Gardening with Wilson

Got some seeds of the Thomson’s Banana from a friend early in March this year. Only  two seedlings survived to date and they have grown a great deal!

Before going further, I must disclaim first that I cannot be 100% that the seeds are true to its name since seeds bought from online stores can be wrongly identified too! I guess to be sure, we need to wait for the plant to mature, flower and fruit so that we have more morphological features to help with its identification.

Since March, I haven’t been really taking notice of this banana because it was nothing but a plain green plant all this while. I took a look at them this evening after work whilst checking my other seedlings and was surprised to find out that the undersides of the leaves of this banana are actually stained red!

The two seedlings that grew for me. The reddish tinge is obvious

on the leaf underside for the plant on the left side!

Another look.

A closer look – isn’t it beautiful?

Thomson’s banana is more of an edible banana and its seeds can be bought from online nurseries that are based overseas. Yes – this edible banana has seeds in its fruits! If you are interested in getting some seeds to try, goggle for ”Musa thomsonii” (this banana’s botanical name) and you should be able to get a few hits.

A little background of this plant: It is a a subtropical species that is native to the Himalayas and northeastern India. Plants can grow up to a height of 4.5 m! Fruits are seeded and are edible and sweet.

 A little more info about this plant – http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drc/mthomsonii.htm