Gordonf

Hi, All! I'm a beginner at growing bananas and at the beginning of January I seeded 2 varieties, Musella lasiocarpa (aka, Ensete lasiocarpum - Chinese Dwarf banana) and Ensete glaucum (Snow Banana). Today, February 3, I noticed that the first Chinese Dwarf one was up about 2 inches! Whoopee! I also noticed that the first of my gingers was also poking through the soil in its pot.

There's very little soil in the banana's pot so within the next few days I think I'll add some so its roots have somewhere to go, as I have read that once sprouted this variety grows rapidly. I don't know how long I should wait before putting this baby into its own pot so I can wait for any others to sprout. Any suggestions?

H2O

HI

[ensete glaucum]
I put them in their own pot when they are 25 mm high or when the first leaf starts.

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Gordonf

Oh, boy! My little banana sprout was over 25mm high, but hadn't opened into a leaf when I tried to remove it and all the soil in one piece so i could add more soil beneath them in the pot, as there was so little for it to grow in. Well, wouldn't you know, the soil didn't fall apart, but I managed to break off the sprout just above the soil level! Bummer! I suppose that killed the poor thing, eh?

Oh well, there were several more seeds in that pot, so if they sprout, I won't have to move them until they're MUCH larger!

H2O

I wish you better luck next time !

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Gordonf

Thanks for the pix - mine was much taller than the one shown there! It was just not meant to be, I guess; I'll wait for the next one.

jmoore

Don't give up, unless you have broken the sprout from the seed it will still push out the leaf, if it hasn't already.

Gordonf

Gordonf

Yippee! My broken Ensete glaucum sprout that I broke off has pushed out a new shoot from the centre of the old, broken one! It's growing by leaps and bounds (well, doubling in length each day) so I've kept the baggie over it and it's in the sunniest window I have. The sun is still pretty low in the sky (I'm at 50 degrees North), so it won't get too hot even at noon.

I guess I should leave the baggie on until the leaf actually begins to unfold, eh? I do let it air out each day when I check it.

frog7994

are there really bananas that still produce seeds? that I could germinate and grow? does any one know how many types and what is a source to buy form?

Gordonf

are there really bananas that still produce seeds? that I could germinate and grow? does any one know how many types and what is a source to buy form?
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Hi! sure there are bananas that set seed! Only problem is that most of them are inedible and/or ornamental. You can get them from several suppliers including Veseys Seeds in Canada, several from the E.U., RarePalmSeeds.com in Germany and Chiltern Seeds in the U.K. I'm sure there are more in the U.S. and in other places, but those are the ones that I've used with good results.

Banana seeds are not the easiest to grow - you have to be patient, as sometimes they take up to 6 months to germinate (some take much less), but it can be done. I've just germinated my first one after about a month of waiting. It's doing fine now after a misadventure a week or two ago, and there are about 10 more seeds in the same pot that I am still waiting for.

Some kinds of banana seeds are pretty small while others are like small peas, so they're not hard to handle as are things like petunias, etc.

Give them a try! You might get hooked as I was!

Romul

In Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, in the fruits of some varieties of banana seeds come across, sometimes a lot. After pollination of fertile pollen seeds ripen. Gabe mentioned it breeding possibilities. In India, in Goa, I specifically bought different varieties of bananas, but I do not come across a single seed. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in South-East Asia is growing a lot of wild bananas (musa acuminata). And cultivars of bananas are pollinated by pollen fertile wild bananas. I have one seedling Nam Wah from eating bananas in Thailand.