Vickie H.

Scott your making this way to hard. I put a banana in yard dirt and set it in a saucer of water. Then after a couple of weeks I set it in a bucket and made the water a little higher up on the pot. It was not a big pot either, maybe 8-10 inches across the top of the pot. I used hose water and sometimes pond water to add water over 2 months time as I raised the water level. I did not aerate it whatsoever. I did not change the water it evaporated fairly fast in the summer heat. Then after two months I set it in a shallow pond with no pump or aeration with about 3 or 4 inches of water over the top of the pot. In Oct I set the pot in a tub of water in my basement with shoplights and I did put a couple of mosquito fish in that pot of water. No pump no aerator. Last winter I put both bananas again in water in a bigger tub each. I did not feed all winter and did not even put mosquito fish in the tubs. I have used pond tabs to feed the bananas in my ponds before. I also have used nothing but fish poo that is natural in the water.. Depends on my mood at the time. Maybe this sounds too easy? It was. I put musa basjoo pups in water last summer and they did fine. Same way only 6 pots in a tub. Maybe it is beginners luck or just hap hazzard but it works for me. I will do more bananas next year. I have a couple of pups to take off the first banana from 2007. If they live next year if you pay shipping I will send you one to check all this out for yourself.