peterentwistle

Hello! I'm new to posting in these threads, although I have been reading them for a while now. I am currently trying to grow Musa Sikkimensis and Musa Velutina from seeds.

I would like to know what varieties of edible banana would be possible to grow in the UK with winter protection.

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Richard

Hi there Peter !

Are you going to build a solarium?

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website: http://www.PlantsThatProduce.com

peterentwistle

I wasn't planning to, but I do have access to a greenhouse.

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oakshadows

Welcome from Florida, USA. There are many from the UK so you should have plenty of information available and of course the wisdom of the wise members. Good luck.

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kernowmike

greetings from cornwall. i have been trying unsuccessfully to germinate sikkimensis, velutina and balbisiana seeds but cannot obtain a high enough temperature or find a propagator which will get hot enough. since we all had combi boilers fitted, most houses no longer have a hot water tank in the airing cupboard which was the suggestion before.

no chance overwintering in Bolton, much colder than down here. my tandarra red and ensetes come in for the winter and havent started to show growth yet.

H2O

Hello and welcome!

Good luck with the seeds, it's hard but great when successfull !

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jmoore

What kind of temperature are you trying to reach? About 30 degrees should be sufficient or lower, most heated propagators should be able to reach that. In the summer, if you have either a south facing window or a conservatory that should give you the correct high temperatures and the lower temperatures at night.

If you read through the seed germination thread there is a wealth of information in there.

Welcome by the way

peterentwistle

Thank you for the information. I did think that it would be very unlikely to be able to over winter them here, but I am going to still try anyway. And my house still has an airing cupboard with the water tank in, which is where my seeds are right now.

I have managed to get one of my Musa sikkimensis to germinate and it is just starting to show through the soil now.

Thank you, I have already manage to get one of my Musa sikkimensis seeds to germinate. And I will be growing them in my south facing window.

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kernowmike

i cannot attain 30deg with electric propagator, probably 25 max. i am trying different containers, vermiculite etc and other locations

peterentwistle

Yeah it's quite hard to reach 30°C. My first seedling sprouted after a few weeks when it was in just a little bit of water on top of the radiator, so I guess it must have reached a high enough temperature there.

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kernowmike

my radiators are covered with dioon, cycad and banana seeds all sat on top, but it's been too warm for heating to cut in enough. i'm trying seeds in damp vermiculite and others in water - in dowe egberts coffe jars with lids on. it must get quite warm as one lid 'popped off' and landed on floor this evening presumable due to warm air expansion. i had been trying seeds in vermiculite in small containers dropped in a vacuum flask, but hasnt worked, couldn't tell what temp was in flask either.

palmtree

Welcome from New York City! Good luck with the seeds. I have pretty bad luck growing anything from seeds and banana plants are supposed to be especially challenging from seed.
As for growing edible bananas in the UK I think you will have a bigger problem getting them to grow during the summer than to survive during the winter. In a hot zone 8b you can grow lots of edible bananas such as Sabas Java Blue and Orinocco with some protection as a precaution. In a cool zone 8b Sabas would probably need additional heat to get growing (mine doesnt start growing fast until June when temperatures are consistently near or above 86F (30C). Not sure how Orinoccos handle cool temperatures, but Java blues also like the heat a lot.
Ensetes dont make edible fruit but they do really well in the UK and I have also seen some really large basjoos in climates like the UK also!
Good luck!

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peterentwistle

Thank you! Yeah, like you pointed out it might zone 8b but our summers probably don't reach the required temperatures for edible bananas. I will keep my eye out for musa basjoo. I don't intend living here forever, so I will bare some of those varieties in mind if I ever move somewhere with warmer summers.

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kernowmike

musa basju cavendish dwarf have been on offer at Lidl supermarket for the last couple of years - but only for 3 days so keep a watch on their ads.

i got 2 for less than £5

peterentwistle

Really? Wow I will have to keep a look out for them, thanks

Edit: I have just checked their website and it looks like they are going to have some this week.

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kernowmike

I suspect it will be later in the year. july or august for last few years.

peterentwistle

This is my first banana seed to germinate! It is a Musa Sikkimensis.

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