I posted this in the Tropical Fruit forum also, but then realized there was more banana chat here.
These are the two banana plants I have come to own. Can anyone ID either of them? The only information I know is that the small one is supposed to be a fruiting type. I have 3 pictures, and we can call the tall one #1 and the short one #2.
#1
#2
I am pretty sure that that is not a banana. the stalk is way too thin for any banana that I have ever seen. I think it is a heliconia-probably one of the psittacorums, but the thing that is throwing me off is how spaced out the branches are. Has this plant been in the shade a lot, for a period of time and then maybe put in the sun? The newly emerging plant at the base looks more normal in terms of the branch spacing
The tall one was found on a piece of land that was being bulldozed. I am not sure it is a banana, but was told it was. It was in pretty deep shade until now, but I have hardened it off so it won't burn.
It looks more like a canna, a definite weak one, like it was stretching for light. Could be a ginger though, but I'm not a ginger knowledgable person. I only have Hedychium coronarium. But yeah, tigerlillies right, it doesn't look like a banana at all.
Keep us updated. I'm curious to find out what it is!
Dangitt, I really wanted to build a collection of bananas. I am interested to see what it is too! Do you think it would be OK to keep it potted as is?
If it was living in zone 8 then its not a heliconia. I think it is a canna-just stretched out. I thought about canna before the heliconia, but it looks a bit "off" for that too, but i think thats the shade that made it look that way.
You can keep it in a pot, but it will grow better in the ground, and if its a canna ( which I think it is, given that a helicona wouldn't have survived the winter there) , then it will come back next year.
Thanks guys. The little one looks like a banana though?
Are these two different plants that you put in the same container? I just assumed that the small one was another tuber of the same plant emerging
Those are both canna.
No, they are two seperate plants received at two seperate times.
Hay Jen, It those are from the LARU I know Canna girl was giving out Banana Cannas which looks like the larger plant and if that is the banana I gave you, I will let you know as soon as it blooms for me.
The smaller on is from the RU, but was descibed as a "NOID fruiting banana". The larger one has 2 new sprouts which are about 6" and 12" tall. I have no definite id on it, but it's growing like gangbusters!
Here is a new picture. You can't see the small plant (#2), but you can see that #1 has sent out 2 new shoots.
NOID fruiting banana is the one I gave you at the RU. Im shocked its still so small! All the pups I took at around the same time are about 4ft tall.
The pot is probably restricting the growth some.
Tall one is a canna the smaller one is a banana untelling what species.
