Banana growers in the UK
 

Hi, are there any banana plant growers who live in the UK or in the same climate?

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Hi mate i live in wet old uk .Dont know why lol bloody rain!.This is my first year growing bananas so i dont know to much however i go on another site called oasis and them guys know there nanas also verry helpfull chaps on th
ere.I myself am growing as follows.
Musa valutina
Musa basjoo 5 of them
enseta marralia
muselle lasiocarpa
Musa sikkimensis
icecream
cheesmani.
What about you what do you grow in wet uk? lol.By the way im in lincolnshire(east coast)

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Hi, yeah i have 3 musa basjoo's, and a Musa Helen's Hybrid and a Musa sikkimensis that i have just planted out last week, the Musa Helen's Hybrid has started to grow but the Musa sikkimensis seems to be doing nothing at the moment. hopefully the warmer/dryer weather will help.
If you need any help with how to over winter them very cheaply let me know.

Why not put some photos of all of them on if you can.

I will try that other website you suggested cheers.

Marc.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Nice one mate ill need some advice about over wintering.Ill take some pic tommorow mate.My sikki was very slow like yours doing nothing then it started now its growing nicely.I think thay put the roots down first i quess.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Good to see your having some success here in the soggy old uk. I managed to get a basjoo to pup nicely this year and now have 7 of them. My sikkimensis didnt do as well but it has little pups so i will be keeping it in the house through the winter in the hope that the pups are big enough to seperate in the spring. Very recently managed to get hold of a plug of Musa Lasiocarpa so i think i will be keeping that inside as well to see if it continues to grow over winter.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Hi monkey.Lasiocarpa is a nice plant i have two of them.Thay have just come in for the winter..daz

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Nice basjoo Musa Monkey, how do you overwinter it?

I have 3 planted outside and i cut all the leaves off, mound up mulch around the bottom of them and place pallets around them and fill with straw and cover the top with plastic sheet to keep the rain out. Its a bit of work and i have to buy bales of straw but it does insure that they carry on growing from the same height as the previous year.
Also, i dont water them during winter.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Hi, this year they were outside in pots, next year i plan to plant them in the ground and cover them with an insulated frame in winter. I already do this with my tree fern. Right now the main plants are sitting in various corners of my living room. The sikkimensis is only about 4ft but the basjoo is only about 6" from the ceiling :D. The pups are now also all over 3ft tall and are in pots in the greenhouse - i assume i can just leave them be i.e. not water them until spring.

I also have a large maurelli that at present is taking up a corner of the living room but i had to hack off some of its leaves this morning. Need to figure out how else i can over winter that one for next year as it really does take up a fair bit of space. Its really all still quite new for me but a lot of fun with some stunning plants.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

take a look at this website link, i have bought most of my bananas from them and they have been really good.

http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/BananaArticle.htm

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Thanks for the tip - sent you a pm

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Greetings from Cornwall.

I am having little success at germination due to not finding an electric propagator that gets hot enough. 1 sikkimensis growing so far.

I have had various red ensetes from day sheds and supermarkets but overwintering was always a problem. The SDCs from Lidl are doing well, but indoors. I have also managed to start a few dioon exile but they are very slow.

This is all quite frustrating as Trebrown nursery is just 15 miles down the road.

It would be most helpful if we UK addicts aided each other and communicated in some way.

Ttfn

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

DIY sheds not day sheds, autocorrect kicked in.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Indeed. I don't think you need a heat mat, just a south facing window and the right seed.

When are Trebrown nurseries going to get some formosana seeds?

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

I forgot to mention that I also have Ricinus communis and Carmencita sat in a spare bedroom trying to overwinter so they will be massive next year, also 3 Brugmansia which should do well down here. Ricinus from seed and i have started new seed this year, Brugmansia bought as plants this year but didnt get big enough to flower. better luck this year - easy to strike cuttings.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

bought this years seed from **ladybird**-gardens on ebay. I have purchased there before.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

have any of u in the UK heard of ..know of a christian post..with bananaswap??
its an old posting i found..but he was at the time circa 2008/9 growing musa ingens
which is a banana i am not giving up on finding and trying to grow..
sent him email..and looks like its a good one..or at least hasnt been closed..
anyone???? thanks

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

As a complete newbie, i almost bought Basjoo this morning, I have a sunroom so now I'm thinking perhaps of a small type, I've read about some that produce eatable fruit at only 3 - 4' in height? Can anyone in the UK / Ireland guide me in the right direction please? Tia

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

why almost bought basjoo? it is a good relatively hardy plant and quite hard to find - well i havent found any near plymouth.

i think it is unlikely you will grow edible fruit in uk - not enough long hot sunny days to ripen them methinks.

Re: Banana growers in the UK
 

Thanks for the shout, I'm new to this, but wanted something I could hopefully eat at some point! I do have a heated sunroom off the kitchen so it would fairly good, if perhaps slow waiting on fruit over a few years! Found some dwarf Orinoco which I think I'll try as replies are quite slow at the moment and that's what I've picked up from reading on the forum. Thanks again