Musa basjoo cultivars
http://www.tropicaflore.com is an invalid name applied to a form of Musa basjoo said to be hardy to - 12ºC to - 15ºC as opposed to "normal" Musa basjoo which, in contrast, is said to be hardy only to - 10ºC.There are various forms of Musa basjoo now available in the trade in Europe, sometimes vying with each other in nurserymen's catalogues as the most cold hardy form available.
Musa basjoo 'Fuji-Yama' is a name applied to clonal material by Jean-Luc Penninckx. He uses the name merely to distinguish the plant from other selections he offers. The plant has no connection with Mt. Fuji-Yama but was obtained from a commercial source in Holland, the nursery Xotus in Delft. It may be said to represent the "normal" or "standard" M. basjoo in cultivation in Europe. Musa basjoo in continental Europe is the same as that in the UK. After James Veitch & Sons had introduced Musa basjoo from Japan they sent material to the French nurserymen C. Thibaut & J. B. Keteleer although it was their successor Sallier who was responsible for its commercial release. This material was first distributed under the name Musa japonica. Personally, I do not find the name 'Fuji-Yama' useful.
Musa basjoo 'Fuji-Yama Variegata' is the name applied by Jean-Luc Penninckx to a variegated plant of Musa basjoo that occurred spontaneously in a batch of micropropagated plants on the nursery of Jos van der Palen in Holland. This plant has become rather well known since it is featured on the Bamboekwekerij Kimmei website. The plant is not yet in cultivation. This plant is indeed a variegated Musa basjoo but it is NOT the plant mentioned in various texts from the 1956 RHS Dictionary to Robert Lee Riffle's The Tropical Look. 'Fuji-Yama Variegata' is of very recent origin indeed). Various forms of variegated Musa basjoo have been selected from micropropagated plants but they are too unstable to be propagated commercially.
Musa basjoo 'Tchechenia' is a name applied to clonal material by Jean-Luc Penninckx imported from the war-torn Russian republic.
Musa basjoo 'Sakhalin' is a name applied to clonal material by Jean-Luc Penninckx imported with a group of other plants from Russia. An amount of "urban legend" has built up around this plant but my understanding is that Jean-Luc is responsible for its introduction into Europe and for its initial commercialisation. It is now relatively widely available. Jean-Luc makes no particularly strong claims for its hardiness but it does seem to be somewhat more cold tolerant than 'Fuyi-Yama'. However, claims are routinely made that it is a much hardier plant than "normal" Musa basjoo and it has been reported, for example, that the unprotected pseudostem survived - 7ºC in the UK. Whether or not it is hardier than "normal" Musa basjoo, 'Sakhalin' does appear to be a somewhat more robust plant, stockier and with thicker leaves and petiole wings. Compared side-by-side with 'Fuyi-Yama', 'Sakhalin' seems to be darker green in colour. However, I know of no feature by which to determine whether an isolated plant one encounters is 'Sakhalin' or "normal" Musa basjoo. The differences are real and 'Sakhalin' can be distinguished biochemically from "normal" Musa basjoo. However, the lack of clear, visual distinguishing features is bound to cause confusion in the trade. In the circumstances I am somewhat doubtful whether 'Sakhalin', as good as it is, really deserves cultivar status. It is also worth pointing out here that 'Sakhalin' might have been introduced into Europe from Sakhalin Island (even this claim is doubtful) but it did not originate there, it was introduced to Sakhalin as an ornamental from China.Musa basjoo 'Sakhalin' variegated form occurred spontaneously in a batch of micropropagated plants in the UK. A sucker from the original plant sold on eBay in 2007.
Musa basjoo x hybridum as featured at
Musa basjoo 'Saporro' sometimes referred to as Musa saporro (a name with no taxonomic status featured at http://www.tropengarten.com) is a form of Musa basjoo from Saporro, Hokkaido, Japan and said to survive - 19ºC "with standard protection methods". The plant does not have species status as is sometimes implied; there are no native Japanese Musa. When Musa basjoo was first introduced into the UK by Veitch it was introduced ... from Hokkaido.The relative hardiness of these forms of Musa basjoo is speculative. Unless and until these forms are collected together in one place and compared side by side it is not possible to draw any conclusions as to the comparative hardiness claimed by the suppliers.
With acknowledgement to Jean-Luc Penninckx.
last updated 03/09/2008