Ensete ventricosum Montbeliardii History

[Renae]

What a fascinating read! Can't wait to find out more! ..Well done Dave. I'd love to do the scoop method too.. hope all goes well (SteveW)

[SteveW]

You'd stand a much better chance of succeding with your climate than me Renae,you should go try it mate
Welcome to the forum btw

[Dave Brown]

Thought it was time to update this with the 'Montbeliardii''s progress.

It is growing well, but we have gone into a low pressure season which means windy. It has got a bit shredded unfortunately

Here 18th August 2010

[mattvg]

dave that ensete is a monster im well impressed you must be well chuffed.
hope you don't mined me asking a but on the exotics tab you say to water with warm water as cool water will stop or slow growth so what about when it rains (as its been raining allot here) as rain is cool does it have the same affect as cool water. obviously it rains in there natural climate but is it warmer rain (is it me or does that sound stupid ) . i was thinking of potting mine up and putting it in the green house were its warmer and out of the rain (obviously) or do you think it happy in the ground and i should just let it get on with it again well impressed

[Dave Brown]

Hi Matt, rain is cool, but we tend not to get 100+mm at a time so it's cooling effect is minimal. With watering we tend to water at much higher levels giving 50 to 100mm at a time which drenches right though a pot. Tap water in spring can be significantly lower than air temps, so it is best to water with tepid water to help raise compost temps rather than lower them. Many people put pots on heat mats but them water with cold water If you are trying to keep the compost warm to me it makes sense to not cool it down again with cold water

Ensete does not like cold/wet as in it's natural environment in the colder months where temps can get down close to freezing, it is also the dry season and humidity can be very low... down to 10%. The problem we have is our cold, wet winters, and the chances of getting an Ensete through a winter in wet soil or compost is almost zero. You will have to dig out. remove the soil/compost and dry the stem out if your greenhouse is not heated to around 10C by day and 5C by night. Damp and high humidity is the real killer in the winter months

[Dave Brown]

Here is a final pic of the E.v Montbeliardii before being cut down for winter storage.

[sanatic1234]

Is it going back in to your conservatory Dave? also how many people are you going to need to move it? Toby buckland on gardeners world made me laugh a bit when he moved his big ensete, it wasn't a big as your i don't think but he was struggling with the lift a bit, you could tell, just a good job he had the pot nearby

[Adrian]

Good thread Dave I have only just looked in on it

Mine made a good size but I lost it year before last, I couldnt believe it when Don asked me if I fancied taking one on as he had one left, I was expecting a little pup but it was a cracking nana.
I wish I had taken more care of it but at the time we didnt know they would become quite hard to get.

It is just an upright form of maurellii isnt it ?

Dave have you considered cutting the trunk back hard (when in active growth) to get a shorter banana and therefore hopefully giving it more wind protection and keeping better leaves.
Size isnt everything

[Dave Brown]

San, I will not be able to lift it this year. Aido will have to give me a hand. I'll dig out and lean on it's side on a blanket. We can then grab the blanket to lift.

Ade, the pseudostem is about 6 feet tall and the leaves 8 to 9 feet. If I was to cut the pseudostem the leaves would still grow the same size so not much to be gained

[Dave Brown]

I seem to have not updated this topic Thought I had, but the winter seems to have numbed my brain

On 6th November 2010 I decided to dig out Ensete Mighty 'Montbeliardii'. Here is the story in pictures

The last pics before the leaves removed

The pseudostem

Removed leaves

De-leafed 4ft (1.3m) pseudostem

Digging out

Dug out

Taking 2 to lift and using a folded bulk 1 cubic m bag as it has handy carrying handles

soil/compost was removed from the rootball. and then left for an hour with the base raised to allow excess water to drain from the pseudostem. Then plonked, bare rooted into a tub the same size as the base

Then placed in the conservatory which was still rising to 20/25C for further drying off before winter (which struck with a vengence on 30th November with blizzards)

Further updates to follow now as the Mighty 'Montbeliardii' has re-awakened

[Mr List]

that is one fat flipping banana!

i hate the thought of digging out plants each year otherwise i would love something like that.

[mushtaq86]

Fantastic pics Dave you will have a monster this year.

[sanatic1234]

Looks brilliant dave, im still trying to get one of these i will find one!

The one thing that amazes me is how that is holding up that 'Montbeliardii' as there must be some weight there? Did you fill the bottom of the pot with gravel?

[Dave Brown]

that is one fat flipping banana!

Yes Mush it is already becoming a monster and will have to go outside in about 2 weeks, as will be too tall for the conservatory

Here, on 3rd January 2011, after going through all the bad snow of December 2010 without problem. The lowest temp in the conservatory was about 6C.

Towards the end of February the leaf bases and roller started to move, and by 12th March it was time to check the roots and pot up if they were growing.

Mighty 'Montbeliardii' was removed from the tub where it had spent the winter bare rooted. The soil ball was surprisingly damp considering in had not been watered for nearly 4 months.

Then a check was made to see if root growth has commenced.... it had

Then a suitably large tub was found to accommodate it until planting out in April or May. This was filled with 50/50 mp compost and perlite for additional drainage allowing it to dry out quickly in cold weather.

The compost was just moistened, no more. Here on 21st March

First leaf now opening

Will now have to start thinking of spring protection as it will outgrow the conservatory in about 2 weeks, long before the last frost

[Mac]

Dave,
I've just read through this thread, I'm in awe! Mighty 'Montbeliardii' is looking really good, in fact excellent!
You're a real inspiration and obviously very methodical with a lot of patience, Brilliant! Hope 'Montbeliardii' goes on to even greater things this year.

What is that lage fan shaped thing in the pics behind 'Montbeliardii'?? Looks interesting and quite large!