Help for Banana?

Hi there. I hope I'm posting this to the right forum. If there is somewhere else this would be more appropriate, please just point me in the right direction :-) Here's my dilemma.

I started a Musa ensete from seed this year indoors under lights. It came up really fast - an awful lot faster than I was expecting - and then proceeded to grow just as fast. It quickly outgrew the stand it was in so I had to make do and put it on a small table under a floor lamp. It seems to grow in spurts while my back is turned so, as well as being very tall for its age and too spindly, it has two burned leaves from them touching the hot light fixture when I wasn't home to move it.

I'm only in zone 5b so I'm still a month or more away from being able to take this puppy outside. If I cut it back will that damage the plant beyond recovery, or will it grow back? If cutting it back will work, how far back should I cut it?

Please help. I've never started a banana from seed before and I don't want to kill my first baby!

--Ginny

Hi Ginny!

I, too, have a banana growing in the house. This is it's second year and I keep it by our deck patio doors (southern sun exposure) until it can be safely moved outside again. I wouldn't suggest cutting it back but could you move it to where it may get light from a window?

Congrats on growing your nanner from seed---I never had any luck doing that but I found my current, and only, one 2 years ago at the GH's end-of-season, unidentified, only 6" tall, for $2.00!!! Now it's 3 ft. tall and had 2 pups last summer that I tried to transplant but (sob!) killed the "baby nanners"...hopefully I'll have better luck this year!

Jan

Thanks for responding so quickly Jan.

Our village street grid is laid out in a weird alignment. LOL In case you're wondering what that has to do with anything, that means I only have one decent sized window in my house that gets any direct sun and only until about noon. Do you think that would be enough light?

This is the only one of 3 seeds sown in February to germinate so far. I think it was just really ready and had nothing to do with anything I did or didn't do :-)

Ohhhh, I hope mine survives to have pups some day too!

--Ginny

Hi Ginny-

Sorry that it took me so long to respond! I don't think that you need to have it in direct sunlight, mine is in a corner of our Dining Room and gets very indirect light as we keep the blinds closed during the day. Last summer when it got warm out I had it in direct sun but the leaves got a bit brown so I'm not gonna do the direct sun this year. Just keep your banana in a container and then you have the capability of moving it if it's not happy where you put it...

Do you have any other tropicals?

I'll stay in touch better...ttys!
Jan

"If I cut it back will that damage the plant beyond recovery, or will it grow back? If cutting it back will work, how far back should I cut it?"

Bananas can be cut nearly to the ground. If they are healthy, they will grow right back. Actually, it is kind of fun to watch the leaves in the center grow from the cut surface almost immediately after making the cut. About 10 days ago, I cut back a 10' Dwarf Orinoco that was outgrowing the greenhouse, and it already has grown out about 2 feet and has leaves out.

I have cut back the pups on my big bananas a couple of times, with the understanding that when (if) it flowers, the fruits on the mamas will be more numerous.

Hi Jan,

I've been building a collection of tropicals this winter/spring for the first time in my life. I have a small pineapple and a cycad (Sago Palm) - both purchased, a brand new baby brugmansia sprout (just shed its seed coat), an Acnistus australis (Blue Brug) seedling about 15" tall - grown from seed, a Hippeastrum 'Red Lion' seedling grown from seed - he's too cute, only about 4" tall and already growing a noticeable bulb, 3 Canna indica already about 2 1/2' tall - grown from seed, my Musa ensete grown from seed, a hardy Musa basjoo that I don't think made it through the winter, I'm still waiting to see if it sprouts back, a Musa sikkimensis and a Jubaea chilensis (Chilean Palm) - both ordered but not yet delivered, and various Canna, Calla, Colocasia, Caladium, and other miscellaneous bulbs and tubers. Oh! And my latest purchase was an Asian Pitcher Plant (sorry - can't think of the latin just offhand). It loooooooves white flies :-)

Which all means that our office is starting to look like a jungle right now with all the stuff I'm getting off to an early start.......and I'm going to hate myself come fall when it's time to dig up, bring inside, and/or store in the garage all of these lovelies for winter (in addition to my Dahlias and the few Gladiolus I still have left).

Oh well - my gardens will look glorious this year :-)

What tropicals do you grow?

--Ginny

Thanks for the information stressbaby. Although I must admit that now I'm a little chicken to actually do the dastardly deed :-) This is my first and only banana grown from seed and I'm like a nervous mother with it right now. I think I'll just make sure it has good support when I get it moved outdoors this year and let it get a full seasons growth first. Who knows - maybe it will actually start to put on a little girth once it's outside and my problem will be solved.

--Ginny

Thanks for the info also stressbaby!

Jan

Ginny,

Am at work, I'll be back "later"...

Jan

Ginny,

sent you dmail...

Jan

SB is correct about cutting back bananas like that, but if you have a ensete-then although it is related to bananas and is in the musa family, it is not a banana-it will not pup and if you cut it back, you will kill it. The best thing that you can do is give it as much sunlight as possible until you can put it outside for the summer. If you can, put it outside every day and bring it in at night. They can handle temps above freezing.

(Sorry tigerlily123 for the very delayed response.)

Well, despite my fear and my decision to not cut my musa ensete back I ended up having to anyway.

When I took it outside to start hardening it off for the season I tied it up to a stake as best I could, but it was so spindly that all the leaves broke at their stems on the first slightly breezy day - even though I had it in my best protected location. So, I bit the bullet and cut it back to about 4 inches.

Lo and behold, 2 days later, the leaf that had been just starting continued to come on - even though it's only half of a leaf :-) I think it's going to be okay after all.

On a related note - for anyone who might be interested in this - my Musa Basjoo has survived my zone 5b winter and is starting to send up new growth - woo hoo! For winter protection I cut it back to about 12 inches, covered the whole thing with a section of 20 inch diameter Big "O" drainage pipe (well staked up to keep it from toppling over), and filled it with fallen leaves.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

--Ginny

I've been remiss in "depending" on our mild winters of recent years ... but the Basjoo has simply NOT returned. I believe the soggy clay-like soil and lack of mulching were probably at fault.