Ensete perrieri

Ensete perrieri
Madagascar Banana

A most exciting new introduction, this unique species of Ensete from Madagascar, described in 1905 by French botanist Claverie, not only is the Islands only native banana, but also has remained in obscurity and listed as poorly known ever since its discovery. This is its very first introduction into cultivation. In overall appearance not unlike the Asian E. glaucum, it has a robust, beautifully bluish-waxy pseudostem that is distinctly swollen at the base. The straight, ascending leaves with yellowish midribs are held on very short stalks and form a shuttlecock-like crown. The distinctly warty seeds look intermediate between the the regular, smooth black seeds of most Ensete and the warty, conical seeds of some Musa. Ensete perrieri will make a magnificent ornamental for tropical as well as many temperate regions. To look its best it should be afforded some protection from wind likw most bananas.

germination comments by our visitors
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Also see plant cultivation comments below.

Seeds from this species ...

... are very difficult to germinate and need up to 3 months to sprout.
I first tried 100 Ensete perrieri thinking that they would be easy like the other large seeded Ensetes (ventricosum, glaucum, superbum(Indian)). After no luck, I found out over the web that they like a drier germination environment, basically they like totally drying out, then rehydrating. A seed bed outside in direct sun that gets hot then dries might be the ticket, akin to some palm genus' (Parajubea's, ect). Definatly different than any other bananas I have germinated. I'm not sure about the tempature fluctuations. More information about their environment would lead to more clues, but it's not an easy one to germinate indoors. Probably a great banana for dry areas of the SW US!
Submitted on 26/10/2007 by K whit kylewhitney2003@yahoo.com


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plant cultivation comments by our visitors
Also see germination commnets above.

Plants from this species ...

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If you wish to read more on palm cultivation, we highly recommend Ornamental Palm Horticulture by Timothy K. Broschat and Alan W. Meerow, available in our bookshop.

Ratings and comments reflect individual experiences and the views of our visitors. They do not necessarily describe the most appropriate methods, nor are they necessarily valid for all seeds or plants of this species. Germination and plant cultivation success depends on many different factors; nevertheless, these experiences will hopefully aid you in your effort to get the best germination results from our seeds and the best growth results from your plants.