Musa "Mekong Giant"

[Palmer]

The P-stems are only about 4ft… tbh I thought they would grow faster in the poly but I don’t think they like the heat, they need lots of watering because they drink more than most of my other nanas and the roots are very vigorous, i've had to re-pot them twice

[Dave Brown]

tbh I thought they would grow faster in the poly but I don’t think they like the heat, they need lots of watering because they drink more than most of my other nanas and the roots are very vigorous, i've had to re-pot them twice

That was my thought also Tony. I put it on a heat mat, and it did nothing. Then had it in the sun in the covered area, and did virtually nothing. Then planted in a huge pot and stuck it up the garden in mostly shade, and it has taken off. Sun just seemed to crisp the leaf edges.

I was reading about a Giant iterans from that area that grows in dense jungle and burns in the sun. I wonder if this is the same one

[Mr List]

well brians page does say they grow in the shade as understory trees.

[Palmer]

Dave, Markku has studied the nana in the wild and said although it’s a forest banana it’s also one of the first plants to take advantage of a forest clearing and pops up all-over the place.
He also said the coldest it ever gets for that area is -2c. so not very cold!

[Dave Brown]

Dave, Markku said the coldest it ever gets for that area is -2c. so not very cold!

Still quite an advantage over Dwarf cavendish, and even more so than Siam Ruby Whether we can keep pseudostems over winter with protection still remains to be seen, but for Brian Williams (Brian's Botanicals) they are herbaceous, and root hardy with mulch, and regrow. How quickly they would regrow for us is still in doubt, but etablished M basjoo comes back here to 10ft (3m), in a season, from ground level

[Palmer]

Yeah the jury is still out regards if the Mekong is… itinerans var itinerans or xishuangbannaensis, one thing for sure it is one of them!
Frank (bigdog) on the B.org said he thinks that the Mekong is var itinerans, that comes from a colder region and it also flowers at about the same size as basjoo… I’m with him on this one.

[Dave Brown]

Took this pic today, is growing well now mega potted

[Kristen]

Do you think it is "distinctive" in some way Dave?

Mine looks a lot like my Basjoo (well, so far at least, although it does look more "droopy", which I have put down to someone's observation [might have been you Dave, sorry I've forgotten whom] that they are happier in part shade.

[miketropic]

well I don't have a clue about its scentfic background but I will put in what I do know.. these were sat out at the same time, maybe 1 day apart into the ground. They were both pups and almost identical in size.. The plants are about 5 ft apart and get the same light and everything.. this was done maybe 1 month ago and you can see the differance.



Mekong


bajoo

I do grow in full sun so excuse the poor mekong leaves My larger one is in storage as I just moved and didn't have time to get them a good rooting before winter..If I can talk a friend into giving me some greenhouse space I'll start the larger one again really soon. They really do overwinter as well or better than bajoo as long as they have a good root system by the time the cold sets in.. I just use hay and old leaves around the trunk and watch the leaves and trunk for rot through out the winter.. I usually end up with 1/2 - 3/4 trunk still good once it starts to warm up.I also found that they are less prone to root rot than the bajoo..not sure what kind of fertalizers are avaliable over there but in the spring I hit these with a 20-20-20 after the last frost and they explode. I do have one in mostly shade and it looks so much better than these but it seems to not grow as fast..faster than bajoo but not as fast as the other mekongs

[Palmer]

Thanks for posting in this thread Mike, have you had those long rhizomes on your Mekong!
Are you sure the second pic is a basjoo, it looks like a Musa Cavendish

[GREVILLE]

It seems my Musa 'm/g' missed me so much while I was on holiday that it has hardly grown. In fact, the volume of the plant is smaller than when I left mid-July. I think the newly opened roller on it now was the one that was just poking through around six weeks ago and as all the older leaves are now dead it's looking rather sorry for itself.

This had been doing well in the greenhouse protected from the awful weather until I emptied everything out before going away. I returned it inside again last week and it still hasn't moved.

As all the Musas and Ensetes had experienced some high temperatures recently and being very dry and possibly dormant, I put most of them back in the greenhouse as soon as I returned and soaked them all in warm water. In the last few days just about every nana has exploded into life, except Mekong giant.

It seems that recent posts suggest that it doesn't like to be kept dry and hot. This will be moved to a cooler, shadier spot outside to see if it will motor the way I want it to.

[miketropic]

Thanks for posting in this thread Mike, have you had those long rhizomes on your Mekong!
Are you sure the second pic is a basjoo, it looks like a Musa Cavendish

I am 99.9% sure is bajoo..all my bajoos look like that as pups with the red flecks in the leaves.. it only stays for the first maybe 5 leaves. they don't over there? I got that pup from my grandmothers neighbor. she works at a large nursery and hers are about 14ft tall in front of the house and she was nice enough to bring one over awhile back

The rhizomes do run...and run...and run.. in the one pic you can see the canna in the background there about 3 or 4 feet apart and I have seen parts of a rhizome past that...Im fine with them taking over in that area but it is somthing to think about since you all do alot of container gardening.

[Yorkshire Kris]

Thanks for posting in this thread Mike, have you had those long rhizomes on your Mekong!
Are you sure the second pic is a basjoo, it looks like a Musa Cavendish

I am 99.9% sure is bajoo..all my bajoos look like that as pups with the red flecks in the leaves.. it only stays for the first maybe 5 leaves. they don't over there? I got that pup from my grandmothers neighbor. she works at a large nursery and hers are about 14ft tall in front of the house and she was nice enough to bring one over awhile back

The rhizomes do run...and run...and run.. in the one pic you can see the canna in the background there about 3 or 4 feet apart and I have seen parts of a rhizome past that...Im fine with them taking over in that area but it is somthing to think about since you all do alot of container gardening.

Unless basjoo looks completely different in the US I'd say its a cavendish or similar too.

[Mr List]

here are my mekong giants,

seems to like bright mornings and afternoon shade best at these sizes

[miketropic]

Thanks for posting in this thread Mike, have you had those long rhizomes on your Mekong!
Are you sure the second pic is a basjoo, it looks like a Musa Cavendish

I am 99.9% sure is bajoo..all my bajoos look like that as pups with the red flecks in the leaves.. it only stays for the first maybe 5 leaves. they don't over there? I got that pup from my grandmothers neighbor. she works at a large nursery and hers are about 14ft tall in front of the house and she was nice enough to bring one over awhile back

The rhizomes do run...and run...and run.. in the one pic you can see the canna in the background there about 3 or 4 feet apart and I have seen parts of a rhizome past that...Im fine with them taking over in that area but it is somthing to think about since you all do alot of container gardening.

Unless basjoo looks completely different in the US I'd say its a cavendish or similar too.

Ive never purchased a cavish and honestly never seen one for sale at a greenhouse either.. I'll have to ask the lady I got it from but I KNOW heres are bajoo and this was a pup from them..very very interesting.. that one does have a few more red flecks in it than the usual but every bajoo I have has those specks until possible the 3rd or 4th leaf.. I plan on going to Brians this weekend or next I might grab a few more mekongs to put up I have a spot in the yard they will go just perfect next spring.. the ones you guys have look to be doing wonderful.. they do seem to do alot better in shade and mine are in full sun which really hurts the look of the leaves