Gard

I've now germinated my first bananas, that is some Ensete ventricosums's. I know, I know, it's not a big deal with some bananas germinated, but these are my first, so I'm really proud and looking forward to watch them grow!

This one is the third to pop up, the others are moved to their own pots, but this one will be moved tomorrow, as I didn't see it before tonight.


Gard

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Zac in NC

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

Zac

STEELVIPER

Cool!!! now the question is? do you have the space for them? before you know it, they will be 10 feet high!!! I dont think these guys ever stop growing??? LOL

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Taylor

halo

Wow, banana seeds.....that is so cute! Where does one find banana seeds, other than on banana trees? And do they grow true to the plant they came off of? Hmmm, this could be a whole 'nuther addiction....

MediaHound

Congrats!

@ Halo, there's usually people in the Bananas for Sale or Swap & Wanted forum with seeds. Go to the forum searchbox and type in "seeds"
http://www.bananas.org/forumdisplay....to_forumsearch

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Apologies in advance if I am slow to reply to your PM. I suggest posting in the forums for support if you need something urgent.

Gard

I bought those seeds from www.rarepalmseeds.com .

Thanks for all the congratses!

I do have space for them, I think. But now I how that they'll not grow so extremely fast, so that I can keep them inside during the winter, and put them outside when the spring comes.

Gard

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banana_fun

If you want the seedlings to grow fast you must keep the humidity high and when they outgrow there humidity "bubble" you should slowly acclimatize them to less humid conditions. I have found that seedling do not like dry air at all and growth can stop.

STEELVIPER

That is true. Seedlings do not like dry air. You should be fine if you keep then inside for the winter. Ensete ventricosum does grow real fast, if they get tons of water and sun. Mine is 1 year +, and its over 12 feet tall. HUGE leaves.

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Steve in France

Congrates on the germination , as I understand the process with Bananas fresh seed is very important. I'm thinking of growing a load of Sikkis as I want to select one that is full of colour and hardy , Sikkis seem to vary in hardiness a lot. Is there a best source for fresh seed ? I looked at the links for seed and perhaps iy's best to order a hundred and see how they do.
I could also be in the market for a good pup next Spring if anyone has a stunning plant with a spare bit .
Later
Steve

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Always looking for a lost pup

MediaHound

Gotta use BB code for bulletin boards, not regular html codes.
Photobucket should offer this easily.
The reason is because if you could construct posts using html code like you attempted, the code that makes the page itself appear could be tampered with. You could make the page look funny and skewed by adding extra tables or frames, etc.
So, to post that image, take this part in red:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g156/steeelviper/PHTO0018.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting">
and copy it to your clipboard. Then click this image and paste the clipboard's contents there.
For more tips on how to insert images in your posts, click here.
An easier way is to paste the URL to the image and surround it with [ img ] (means open image) and [ / img ] (means close image), like this:
[ img ] http: // www. path-to-your-image.com/image.php?image.gif [ / img ]
(but remove the spaces, I had to use spaces so that it wouldn't parse the example)

anyway, here you go


nice plant!

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Apologies in advance if I am slow to reply to your PM. I suggest posting in the forums for support if you need something urgent.

STEELVIPER

Ah! that is how it's done. Excellent!! Thanks mediahound.

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mrbungalow

Gratulerer;

Ensete is a great beginners plant, easy to sprout, easy to grow, and rewarding. Only my mother in law managed to kill one! :06:

Remember to put the plants in a south-facing window. If the light is too low, the seedlings will look like spaghetti. Ensete is pretty easy and fast. Other musa species will be killed if the light levels are too low, so if you have a greenhouse lamp I would reccomend putting it on 4 or 5 hours a day in november to february, as additional light. Norway is extremely dark in the wintertime!!

In my experience, light is more important than high humidity. Drier air just means the lower leaves will dry out and turn yellow more quickly, but ensete can produce 1.5 leaves a week if the light is good. But offcourse, high light and high humidity is best.

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imdocrob

hey gard, first of all congrats on the seedlings and secondly how long did it take from the time you planted them to germination? Sounds like this might become another fun hobby to start if my wife doesn't kill me first.
Rob

Gard

Thanks everyone for help and everything!

I first put it in water for some days, two days I think, and then put them in a mix of about 2/4 soil, 1/4 vermiculite, and 1/4 sand. Something like that.
From the day I put them in water, it took 20 days, but at the time that I discovered them, they were trying to break up the top of the box. I kept them at around 75°F.

Gard

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imdocrob

Thats cool, I think I am going to have to try something like that.

halo

I guess I was wondering, other than buying them, where ON THE PLANT do you find the seeds? And do they grow and bloom true to the mother plant?

Gard

Haha, now at least four Musa x paradisiacas have germinated too

The seeds are found in the banana fruit, and they should grow and bloom true to the mother plant.

Gard

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STEELVIPER

You are a germinating machine!!! Congrats!!!!

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