Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ on 4-15-12, #86-32.
Red Abyssinian Banana
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’
En-SET-ee (ay) ven-tre-KO-sum
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AWARD OF GARDEN MERIT
Synonyms of Ensete ventricosum (33) (Updated on 12-21-23 from Plants of the World Online): Ensete arnoldianum (De Wild.) Cheesman, Ensete bagshawei (Rendle & Greves) Cheesman, Ensete buchananii (Baker) Cheesman, Ensete davyae (Stapf) Cheesman, Ensete edule Bruce ex Horan., Ensete fecundum (Stapf) Cheesman, Ensete holstii (K.Schum.) Cheesman, Ensete laurentii (De Wild.) Cheesman, Ensete proboscideum (Oliv.) Cheesman, Ensete ruandense (De Wild.) Cheesman, Ensete rubronervatum (De Wild.) Cheesman, Ensete schweinfurthii (K.Schum. & Warb.) Cheesman, Ensete ulugurense (Warb. & Moritz) Cheesman, Ensete ventricosum var. montbeliardii (Bois) Cufod., Mnasium theophrasti Pritz., Musa africana W.Bull, Musa arnoldiana De Wild., Musa bagshawei Rendle & Greves, Musa buchananii Baker, Musa davyae Stapf, Musa ensete J.F.Gmel., Musa ensete var. montbeliardii Bois, Musa fecunda Stapf, Musa holstii K.Schum., Musa kaguna Chiov., Musa laurentii De Wild., Musa martretiana A.Chev., Musa proboscidea Oliv., Musa ruandensis De Wild., Musa rubronervata De Wild., Musa schweinfurthii K.Schum. & Warb., Musa ulugurensis Warb. & Moritz, Musa ventricosa Welw.
Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman is the accepted scientific name for this plant. It was documented as such by Ernest Entwistle Cheesman in the Kew Bulletin in 1947. It was first described as Musa ventricosa Welw. by Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch in Apontamentos Phytogeographicos in 1859. Mr. Cheesman also named 12 of the synonyms…
The genus, Ensete Bruce ex Horan., was described by Paul (Paulus) Fedorowitsch Horaninow in Prodromus Monographiae Scitaminearum in 1862. Mr. Horaninow used a previous description made by James Bruce and gave him credit for naming the plant.
As of 12-21-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 7 species in the Ensete genus. It is a member of the plant family Musaceae with three genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
I always wanted a Red Abyssinian Banana so I FINALLY bought one from Wellspring Gardens in the spring of 2012. The one I bought was a very small starter plant… Later that spring I went to the Pleasant Acres Nursery in Leland, Mississippi and she had several MUCH larger plants.
THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ (Red Abyssinian Banana), Celosia argentea ‘Punky Red, and Celosia argentea ‘Heirloom Giant Burgandy Cockscomb’ on 5-16-12, #94-13.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
TYPE: Herbaceous perennial
FAMILY: Musaceae
ZONES: USDA Zones 10-11
SIZE: 8-10’ tall x 6-8’ wide in temperate regions. This species normally grows 18-20 feet in tropical climates.
LIGHT: Full sun
WATER: Medium
FRUIT: Takes 3-5 years but the fruit is inedible
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ nearly hid by the Celosia argentea Heirloom Giant Burgandy and Colocasia esculenta on 7-1-12, #104-3.
Before I bought my Red Abyssinian Banana I already knew where I wanted it. I wanted this banana in the middle of the Colocasia esculenta in the west bed… Well, that would have been great except for the fact I bought it as a starter plant which was very small. The Colocasia soon towered above the banana and I wanted the opposite.
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ (Red Abyssinian Banana), 34″ tall on 7-2-12, #106-5.
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ makes a beautiful specimen with it’s HUGE olive-green and maroon leaves. They can be grown in the ground or in pots (although it has been my experience they don’t grow as fast in pots).
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ on 7-19-12, #111-9.
If you don’t live in zones 10-11, you can bring them inside for the winter. You can keep them in a bright sunny room and reduce feed and water. The other option for overwintering is to force them into dormancy. To do this, allow them to get zapped by the first frost, cut their leaves back to 6-8” and store them in a cool dark corner of your basement. Water the soil from time to time to keep it from totally drying out. IF your plant has not been in a pot OR if it is too large, you can remove it from the container, or dig it up out of the ground BEFORE the first frost. Wrap the roots in plastic and store it in a cool dark place in your basement until spring. You can either leave the leaves on the plant to brown naturally or trim them off.
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, Celosia argentea ‘Punky Red’ and Celosia argentea ‘Heirloom Giant Burgundy’ almost hidden by the Elephant Ears on 8-4-1, #113-5.
One other thing you need to know is that after the Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ flowers and sets fruit, the pseudostem will die… It usually takes 3-5 years for them to flower, though, and plants cut back to the ground every fall may never flower.
Also, it is said that this cultivar is more difficult to transplant than the species and it is not recommended to plant them in the ground then put them in pots to overwinter… I did and it did OK.
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ on 8-12-12, #115-22.
As cooler temps started I dug this plant up and took it to the east sunroom with the part of the potted plants. If the temps warmed up I moved them out to the front porch.
I gave this plant to a very good friend when I moved from Mississippi in February 2013.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. If you notice I made an error, please let me know.
The Belmont Rooster 