Musa gracilis \'Leyte White\' LIVE PLANT Rare Banana Species from Malaysia For Sale

Musa gracilis \'Leyte White\' is an extremely ornamental Musa from Peninsular Malaysia. The white bracts with purple streaks and green tips are unique in the Musa world! It\'s a little bit of a misunderstood Musa, since it has a cultivar name \'Leyte White\', which most wild species don\'t. Maybe it should just be written as Musa gracilis, but for now, at least, we shall write it as such. It was given the cultivar name to distinguish it from the straight species because of the bud color differences. \"Leyte\" is a play on words (lite, light), and is a reference to the color and not the municipality in The Philippines. It\'s closely related to, but distinct from, Musa violascens, which is native nearby. The fruits are white to whitish-green, and full of seeds when pollinated. The mature leaves are much longer than they are wide, giving it a distinctive appearance. I\'m including pictures of my largest potted M. gracilis also.I wouldn\'t have too many high expectations about cold-hardiness for this species, although you never know. I have been able to overwinter every Musa I\'ve ever grown in the ground here in USDA zone 9a, Gainesville, FL. That includes Musa banksii, which is from very tropical Northern Australia. However, I feel confident in saying that it probably won\'t tolerate the ground being frozen whatsoever. So, even in zone 8b/9a, either lift it out of the ground in the fall, or cover it with several inches of mulch and keep it dry.Musa gracilis is in the Callimusa section in the genus Musa. A lot of the widely cultivated Musa plants come from the other section, section Musa. There actually used to be five sections (Callimusa, Rhodochlamys, Eumusa, Australimusa, and Ingentimusa). A lot of the ornamental species come from the former Rhodochlamys section (now Musa) and are more known and popular. Recently, more species have become available in the Callimusa section, although they are typically more tropical in nature. Musa gracilis has a fairly short pseudostem, anywhere from 0.5 - 2 m tall, but commonly about 1 m, and an erect inflorescence. The imbricate, white bracts have a light green tip and purple streaking. There are typically 4-6 hands of upright fruits, up to 4 fruits per hand. They are arranged in a single row (this is a key differentiation between it and M. violascens, which has hands in 2 rows). The seeds are small and cylindrical, typical of Callimusa species.The last 4 pictures are only representative of what you will receive, not the actual plant.I will ship your plant BARE ROOT! It will be wrapped in moist paper towels and a plastic bag. I may have to trim the leaves or even the stem a little to accommodate the box. Don\'t worry...it\'s a banana. They grow fast once they get going. Give it plenty of water, sunlight, good soil, and fertilizer. I will ship on Monday or Tuesday, depending on your location. I don’t want a live plant sitting in a box for too long! UPS Ground is my preferred service for live plants. Please understand that once the package leaves my hands, it\'s at the mercy of the delivery company, and occasionally they have been know to damage something! This is a banana plant, however, and if it is damaged at all (unlikely), it will grow back from the corm. An unboxing video is recommended to protect you and me, and is the only way that I will accept a return.No shipping to CA or HI.I am a registered nursery in the state of Florida. REGISTRATION NO.: 484044357