Musa cheesmani

Musa cheesmani
Cheesman's Banana

A vigorous, large, wild banana from Northeastern India. The pseudostems are densely clustering, dark reddish brown, with a waxy white bloom towards the leaf stalk. The leaf is bright green above with a pale midrib and grayish below with a conspicuous purple brown midrib. Although M. cheesmani has been described half a century ago, we believe this enormously attractive and colorful banana has not yet been introduced into cultivation. It is closely related to Musa sikkimensis and will succeed under similar conditions; its cold tolerance, however, remains to be tested.

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

Seeds from this species ...

... are easy to germinate and need up to 3 months to sprout.
100 seeds planted 1 1/2 mos. ago in 170 cell seed tray of seed starter mix are sprouting at different intervals during our heat wave. Have them in a greenhouse with a shade-cloth on the roof where temps have exceeded 105 degrees F.
Submitted on 31/07/2006 by William Read weread@mac.com

...easy to germinate and need up to 3 months to sprout.
Soaked seeds in warm tapwater for a couple of days, then sealed in a jar containing quite moist perlite (wet enough to stick together a bit, though this is probably too much), in a propagator at ~30-40 degrees in the day and about 20 at night. Germination started after a fortnight, with 5/15 germinated after 6 weeks. After germination seeds were placed in moist compost in 9cm pots, and sprouted after another week or two. Seedlings have a distinct glaucous appearance compared to e.g. M. Sikkimensis
Submitted on 28/07/105 by Alex defnoz@hotmail.com

...easy to germinate and need up to 1 month to sprout.
Placed 11 seeds on a heat mat with an appliance timer set to 9 hours on. They were placed in a ziplock bag in moist peat moss. After a month of no results with high temps, I placed the seeds high near my ceiling. In less than a week most of them sprouted in temps around 75 F. Seem to be pretty easy to germinate!
Submitted on 22/01/2005 by one of our visitors


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

Plants from this species ...

... have not yet been commented on. Be the first to write a comment:


	• • • Write a plant cultivation comment and enter to win Euro (€) 50 worth of seeds • • • Please note: These comments are on how to cultivate the PLANTS once the seeds have germinated.

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.

We recommend:

Conifers for Gardens: An Illustrated Encyclopedia
by Richard L. Bitner

Hardcover - 448 pages
More than 1500 photographs

Our Rating:

Suitable for: all

Conifers for Gardens is intended to take away the element of uncertainty when you're choosing a plant that may alter your yard for years to come. Profusely illustrated with more than 1,500 crisp photographs and brimming with concise descriptions of both species and their numerous cultivars, this meticulously researched reference provides information - including size, appearance, hardiness, preferred growing conditions and susceptibility to pests and diseases - for almost every hardy conifer you're likely to encounter in the trade, whether it's a tried-and-true favorite or a connoisseur's treasure.

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