hello all, ive been lookking for someone who has access to large amounts of banana seed. I found them at rarepalmseeds.com, but shipping and the sanitary certificate is more than 80$. any sugestions as to where I could get these in the us, so as to get the shipping down? looking for M. sikkimensis, M. ornata, M. velutina, Ensete ventricosum, and Ensete glaucum. 100-1000 seeds each thanks for any help... Caleb
bulk banana seed in the usa?
You might check seedman.com, don't know for sure if they have the things you're looking for, but they sell a lot of tropical seeds, and they also have some of their seeds available in bulk, so it's worth checking.
i got some from seedman last year, but didnt get very good germ. last I checked they didnt sell banana seed in bulk. thanks for the suggestion. Caleb
caleb-out of curiousity-what are you going to do with them-I assume sell them? Just curious what your market was. Also-what kind of germ rate do you look for with the different musa? Have you thought about tissue culture plants?
I'm working on starting a hardy tropicals nursery, bananas, palms, eucalyptus, gunnera, aroids and such that will do well in our climate. I'm hoping to get enough established that i can propagate from division later on, i bought about 60 seeds last year and 1 baggie (5) of m. sikkimensis was all that germinated. right now I have 5 varieties of banana, but hope to eventually get all 35 that can grow in z8. I did look into the tissue culture, but it is expensive compared to seed with good germination. im not sure if my poor germination is my fault or if it was just old seed, I think it was more towards old seed as the one packet all 5 popped up after a month.
How long did it take for the sikkimensis to go from germinated seed to a one gallon pot size ( around 2' high?) .
Just a thought, but if the germination was that bad on 60 ( I assume small amts of different types of musa?) then I think I would try another source with smaller amts to see if it is the germ rate or your methods before you get a large amt of seed that may not germ much. What was your method on germ the musa seeds that you did get?
they filled a one gallon in about 4 months, very quick growing. I bought small bags of about 7 varieties and got 0% for 6 varieties and 100% for the M. sikkimensis red tiger, which I assume were miss marked as none of the plants were tiger striped. i put the seeds individually into cells in a 72 pack tray in potting soil with a fine coat of vermiculite and placed on heat tape for about a month, misters on a timer watered for 5 minutes every 4 hours during the day.
I was hoping to get several thousand seeds and hope for 50% germ. they just got put up on the site so they should be very fresh, Im just not wanting to dump 220$ down the drain if they dont germinate, almost a third of the cost is for shipping . but it wouldnt take long to recoup if I sold just 50 1gal plants.
pics below of my bananas, the most striking is M. zebrina, behind it is M. cavendish, back to the left is M. basjoo, almost center in the back ground is the seedling M. sikkimensis at about 1 month.
HI cgarvin,
You might check on eBay seller
e*species
in Belize
http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSearch?from=R9&fstype=1&sass=e*species&sspagename=ADME:B:TB19:US:1
I'm not that familiar with Rare Banana species, but I see he offers quite a few different choices, including Rare Palms, and his prices seem very reasonable.
If that eBay link doesn't work, you can do an eBay search for the sellers name, or email me and I'll send you the link.
emma.grace@suddenlink.net
Your M. zebrina is BEAUTIFUL!
The seller I mentioned is selling these seeds as well.
Emma
thanks for the link, also good to know you can import without the pytosanitary certificate, on my way to applying for the small seed lot importers permit. caleb
I thought that was interesting as well.
I have several items that I'd like to purchase from this seller.
Glad this was of help.
Emma
http://www.banana-tree.com/catalog~StartRow~41~category~13.cfm is another place to buy bulk banana seeds. I've purchased small numbers of seeds but don't have ideal conditions for starting them. Luck was so so.
If you are looking for banana trees try http://www.agristarts.com/musa_main.htm These people would be happy to ship you tissue culture plants, ready to pot up. They cost 95 cents up to 2.00 in trays of 72 (plus shipping).
cgarvin, I meant to tell you that I have grown both the sikkimensis and the S. red tiger, and there is not much difference between them-the leaf of the red tiger is redder on the back and the stripe down the midrib is more pronounced-but that is it. I don't think that the red tiger has "stripes"
here is a picture of the red tiger-the banana in the far left bottom corner with the red stripe
thanks for the pic , on the website it showed the red tiger as striped on the leaves, very similar to m. zebrina. I tried to get a quote for shipping from agristarts as I wanted to try some aroids and bananas, but they never replied back after 2 emails I gave up. bananatree.com looks to be exactly what I was looking for, unless anyone knows somewhere cheaper. tigerlily I love your tropical section, looks very nice. do your sikki's sucker alot or just a few? I've been trying to figure out how many stock plants I'll need. Caleb
caleb-just call Jennifer at Agristarts-they are great there. I just got some plants from them on Friday. Here is the number 407-889-8055. If you want I will go take a picture of what they sent so you can see the size. It usually takes a week or two to get your order sent out. I don't think that they have the red tiger, but actually the Bordelon and the red iolone are prettier anyway.
The red tiger didn't sucker much-but it was only the first year-if these come back ( I had two in the ground) then they may more this summer. Raja Puri is the cool one-it gets massive...and suckers.
I think the shipping runs around $ 40 a box ( there are 144 plants per box)
here are some more of the gardens from last summer
Here is another bulk seed place you might try http://www.mcseeds.com/TRSB1.htm They are out in California and sell bulk seed for 3 kinds of Musa, I think only one produces edible fruit. The sell seed for all kinds of plants, all in bulk, some are very rare.
rare coleus-a tropical plant.
At the above mentioned site, to get the whole catalog you have to click on the link that says catalog, it is big, over 3 megbytes. dial up users better be patient.
Look tropical bormeliads-
Your coleus picture is gorgeous.
well I bought some banana seed from banana tree , now to see if i can get some decent germination out of them. I will let everybody know how it goes. thanks Caleb
just thought i would let everybody know how it was going, so far about 15 of 100 sikkimensis 'daj giant' are up, and 0 of 200 ornata, 0 of 100 velutina, but I still have high hopes and i figure ive broke even on the seed if nothing else grows as 6" bananas sell for 6-10$ each and seed was only 50$ and that included 200 palm seed and 100 firmaia simplex
its a start, cgarvin! Do you think those will be ready to sell for the summer season?
cgarvin,
What variety of banana grows small and makes seeds here in N FL? I could possibly get you seeds of it if it's one you are interested in.
Sugarcane52
i hope they will be ready for summer season, its only 2 weeks old and 2 inches tall.
sugarcane if its a dwarf seeded banana its probably musa velutina, does it have small pink bananas? if not it could be a dwarf cavendish but their supposed to be tiny seeds, do you have a pic? I have a fresh batch of trachycarpus seed i could trade. Im interested in all the banana species, but am limited for large amounts to what i can keep alive outside. maybe this winter I will have my waste oil burner functioning to keep the greenhouse warm.
Bananas freeze outside here in N FL, so a picture probably wouldn't be available now. I think the seeds and fruit ripen in the Fall. I recall the plants about 3 to 4 feet tall but didn't eat any fruit or pay close attention to them. I wanted to get some over a year ago and never got around to it. I've seen another "grove" of them elsewhere also. I'll check on the fruit description for you. The man has a large (15 foot) seedling orange tree in his yard that apparently hasn't been hurt by freezing temps in a long time if ever.
Sugarcane52
I wouldnt mind some hardy orange seed, I tried to grow some trifoliate orange seed last year but it all rotted in the pot. you could look in plant finder for musa velutina to see pics, but like I said any somewhat hardy bananas are welcome, also the first musa ornata is starting to germinate. what zone are you in florida sugarcane?
cgarvin,
I don't think the velutina is it. I looked in the Plant Finder. I was told the fruits start out pink and turn yellow. I don't remember seeing them, sorry.
I may be able to get you some trifoliate seeds nearby if any fruit are left. They are blooming now.
I am listed as USDA zone 8b, but I am borderline with 8a. We had 20 degrees this year with about 7 degrees in January 1985 and 11 in December 1983. My young Meiwa kumquat froze to the ground then and came back above the graft which was buried below ground level for that purpose.
Sugarcane52
funny that I thought that being in florida you would have much warmer weather than us here in oregon.
I tried some meiwa kumquat seed as well no luck so far but someday. I cant think of any other dwarf bananas that have seed and are hardy to z8. maybe someone else viewing this page can chime in with another candidate?
Im supposed to be taking a trip to orlando this fall, any good spots you can think of to collect seed , palm, orange , banana , any thing else unusual . going to take the kids to disney world,might as well get some semi tropical seed collecting done while im there. Caleb
cgarvin,
There used to be a citrus arboretum in Winter Haven(not so far from Orlando), but I'm not sure it still exists. The real estate prices shot up and it was on the US highway there.(I'll find out). They had over 400 varieties of citrus trees growing there. I thnk that I read on a forum that the citrus budwood registration facility has the largest collection in FL. Also a colllege down there has an extensive collection, too. I'll get the name for you.
Sugarcane52
thanks Im interested in getting some citrus to grow outside here, I know I wont get fruit every year but I love the unusual. and I have yet to see a fruiting citrus outside in our climate. its a pity that real estate prices dictate our farm lands survival or demise. thanks for any info that will save legwork when I get there.
cgarvin,
Florida Southern College at Lakeland reportedly has an extensive citrus collection. Also,the address of the Citrus Budwood Registration is:
Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration
3027 Lake Alfred Road
Winter Haven, FL 33880
As I recall this street in Winter Haven is also where the citrus arboretum was/is--just at the North city Limits of Winter Haven on US 17. Hope this helps.
Sugarcane52
I know this is probabaly a stupid question, but the arboretum would have seedlings and or grafted specimens for sale? the budwood regisration sounds like a govt. office building,is it an orchard? thanks
I understand that the government office is a SOURCE of certified disease-free stock for the entire state's nurseries to draw from. They would at least have all the commercial varieties there. Now the arboretum MAY still be there or MAY have been combined with the Bureau of Citrus Budwood registration. Sorry I am out of date about this. I used to be a nurseryman about 8-10 years ago and since then wholesaled commercial citrus fruit. I'll do a Yahoo Search for the Arboretum and let you know if it turns up.
Sugarcane52
Good News: the Florida Citrus Arboretum still exists and is a part of the citrus budwood registration program now. Go to the link given and read about the arboretum in the second paragraph. All contact info is here, too.
http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/onestop/plt/budwood.html
thanks for the info
Caleb
cgarvin- I thought I would post a few pictures of the bananas that I got from Agristarts at the end of January so you could have info on the size of them at this stage of the growing season, in case you ever wanted to try them. Here are some rojos in front of the ensetes ( the larger ones in the back)
these are raja puris . I think they are the fastest to bloom, in that they can start to produce bloom/fruit in 9 months or so-if they are kept warm and growing the whole time. They have a massive trunk size at the base when they are in the ground out in full sun.
tigerlily your bananas look fabulous, as usual. I would like to get an order from agristarts, but have to come up with a couple hundred bucks for a couple flats of nanas and alocasia. do you sell off your nanas locally? and just how many greenhouses do you have? that looks different from the last one you sent pics of. Im jealous of course, as I only have one.....so far, Ive got my eye on a 100x96 , well actually its a 120x96, but one span collapsed under snow so i think it could be had cheap, course id have to buy a cot to sleep on inside to keep up with one that big in my spare time. more of the sikkis are coming up, the ornatas and velutinas seem to be a lot slower to germinate but as long as I get a few of each Ill be happy. moved about a thousand trachy seedlings in the greenhouse anybody need some?will trade for nanas lol. Caleb
Caleb-thanks! I am hoping that these get some size on them before May 1st-I think that they will. Those Rajas are fatboys aren't they? lol I have 3 grhouses and they keep me more than busy! The good news is that after the 3rd wk of May I will be done and have some time off until the middle of July when I start the pansy crop.
Most of my crop is presold-including most of the tropicals. I think I have over 800 gallons of tropicals that I am growing-most of them will go to landscapers that use them in commercial beds. Some will go to local nurseries and some will go to Duke University and countryclubs. I made all my customers use them this year!
You say that your new grhouse will be 120x96 -is that 96' wide? That is almost a square! That is an unusual shape for a grhouse. Like 5 grhouses put together-is that the right number? I want one that big! I don't want to pay the heating on it though!
I appreciate your keeping us updated on the germ rate of the seeds. I have been watching this to get info in case I go this direction next year. The germ rate scares me though-it is so low! Do you think that if you started them a few months earlier that they would be ready by a month from now? Trying to figure out the timing.
Tissue culture seems like a good way to beat low germination. I have a tissue culture lab "next door" to me. They have been doing bananas for many years now and send them mostly all over the Caribbean. I know they used to do Rojo and probably still do.
Sugarcane52
the low germ rates were why i wanted to buy hundreds and maybe thousands, if your willing to pay the bucks for shipping rare palm seed is supposed to have much improved germ rates, if you get them when they say new they are fresh in from the boat. and at around 50$ to the thousand pretty cheap. I would like to go the tissue culture route and maybe in the future I'll do my own TC. Im also on a yahoo forum called hometissueculture, they have several people who are expert in the micro prop of bananas, and they sell a 50$ starter kit with jars, lids, chemicals and directions on how to do your own, right now im trying to get some stock plants going and still have some to sell .
I transplanted the first large sikki into a 4" pot on sunday it has unfurled its first leaf and is working on #2. tigerlily I think in a greenhouse enviroment it would take at least 3 months from seedling to 1 gal pot, alot depending on your GH temps, last years bananas that grew from seed, took about four months but were stared late and my GH is unheated except by the sun. there also might be other methods to soak the seed to get better germination, ive heard cape smoke seed primer helps on bananas and possibly saltpeter, I soaked mine for a day in peroxide and superthrive.
the GH I want is 6- 20x96 gutter connected houses with 1 section collapsed by snow, so pull out that one and you have 100x96, ahh gives me goose bumps just thinking of it. the heat bill is why im working on my waste oil fired boiler, just go collect a couple hundred gallons a month from the volvo dealer my brother in law works at, transfer and heat, oh how i wish it worked already. although i probably wouldnt heat the whole thing, Ive been kicking around strarting to grow fancy salad greens for some of the posh restuarants in our area and that could take up a house or two if it works well, and salad doesnt need extra heat
well off to work will check back later Caleb