It is almost time to dig up my banana and this is what I found. I have read that they send out a short
leaf like this before they bloom. Can anyone tell me if this is what it is. I have never seen a bloom
in person and was so excited. Then reality set in and I realized I still might not.
Bananas on the way... thats the first sign of fruiting.
Ohhhhh , How exciting is that?
Whoo - Hooo!
good for you bruglover.
Going out to look at mine now ;-D
Do you have any idea how long before you see the bloom? I will have to dig it up in the next couple of weeks-all depends on the weather. Already had one night 39. What will digging it up do to it?
Whew , none ! ! ! !
Don't know what I would have done as these soon will be sleeping in the basement for the Winter.
I put mine in the garage....
Congratulations on your upcoming bundle of joy.
I can't wait for our first nanas.
U R lucky bruglover, our 'garage' is a big unheated barn ;-(
bruglover... is your garage heated....? Our season ends way to soon here doesn't it ...?
How lucky!!!!!!
I hope it keeps for you!
My garage is attached to the house. It is not heated. I just run a space heater when it
gets really cold. Which I have been lucky because the last couple of winters have been
mild.
Could you extend your banana's outdoor life, and the posibl bloom, by tenting it? Big tent, but could be fun. Or, put it on wheels, and take it in at night?
Peter
This message was edited Oct 4, 2005 9:48 AM
CC, How did you do with the one you had ?
If your banana gets exposed to freezing temperatures while the little bananas are developing, they won't continue to develop. They will hang on for a while, but eventually the stem thingie that connects the individual fruit to the main stem will blacken and the fruit will either rot or dry up. If you can keep it above freezing(preferably above 40*F), you will have much better success.
One way to keep a plant warm is to wrap Christmas lights around the whole plant, especially the flower and fruit. The large size bulbs work best.
If this banana is dug and stored now (not kept growing), will it fruit in the spring -- or is this nanner a gonner?
I think this nanner is a gonner if she doesn't have a way to keep it warm. Once a banana fruits, that stem is finished, it can't grow any more leaves. It CAN make pups from the rhisome.
Thanks Cala, I was afraid of that. I have a lovely ice cream banana that I am going to kneel in front of tonight and ask it nicely to NOT fruit this year. But am hoping for bananas next year!!!! :)
One of my neighbors has TONS of bananas on his trees this year. I was blissfully unaware of this until DH took me down there to show them to me.
When I lived up there, the newspaper featured someone who grew bananas every year. He tried to have them where they would flower in early summer, so the fruits could be mature before fall. I can't remember who he was though.
Well, I just can't believe it....I have had banana's for three years and never had a bloom.
Now it is doing it when the season is over. Weather forcast for Thurs and Fri mornings
is around 38.....What will happen if I try and dig it up? Or would I be better off just taking
my chances and leaving it. It has a couple of pups on it but somewhere I thought I read
you should not take them off in the bloom process. If this is true then digging it would
definitely be hard on it. It this were yours what would you do????
If it were mine, I'd dig it up and put it in a big pot! What have you got to lose, it's going to freeze before the fruit matures if you don't.
Thanks everyone for your replys. I guess I am a little crazy at this time. Just want to see a bloom in person!!! I forgot to say it is a brazilian and I have had it 2 years. Here is a picture to show the change from Saturday. It is only about 12 feet tall.
" It is only 12 ft. tall" I hope you have high ceilings or a skylight this one can hang out of! It would make a little crazy too, to have a bloom this late. I hope you can find a way to save it!
Cala, my neighbor that has bananas, stores them dormant and has them planted in poor soil (I'd be surprised if they get supplemental watering also). I do believe that he is experiencing "beginner's luck".
I think it was Meltn that said that if I could keep my bananas growing during the winter, I would have a better chance at seeing fruit. I may stick one or two of the larger pups under lights to see if that makes a difference. My ice cream banana was a tiny pup when planted this spring and now the trunk (not counting the leaves) is even with the guttering of the house and the trunk is 24 inches in circumference.
I read somewhere , maybe from CC , that a 18 month growing time is needed for fruit production.
Hope that includes the dormant period mine will go through.
Still , I love growing them.
Some guy stopped by yesterday and asked if the big leaves were tobacco plants ..... LOLOLOL
Scoot, I bet yours have to be dormant a long time! But I agree, they are worth growing - - even if it's just for the "wow factor".
LOL , you betcha !
photobucket & webshot albums are even named Wisconsin Tropics (wishful thinking)
Yesterday if that fella would have looked past the nana plant he was pointing at , he would have seen the bigger ones further back.
I have them planted with the giant green castor beans , what a sight !
I love my castor beans too. I don't grow any of the big greens ones anymore. DH cussed when he about broke his back and shovel getting them out of the ground for fall clean up! LOL
Now, I "settle" for the red ones that only get about 10 feet tall for me. The red ones look really nice as an accent plant with my nanners though! Of course, I had a visitor inform me that I was growing "those terrorist plants" - - referring to the poisonous nature of the beans.
They can't need 18 months because I have some that aren't even a year old and they're blooming!
Here is a paragraph copied from University of FL website on bananas :
Flowers and fruit : The banana inflorescence (flowering stalk) emerges from the center of the pseudostem 10 to 15 months after planting; by this time 26 to 32 leaves have been produced. The process of banana flowering is called shooting. The flowers appear spirally along the axis of the inflorescence in groups of 10 to 20, covered by purplish-to-greenish fleshy bracts which shed as flowering development progresses. The first flowers to emerge are functionally female. In the edible cultivars, the rapidly growing ovaries develop parthenocarpically (without pollination) into clusters of fruits, called "hands." Although most banana cultivars produce seedless fruit, some are fertile and can set seed. The last flowers to emerge are functionally male. In plantains, the male part of the inflorescence and/or male flowers may be absent or greatly reduced. The time from shooting to fruit harvest depends upon temperature, cultivar, soil moisture, and cultural practices and ranges from 80 to 180 days.
bruglover, I have had banana trees for about 10 years now. Mine produce on the third year. I have one that is producing now and am in the same boat as you. I hate to cut it back before it is finished. But we have cold weather coming, down in the low 40's this next couple of days. I planted this one outside in May and now have 5 babies. I will dig up all of them and trade the babies. I will cut one back to about 3 feet tall and take it in the house. Some times I just let the roots dry out, place them in a milk crate and throw it in the basement. Some years I put them in large pots and water them all winter then plant in May. Both methods have worked for me. It is so exciting to have them finally produce bananas.
Calalily do you take yours in for the winter?
I don't bring anything in. We are not supposed to freeze, but sometimes mother nature gets one over on us(like the 100 year snow last year)
My niece in front of banana tree.
Thanks Cala, I will keep that info.
Still comes out close tho.
As I read it ........ your link said they will shoot @ 10 to 15 months and after 'shooting' produce a harvest in 80 to 180 days which works out to approx 21/2 to 5 mos.
So in the end, from a new plant , one could expect fruit within 12 1/2 to 21 months depending on type of nana and growing conditions/care.
What surprised me is how quicly they sent up pups ;-)
All I have to worry about now is getting the big ones , Ele Ele and Raja Puri thru the mud room and into the basement, It is a real tight turn but the rest are a lot shorter.
bggarden -
I saw your comment that you may cut one back to 3' and bring it in. I thought that cutting the stem would kill it, since it doesn't have growth nodes like other plants with trunks. Am I wrong? I am a novice and have just one red banana, in a pot. After its last winter in our living room and its second summer on the deck, it is about 10', which may be close to maturity for this plant. I plan to bring it in whole, with its 3 pups, but just wondered about the cutting and its effect on the plant.
Peter
pdkrones,
I have cut mine back every year. I leave about 3 ft. It will grow probably 12 inches in a couple of days. There will be a shoot come up from the center of the stalk. Expect alot of water drainage when you cut it. They are loaded with moisture. I am no expert either so please check with others before doing this. I'll send pictures when I cut mine back and bring it in. Good Luck...
I have found that they do better in the summer if you plant them in the ground. Mine haven't done well if I leave them in containers all summer.
Peter,
So far I have not cut back but when you do cut the stem way back,
you have that much less height and stem thickness to start with next Summer.
The growth point is in the rhisome so you can cut them back as long as they don't have a flower stalk. Once they make a flower stalk, there are no more leaves to come out.
Once they are cut back, new leaves will come out the center of the stalk. The whole plant will be shorter than it would be if not cut back.
My neighbor moved some good sized pups, he cut them back and now they're putting out new growth. The only variety I've had trouble with after cutting back is the Dwarf Cavendish The cut back stems rotted, but it put out pups on all but one.
Susie, I did not know that Dwarf Cav fruit was yummy. Thanks for the tip.
*going out to look for a pot big enough for DC* ;-P
I help out our local banana grower and he cuts them back to where the leaves come out of the trunk, puts a large wire cage around the clump and uses hay. I've met a guy from Ottawa, ON who planted it against the house and uses large bails of hay and wraps in black plastic. I still think you'd be better leaving it in the ground, using the wire cage and wrapping that with bubble-wrap, hay and black plastic. You can wrap the possible bloom in the hay and see what happens next spring. I know you said it is a Brazilian but if you can keep it above freezing with wrapping, you should be fine. I think the idea of using xmas lights around the cage would keep the temp slightly higher. They are often used on palms to keep the growing speer from hard frosts/moisture. The more trunk you leave, the taller the plant for the next season.
Here's a pic of me in a Canadian Banana grove.
What a great thread this has become. "naners 101'' lol
Man, this IS an interesting and helpful thread. Thanks to you guys for information on cutting the stem. It makes perfect sense, and will produce a prettier, more compact plant. I was mislead last year, or misunderstood what I was told. So far, I have relied on the lower growing pups to fill in, visually, below the parent, but they are all getting tall, at least for a potted, smaller variety. I am going to enjoy them inside again this winter , but with active growth through to next spring, I assume it would still be okay to cut it before setting it out next year? I also wonder about dividing off the pups - when is best, and what is the risk to injure the parent? I could set some in the ground next year, and still enjoy a pot on the deck.
Bruglover, thanks for letting me get my questions answered on your thread!
Peter
Thanks everyone for the information. This has been a very informative thread!! And your welcome Peter, I think we all learned alot.
