Javascript must be enabled to use Listia. Please follow these instructions to enable javascript on your browser.

FREE: RARE and extinct in the wild. The Amazing and beautiful Banana Lotus.

A member of Listia gave this away for free!

Do you want FREE stuff like this?

Listia is 100% Free to use

Over 100,000 items are FREE on Listia

Declutter your home & save money

"Listia is like EBay, except everything is free" - Los Angeles Times

"An Awesome Way To Give And Get Free Stuff" - Michael Arrington, TechCrunch

This Stuff is Free Too:

FREE

Description

The listing, RARE and extinct in the wild. The Amazing and beautiful Banana Lotus. has ended.

This auction is for 5 very special and rare seeds!

As a result of intense agriculture, the natural habitat of Ensete lasiocarpa has become highly fragmented. In fact, truly wild populations are unknown, which is why the species may have to be classified as 'Extinct in the Wild'. The remaining populations are considered to be 'semi-wild' ones. These populations are maintained only through cultivation, thanks to the cultural and economic significance of this species to local people.

With its inflorescence resembling a lotus flower in bud and lasting up to 250 days, the golden lotus banana has become a sacred plant of Buddhist monks in the tropical region of Yunnan.

Help me repopulate these. They are worshipped by the monks for a reason :) They are amazing. They have 100 uses and are beautiful. I believe the most amazing plant in the world.

These seeds can take up to 6 months to sprout. Yes 6 months. I have never ever heard of it taking that long, but that is what I have heard from several people.

These are cold hardy to zone 5. They make great house plants also. They need lots of sun and water. If you live someplace where their is a winter they will die down and then come back in the spring. If it is always warm, well then they just keep growing. They can reach 5 feet tall :)

Questions & Comments

We are on the line between zones 7 & 8; would that makes us an area where these would die down and then come back in the spring or would our winters destroy them?

Jul 30th, 2014 at 9:55:47 PM PDT by

Well I am zone 5 and mine die down. I think basically if you drop below freezing they are going to probably die down. Not many people have them so its hard to say. They are difficult to find and they take A LOT of patience and love to grow them. The seeds can take months to germinate. I have found scuffing them with sandpaper and then soaking them in an enzyme booster will get them to grow much faster. (well germinate) the more heat the better. The hotter the better to get them to germinate. After that they will grow pretty much anywhere. If I were you I would look into the weather in China in the Yunnan. That might give you a better understanding of these :)

Aug 2nd, 2014 at 12:34:46 PM PDT by

I am zone 5. They get lots of mulch in the fall and come back every spring. Remember these are native to China. China has winter. It gets snow. It is not a tropic. Growers will tell you they are because it will indeed die down in the winter. However that is what they due in the wild and have done forever. Well until they were literally drove to being extinct by their land being used for other things.

Jul 31st, 2014 at 12:50:38 AM PDT by

beautful dont have enough credits now but maybe if you offfer this up later i might be able to get it fanned you

Jul 31st, 2014 at 5:48:08 PM PDT by

Aug 2nd, 2014 at 12:31:54 PM PDT by

do you buy them off of amazon are do you grow them. because they only cost like $3. lol

Aug 2nd, 2014 at 5:39:08 PM PDT by

I harvest my own. I have also bought them right from China from a woman I know there who first showed me the plant. You see these seeds are only going to grow if they are less then a year old. Also they MUST be cold strated. So you get a lot of junk on ebay or amazon. I am not saying all by any means. But ask questions about how they stored them and how long they have had them. Because if they are buying them from someone God only knows how long those people have had them. So it is very important to know where you are getting them from. Remember these seeds usually cost about a dollar or two a piece. You have to pay shipping. SO if you are paying that much a seed you darn well want it to grow. I have saw so many people buy five or ten and then have none of them grow off of ebay. They take time and patience but most of all you need to get them fresh. You can do everything right but if they are old your out of luck. However please do take time and get the right person and grow these plants. They are amazing, They deserve to have a fighting chance. They are totally extinct in the wild. The monks in the Yunnan worship them and have kept them alive. There are a few farmers who have also been growing them and trying to sell the seeds around the world to help keep them alive. So please plant them

Aug 2nd, 2014 at 8:35:37 PM PDT by