highish nitrogen, and add a pinch epsom salts every now and again for magnesium which enhances chloropyll production.
A lot of magnesium is derived from dolomite limestone so I am told..... does this mean that ericacious compost will deplete magnesium more quickly as it does not have lime I use a standard pH compost mix