TNAndy

I bought a Dwarf Jamaican Red Banana early in 2009. It grew for about a year and a half to nearly nine feet tall, supposedly as tall as this variety gets. I harvested three pups, but the mother plant did not flower. It grew too tall for my sunroom, so I only brought the pups inside for the winter.

Is there anything I can do to encourage a banana to flower? Does this have anything to do with the size of the container? I had the mother plant in a 20 inch diameter by 16 inch tall pot. It grew so rootbound it literally broke the pot (the other reason it didn't come inside for the winter). I used Osmocote for fertilizer.

Two of the pups are a year old now and much farther along than the mother plant was last winter. Does flowering have to do with the age of the plant, or the size (or both)?

Are there any varieties of edible banana that readily or easily fruit in containers? I need something short so I can bring it inside during cold weather.

Thanks in advance for any responses.