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Why?

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Because that worked for me before and most of the info on line said so and no one else offered any better advice. Also many places where bananas grow wild seem to get plentiful rain. Would appreciate it if you could share a better way. I'm always willing to learn.

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I look to Nature for information before looking online. Fossil records have shown that bananas were growing in the Americas over 165 millions years ago and it's doubtful someone was soaking the seeds for 3 days prior to planting back then. And most people that grow seeded bananas that produce fruit know that seeds that fall to the ground will grow like weeds without soaking.

Moisture is very important, but 3 days of pre-wetting before wetting seems unlikely to be helpful. If there is a study that shows 3 days of pre-wetting before wetting improves germination rates then I wouldn't be surprise to find a study that shows 4 days of pre-wetting before the 3 days of pre-wetting before wetting improves germination rates even more.

I focus on maintaining a high soil moisture with high soil aeration and do not recommend the first technique I used that accidentally produced my first variegated banana seedling. I buried the banana fruit deep into an active compost pile hoping the heat would kill the seeds. One day I was turning the pile and noticed these long sprouts well underground and decided to plant one to figure out what kind of plant they were. It turned out to be a banana plant, which was surprising but even more surprising was the plant was variegated. The original plant I grew that produced the fruit I composted was not visually variegated.

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Agree on all you say here. I also try to take natures way into account. But which nature? Here is my thought process. There are many regions, of the world, that grow bananas, naturally, from seed. I think all (?) have warmth and moisture in common. There are banana regions with monsoons that soak banana seeds for more than 3 days so I guess nature takes care of that in some way. At least I hope so. It has always seemed to work on other seeds before. In my case getting these seeds at the beginning of winter forced me to either wait for spring (too impatient) or do the best I could with indoor artificial conditions. Since I had no instructions except the internet then I tried what I hoped would work, based on my research. I also have been altering temps and dryness to simulate nature. We have been having very warm days for some time now but nights in the high 50'sF, till now, when they have run in the 60'sF at night. I will be moving them outside soon to experience more natural conditions. Your above instruction is helpful. I have had things pop up in compost piles too but no banana. I wish! Any instruction is appreciated.

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I didn't have any information from clients in North Carolina so I used information from a client growing in the banana region of South Carolina that said the fallen seeds grow like weeds.

You bring up a good point that bananas seeds will germinate in regions with monsoons and without monsoons. Based on that information I concluded that soaking seeds is unnecessary but also that soaking is not detrimental to germination.

Here's a photo of some a'ea'e rhizomes I sent to that South Carolina client, who runs a large online tropical nursery and also a member of this great website.

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Beautiful in a group together like that!