Farbanana

Hello there,

I would like to pot these three musa basjoo into one big clay pot mainly because maximum height is desired. This pot will remain indoors in a well lit south facing living room. Its always around 20 degrees in the room
My questions are:
1) Is it okay to re-pot now or is it better to wait until they are bigger?
2) Can i pot all three in one pot?
3) Can I use soil which is a mixture of loam, peat and grit? I read that peat may not be good for these plants
4) Do you think they will get quite high contained in a pot?

There is no garden. Only a small balcony.

Looking forward to your reply and excited about joining this forum.

Farbanana

Farbanana

Farbanana

Farbanana

scottu

Hey Farbanana,
They are big enough, so no need to wait.
I would not put them together, I think 3 separate pots or keep the strongest, they will just fight each other for space, nutrients etc and never reach potential. You can get some smaller pots for the other 2
Soil mix is ok nothing wrong with the peat etc. mix, I go 50/50 with peat in all my pots, tho i'm not sure what grit is, maybe sand, that should be ok too
Depends on the size of your pots, the bigger the better, the amount of light, sun and artificial and temp for ultimate size.
That pot looks big enough for a basjoo to get several more feet before april .
Good luck,
Scottu

__________________
Viva La Banana

Farbanana

Thank you for answering all my questions. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to planting!

cincinnana

Welcome to the Jungle!!!

Great looking plants and plan.


After looking at your planting medium ...good stuff.
This mix will work well from the description of the product list....

.About John Innes

Keep your plants in the terra-cotta pot on the dry side if possible during the winter.
The container you're using will absorb some water also as well disperse some in the room

Your plants will want a wider container next year in you decide to keep them.

Just as a precaution your saucer might be alittle shallow and will not hold your overflow needs ......upgrade when your tired of overflows

__________________

Farbanana

Hello Cincinanna
Thank you for your response. An indoor jungle is definitely the castle in the air! They haven't been re-potted yet as I have to get another bag of compost so the clay pot is full to the brim.

I am still in two minds about whether one or two plants will go in that clay container. I am aware that they will compete for nutrients if planted together which is a shame...

Thank you
Farbanana

cincinnana

Given your space limitations it might be of benefit to you to keep the plants crowded/hobbled in a smaller container.
This will help keep them from growing to their potential height and width which might take up too much space.
I will do this sometimes to slow a plant down and then changing to a larger container when I am ready to grow the plant out.

It is ok to have them in one or two containers. Multiple plants a a container make a better visual statement sometimes.

This plant when confined to a container could be about a stout 4+ feet and about 6-8 feet in circumference with some leaves reaching 8 feet in the air.

It will look good in a corner of your balcony.

Your plant could be in this size range in a few years grown in a container.......this is a small plant in the photo.


Balbisana x Basjoo
by Hostafarian,
on Flickr

__________________

nelumbo

Hi Fanbanana

Reading your post with interest as I'm also in the UK, have you considered trialling the 'Spare' of the three on the balcony, I'm leaving mine in the ground and wrapping stems in horticultural fleece/hessian. Musa basjoo should be root hardy down to about -10 so if you don't get frost on your balcony it may well be fine if you wrap the stem? I would think that in London on a sheltered/south facing balcony you could get away with a container outside if you can keep it out of cold/freezing winds and not letting them being to wet over winter? Maybe insulate the pot with bubblewrap?

Just suggesting this as I wouldn't want to see one of the three pups in the compost bin, if you find you haven't the space indoors it's worth a bash?

Cheers
Chris

Snarkie

Welcome to the Banana Express!

__________________
Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Farbanana

Thank you Cincinnana. That is a picture of a stunning and healthy banana plant.

Thank you Chris. I may consider trying one out on the balcony.

I have now potted two of the plants into the big container because the flat is becoming a bit of a jungle.

Please can you tell me how much water this type of container needs? The two plants don't look well. There are new leaves but the older ones are dying quickly - they are turning yellow brown and drying out fast. So my dream of a majestic looking banana plant is fading very quickly. Please help!!