Ensete Maurelii Growth Rates

[lucienc]

I have been shocked how quickly Maurelii grow.

I bought mine (my first) this time last year from Homebase for £7.50 - reduced from £15. Spent its winter in the same pot in the ickle poly tunnel on the drive.

It went in the ground in May, and has been like a rocket since. A new leaf seems to appear everytime I blink.

Late May :


End of June :


Early July :


Mid August :


Early September :


And Today (its now impossible to get it all in frame) :








It doesn't appear to be slowing down yet. I heard at the weekend of some people locally who never dig them up, and they've been fine. I plan to keep it in the ground and watch how its doing, but I'm wondering how long till I panic and dig it up. If it carrys on at this rate it'll fill the garden by Christmas.

If it does survive this winter, just how big is it likely to end up next year/year after etc ?

Lucien

[Dave Brown]

It has done very well in the time since planted out. I believe they grow to about 18 feet eventually. Are you hoping for it to flower

[lucienc]

do they flower ?

well do they ?

How big/warm do they need to be ?

[Dave Brown]

Apparently it does flower

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plan ... ?Code=C542

They also say in cool climates yoiu can keep this banana for years, where in warmer climates it flowers and needs to be replaced

[SteveW]

Hi Lucien,
Yes I believe they do flower.I've tried searching on b.org for a link as I'm sure there was one,but can't find it.
I did find these pics in the wiki though.
Looks like they don't have to be that big to flower.My brother-in-law in NZ had a plain ventricosum flower a few years ago,and that was HUGE shame I've not got a photo of it as it was stunning.
Steve

[Bill]

Saw your post about maurellii at £7.50 from homebase.

Mine had them all summer at £14.99 but the leaves were quite tatty so they didn't sell - I waited. Been in today & bought all 5 big plants reduced to £3.75 each!!!!!!

Bit of TLC & next year they will be spectacular. Now just need to decide what to do with them.

Cheers

Bill

[lucienc]

Saw your post about maurellii at £7.50 from homebase.

Mine had them all summer at £14.99 but the leaves were quite tatty so they didn't sell - I waited. Been in today & bought all 5 big plants reduced to £3.75 each!!!!!!

Bit of TLC & next year they will be spectacular. Now just need to decide what to do with them.

Cheers

Bill

Well done for waiting till they were £3.75 - at £7.50 we couldn't refuse

How many did they have ?

Exeter mangaged to get 7, Honiton 2, and Newton Abbott none.

[lucienc]

Hi Lucien,
Yes I believe they do flower.I've tried searching on b.org for a link as I'm sure there was one,but can't find it.
I did find these pics in the wiki though.
Looks like they don't have to be that big to flower.My brother-in-law in NZ had a plain ventricosum flower a few years ago,and that was HUGE shame I've not got a photo of it as it was stunning.
Steve

"Mature Height - 6'-10'" - lol Mine is 13' in its first year real year (ok second year).

[lucienc]

and that wiki says "This banana will not pup. " but shows pics of lots of pups (once you've hacked it to the ground )

[SteveW]

As a general rule they don't pup naturally,althoufgh saying that one of mine did last year.And here it is

The parent plant didn't make it through the winter though,rotted away from underneath.
Apparently you can get seed for Maurelli.
Heres a quote from Gabe on b.org about it,explains it much better than I could.

Let me explain, Ensete ventricosum is a naturally variable species, in the wild, they usually tend to be green with a little red, however, redder plants are naturally occuring and these ones with red foliage are tissue cultured and given the name 'Maurelii', but in reality, it is the exact same species. To answer rsieminski's question also, the reason there are no seeds is because its not a distinct plant, you could plant a whole bunch of Ensete ventricosum seeds and theoretically get a few red ones by chance, but if you pollinate a 'Maurelii', you will get seeds, but the vast majority of them will turn out green because that is the normal color of the species, because again, Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' is just a naturally redder form of the regular Ensete ventricosum.
__________________

Hope that helps
Steve

[Dave Brown]

Yes Steve, I can nunderstand the variability. My seed grown ventricosum from last year is a dwarf. It is the same age as the Maurelii in the background, but is not growing bigger, just more leaves.



This will be interesting as it may not get too big so I may stand a chance of it flowering. Alternatively I may cut it down to see if I can get pups as it is quite unusual for a ventricosum.