damaclese

just thought id keep those who are interested up to speed on my Ensete Ventricosum the second seed out of 20 has now germinated now if i can keep from killing them any suggestions on care it way to hot to put them outside right now when should i start feeding them and how much how much water Help?

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mskitty38583

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damaclese

update theres three now i can see some roots coming out of the peat plug i have them planted in its just not poked its head up yet I'm trying to set the record for percentages if i get all 20 to grow then we will have some pups for people if they want them but iv promised 3 out at this point I'm hold off on any more for fir that they wont germinate in big Numbers next I'm going for some Ensete Murelii did i spell that right?

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tophersmith

I planted 10 seeds 2 weeks ago and no signs of life. I let the seeds soak for 3 days before palnting. How long did it take your seeds to germinate?

damaclese

well thats sorta interesting the first seed sprouted in 4.5 days but I'm told thats unheard of the rest took about 2 and a half weeks the 5th one just sprouted over night so I'm to a 12.5%germination rate now if more sprout then I'm going to do a happy dance hehehe i was sorta thinking wow how much space are 5 Ventricosum going to take up allot! i hope i have room for them i did promise some out so that helps a bit now that they have started to grow I'm taking the lid off during the day but they are siting in a humidified room its running about 60% lets hope they don't damp off i have Lot of problems with that i tend to over water but I'm trying to brake my self of that bad habit

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dpren3275

Great job! Having a Ventricosum germinate in 4.5 days.
Mine seem to be doing the opposite.... I soaked & planted 5 Ventricosum seeds in Sep of 2006, put on heat mats, timers.... everything else I had heard about but nothing came up. In the summer of 2007 I moved them to the little greenhouse where nature took care of fluctuating the temperature for me but still nothing. This past winter I set them on the back of a shelf in the cabin with other banana plants but had pretty well given up so I can't claim to having been devoted to keeping the soil evenly moist or anything. And surprise, surprise..... the end of April, 2008 I suddenly soticed two baby Ventrisosums, both about 4 inches tall. That was 19 or 20 months after I planted them.

damaclese

well this is how my strange turn of events took place i put the seeds in a jar with ro water and i put them out side in the shad as the temps were ruining around 85 at that time and i forgot about them for 3 days well that was bad or so i thought as when i remembered them they were siting in the sun and the water temps were around 110 to maybe 120 deg i though o iv cooked my seeds but remembering something that lorax has said about hot water i decided to plant them any way What the heck right? and they germinated fast i put them in a jiffy germination station in my orchid room which has 70% to 80% humidity and and bright light (artificial) ruffly 3600 candles perfect for Orchids a bit dim for most plants they were pretty warm although i couldn't tell you how warm as they were siting right next to a light fixture but at night thats off so they cooled i don't have a warming pad. for the most part i just left them alone except for an out brake of mold which i took care of with a week solution of fungicide that i sprayed on them several times i only did that because they weren't up yet i know if i hit the seedlings with that they would die and thats how it all came to be!

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dpren3275

That makes your experience even more amazing.....
Maybe the key to banana germination is to give them the basics and then forget about them, allowing them to do their thing without sending the seeds our anxious vibes....
Thanks for sharing that with us, Donna

damaclese

OK update out of 20 seeds 5 have grown. wow i cant believe how fast they grow 4 of them are now about 7 days old and there fast approaching 4" tall there just putting on there first and some their second leafs one is showing some red on the tip already I'm told thats vary unusual at such an early age maybe we have a murellii sport? its to early to tell the one with the red is also out pacing the rest as time gos by it just looks thicker taller and generally more robust then the rest
all say this buy all the Bananas you want and Tc them but you will never get the quality of a plant that you grow your self they just do better and grow faster all bet the one with the red is 4ft tall by September if all goes according to plan Scot is bring me a bunch of Banana seeds in July and I'm going to start them some are pretty rare so we mite have some stuff to trade this coming spring you never know the first seed that germinated is now 6" tall and defiantly growing like a weed seems happy no red on it in the slightest but then again even thou i got thees seed from Park seed you can never be sure if they are what they say they are its defiantly a Banana as for it being a ventricosum will see it could be an odd seed that got mixed in the bin so to speak or it could just be a sport of some sort
thanks dear readers for indulging my ramblings
Paul

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mskitty38583

congrats on the new babies and the fast growth!!!

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tophersmith

I came back to my office marking the start of the 4th week from when I planted my 10 seeds and what did I find but two seeds had germinated.

damaclese

congrats dude they are alot of fun to wach they grow so fast you can see it! i check min in the morning and at night befor i turn off the grow lights and they are always biger iv already repoted min i was uesing peat plugs so is vary easy to pot you just put the hole thing in to the pot and put more soil around it that way i dont have to disturb there new roots be care how much u water then im giving then a cupal of tabal spones about ever 3 days but i have them in 80%humidity i started them on some sunn three days ago 15 first day then increasing slowly iv got them on 1.5hr sun and 10hr grow light but thats not a real high intesity light as its the one for my orchids its lacking red spectrum so iv had to suplamint a bit with some incandesints
ps all take some pics this after noon just got back form a 35ml rid nead nap heheh first

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natedogg1026

I share your joy Pauly. I have had 2 Superbums pop in the last two weeks (Right after I bought one from Kyle LOL!). Pretty cool growing them from seed huh.

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Banana's are a safe addiction. Right?Maybe I need classes.

mskitty38583

congrats nate!!

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damaclese

update: OK were at day 8 well last night must have been good for the Little fellas cos now 3 of the 5 are 5 inches tall thats a gain of 1.25 inches in one 24 hr period so of thous now have first leafs and are about 3/4 of the way opine isn't that amazing number 4 and 5 are not that far behind them maybe tomorrow they will have leafs too what i thought was some red was a mistake I'm afraid to say that its more likely just some slight browning of the embryos stem tip but its so slit I'm not worried iv upped the humidity a bit and gave them all a 1/4 strength dose of some schults fertilizer looks like its a 17 9 23 its hard to say as its not clearly posted i used it because its for orchids and is extremely genital and well buffered and wont burn bare roots also contains trace minerals I'm using sterile potting soil which i believe is low in nutrients do to the cooking process they put it throw but I'm not sure on that
also i forgot to mention since i have trouble with seeds damping off i used orchid pots they have air holes all over them i thought since they wont be in those for more then a month it mite be good and so far its working fine i just have to keep an eye on the moisture as thees type of pots dry out easily thinking of using them for others seed its working out so well i also forgot to mention that i have fans ruining in the germination room at low speed its also my orchid and hospital room as its small and has all the lighting and air controlling equipment already installed nothing fancy mind you but it all works and i have 5 rescue orchids that have baby's in Les then 4 weeks so as i said its a good place to grow any thing thats tropical temps are running about 87deg in there and relative humidity is at 85% i sweat every time i go in there so i don't hehehe no i go in to check on the babies i feel like a new dad I'm so hooping that this is the beginning of a new soars of income for me id like to be able to sell some to pay for what is turning in to an exspesiv Hobey the orchid is what I'm referring to the bananas are relatively cheep in comparison OK thats it for today I'm not sure how much more i can say but i will keep you all posted when they go out side and such and all update on the hard to germinate Banana seed that I'm getting next month thanks for reading all take care
Paul

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Chironex

Pauly, somewhere I read that sprinkling a bit of powdered charcoal or even powdered cinnamon around the base of each seedling helps prevent damping off. Also, green tea is a natural fungicide. Just brew a few cups, allow it to cool to room temperature and spray it on and around the seedlings.
I tried it, and so far have not has a problem with damping off. But now I use sterile, soil-less diatomaceous earth for all seed germination. I cover each seed with a thin layer of vermiculite and it works like a charm. Just got my Abyssinian to germinate a few days ago and have more seeds about ready to pop.

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damaclese

thats grate dude way to go i want some of thouse abyssinian how meny did you germinat?

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Chironex

I just tried for 2, but only one has germinated so far. It's kinda weird it looks like a long spike about 5 inches high and real light green. It may darken as I expose it to more light. The other will come up when it want to I guess. But I think I have more seeds of it somewhere, so we can try germinating them when we get things set-up. I didn't want to let them get old, so I am trying to start a bunch of them. But I have more seed coming too.

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damaclese

them looking like spikes is normal in a few days you will notes a sorta round spoon like leaf and the sould look light green donw worry about that and dont give them to much light at first ease them in to the sun if you have some artafisal lighting like a low intesaty grow light that would be grate at 9 days i have got my boys siting in a morning sun window for about 1.5 hr a day tomarow we are going for 2 they grow vary fast at this age some times as much as an inch a day keep there humidity up around 80% if you can o update nuber 7 has just sproted in the gemanation station we are going to be over run by Ventracosum hope some pepol take some heheh iv got four promist out and three are staying here so the nexst ones will be yours if you want it and then if more come up will deal with that

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Chironex

Ok Pauly, thanks for the tips. Thanks too for saving one for me. I think we are going to have a lot of bananas to offer to people - great problem to have....
So you're at a 35% germination rate so far - Fantastic!!!! Keep it going!

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