Show off your banana!

That would be great Lynn! And you will have to show me how to wrap it for winter. Thank you!

What and why are they called pups?

BH, I don't know why Banana Babies are called pups. I picked up the term from Azarina! Now, I want to know why, also.

Well bananas not only have pups, they also have hands and buttons. Ha! (Buttons are baby pups and hands are the leaf layer around the stalk)

Does a non-hardy red banana in a pot count? Mine sure has gotten big this season.

That is a beautiful banana!

I love the color of the leaves on that one. So pretty. :)

I love that banana oh......... to live closer to the equator! I would be tempted to pot it up and keep it indoors for the winter.This is my Musa basjoo....kind of a dwarf this year

Kymmco, that is certainly a beautiful banana! Love the color of the leaves. What is the plant on the bottom left, the one with the variegated leaves? A friend gave me one but I forget the name of it.

Judi, I think you're talking about Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon'. Mine has little white blossoms on it this year . . .

Yes, that's it! Thank you. Mine was a little scraggly thing and in just a few weeks has grown like crazy. I love it.

This is a great time of year for them. I have a NOID one that came, I think, from Heidi and Dragonfly (through a plant swap leftover). It has tiny pink flowers and bluish-colored leaves.

I dug almost all of it out last year and it's come back from little pieces. That kind of scares me, but it's so beautiful that I'm happy to see it again. It's not too hard to dig out, so I guess the key is just to dig and share every year . . .

Kathy, Could I wheedle a tiny bit of your persicaria again? I so totally promise not to let it be weed whacked again. Apparently it doesn't appreciate it much because it never did recover from my "help" on my hillside.

Edited to stay on topic and say that I am enjoying the beautiful bananas, but not without jealousy as ours is still only about a foot and a half tall. The plus side is that although the main stalk did not survive the winter, the foot and a half tall part consists of four pups. YAY! I made it through another winter without being a banana slayer!

This message was edited Sep 14, 2010 4:53 PM

Julie - I had already planned on bringing some for you.

I'm still shocked that the weed whacking got it. I had only left bits in the soil in my bed this year and they have turned into 3.5 foot high stalks.

Do any of you have the kind of banana leaves that you can cook with? Typically you wrap food in them. If so, and if you bring it to the ru at Lynn's this weekend, I will bring pulled pork and make some of that pibil stuff that I've been reading about and sounds so good!

How many leaves and how big would you like them to be? Although Musa Basjoo's fruit is unpalatable, the leaves are used for cooking. I also have this Chinese banana with smaller leaves. From what I have read it seems that all bananas are edible.

I'll take any you can spare from the plant. Not too huge, tho. Altho I don't have time now to do the pork dish for this weekend because I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for garden club and then heading to Lynn's. But I'll bring the leaves home and freeze them for later use, if you don't mind.

Okay, I have a question about those red bananas in pots, so I hope someone knows this answer...Linda? My red banana, not hardy, has become just huge this year and has totally out grown its already huge pot. I'm worried it's going to fall over. Also, it's way too big to put in the greenhouse for the winter. I need to move it inside. Is it likely to do okay in my family room? Mike wants it to be the Christmas tree this year. I know I can cut it back and then overwinter it in the garage, but I'm thinking that if I do that, it's not going to be as big and glorious next year. This thing is probably 10 feet tall. The leaves are huge.

Kymmco , do you overwinter yours? I don't want to lose this fabulous plant.

Oh, Pix... that would make a fabulous Christmas tree! It's so gorgeous! I totally drooled when I saw that beauty.

Pixy, this is my first winter with mine - I bought it this spring. I've been thinking of manhandling the thing into my family room as well. I'm assuming that with sufficient light and water they don't really need to go dormant. I love the idea of using it as a Christmas tree!

Here's a before and after pic - May and October.

it's just beautiful! (So that was the moisture I found on the banana, Pony! ) I wonder if mine is a different species than yours. Your appears to be wider, and mine is taller. But mine started out larger than yours. I got it on clearance at Portland ave nursery last fall and overwintered it in the greenhouse, where it proceeded to take up an entire corner and put new leaves out all winter. It's too big for the greenhouse now unless I put it right in the middle. One greenhouse, one banana plant. Not very efficient, I'd say. I have a photo of mine but cannot find the cable to download it. It must be here somewhere.

Uhhh I was... uhh... watering it for ya! Yeah, it looked a little dry... that's right... ;p

That's beautiful Kym. How do you load the two pic together?

Alternative Xmas trees are great. Way back in the day, we used a full grown cannibus for a Xmas tree. When our boys were in their early teens and looking through the photo albums, they were astounded to say the least!

I knew there was a reason I like you Bonehead.

We used to use a Northfork Island pine for a tree for many years. Then when the boys went to school they started asking for a real tree.

Judi, sorry to here about the fall. I walk my 2 lab mix dogs 4-5 times a week and feel that that could be me. Heal fast.

With all this banana talk I bought one. A "Red Abyssinian" I plan to repot than keep in my sunroom.

So, can I just put mine in the house? Can I cut it back to the ground if it's too big?

It seems that some musa varieties do better in the house than others and to be honest I'm not sure about the ensente varieties. I have a dwarf Cavendish that seems to thrive in the house as long as it is watered. Last year I overwintered a yellow Chinese banana and it struggled but survived. It is always worth a try. I don't know about severe cutting back but they grow back well outside after the winter has taken them down. Let us know how they do (and you can always get another!)

Willow, re putting the two pictures together, I used to use Photoshop but got annoyed at how much futzing it took so looked around for online options. I ended up using picture2life.com, which is a collage making website. You upload the pictures and select the collage style you want. For this I just chose a custom one row, two column design.

It works pretty slick!

I know I am late at posting things. I love all the great pictures. Here are some pictures ofmy red bananas. I do bring them into the basement every year. These are 3 years old from gallon pots. I love how they look in the border. This was taken the other day. I had all red foliage in here last summer. It looked pretty cool.

Hi Heidi, That is a very pretty and colorful picture. Nice to see you. My sister who lives in Suquamish has been visiting your nursery this summer. Just found out a week ago. I'm envious.

She will have to introduce herself next time. I'm only open another week so it might be next year. Lynn bought a couple of these bananas a few weeks ago . I sure wish they were hardier. I just brought them into the basement and cut off most of the leaves since they were hitting the ceiling. I hope the weather man is wrong about the winter. Heidi

Heidi, do you leave them in their pots when you put them outside, or do you put them in the ground and repot every fall? Is your basement dark or do they get light through the winter? I have never had a banana plant but I love them!

I just did a trade for a Musa acuminata 'Super Dwarf Cavendish' pup. I hope I can keep it happy in the house over winter. Our house is a little dark- and the only good windows for plants are kitty (AKA plant-shredders) territory. would a grow light make a banana happy?

Alas I have no bananas, I have no bananas today.

*snicker*

Heidi, your red bananas are gorgeous! One of the ones that Lynn bought was a birthday present to me, and I have it repotted and in the greenhouse for the winter. Haven't figured out what I will do with it next winter, but I also really like the idea of a "tropical" holiday tree!

My wee banana pup just arrived- gonna pot it up and try to find a good spot for it.

Hi there, My basement is dark but I hang a full spectrum light from the ceiling. I bring a few small ones into the house for house plants. They are pretty wimpy and can't take much cold. I have killed them in an unheated greenhouse. I plant them straight into the garden. I'm not a very good water in pots so the ground is better for me. I just dig them up in October and put them in a pot. They don't have a huge root system. If your kitty's shred the leaves that is OK. The main thing you want to protect is the big pseudo stem. By next march the banana is usually so covered in aphids you cut all the leaves out and throw it out. I think they are great and for how much they cost it is well worth the investment.

Good luck Heidi