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Red bananas that don't lose variegation


Keys6505

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Can't find much help online.  I have previosly grown what I thought to be Musa Sumatrana "Zebrina" and the plant started out all variegated (green/red) at a 1-3gal size and seemed to fade to all green over time.  By the end of the summer the new leaves barely showed any color and the old leaves were 100% green.  I've recently seen some full stands of the same banana but with full variegation on mature plants in what I thought was full sun.  Is the loss of variegation a conditional issue (ie: sun, soil, etc) or am I mixing up species?  Thanks 

 

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You may be thinking of the musa acuminata zebrina. They keep the red variation. I have one. One of my favorite companion plants. Jimbo’s nursery in Santa Fe and Bay Area landscape and design on Red Bluff in Sea Brook sell them. 

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The other one I know of is the "Bordelon" type, though it isn't variegated.  The top of the leaves are a deep green, and the bottom is a burgundy red.  All of my other bananas lose their variegation as they get to be more than 2-3 feet tall, except the Zebrina type Jeff mentioned.

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On 12/6/2020 at 7:03 PM, Jeff985 said:

You may be thinking of the musa acuminata zebrina. They keep the red variation. I have one. One of my favorite companion plants. Jimbo’s nursery in Santa Fe and Bay Area landscape and design on Red Bluff in Sea Brook sell them. 

Most of what I see online shows Musa Sumatrana "Zebrina" and Musa Acuminata "Zebrina" as the same plant.  Are they actually different species?

https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Musa_acuminata_zebrina.htm

https://plantlust.com/plants/3994/musa-acuminata-zebrina/

https://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/Musa/acuminata--ssp--zebrina/Banana--Plantain--Manila-Hemp

 

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41 minutes ago, Keys6505 said:

Most of what I see online shows Musa Sumatrana "Zebrina" and Musa Acuminata "Zebrina" as the same plant.  Are they actually different species?

https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Musa_acuminata_zebrina.htm

https://plantlust.com/plants/3994/musa-acuminata-zebrina/

https://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/Musa/acuminata--ssp--zebrina/Banana--Plantain--Manila-Hemp

 

Not sure. When I bought mine it was labeled as blood banana. When I researched blood banana, musa acuminata zebrina was the botanical name that kept showing up on google, and the pictures matched, so I figured that’s what it was. 

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17 hours ago, Keys6505 said:

Most of what I see online shows Musa Sumatrana "Zebrina" and Musa Acuminata "Zebrina" as the same plant.  Are they actually different species?

I think the correct name is Musa Acuminata "Zebrina" and the "Sumatrana" or "Rojo" are just synonyms. 

https://www.promusa.org/Musa+acuminata+ssp.+zebrina

Mine do great here above about 27-28F and burn pretty badly at 25-26F, even for a very short ~1 hour duration.  Light frosts in the 30s don't seem to bother them too much.

Edited by Merlyn2220
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Sounds good, thanks.  I'll try them again this year.  Either of you have any experience with "Siam Ruby"?  I tried it once but lost it before it even took off.  Just seemed like a weak plant.

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