cedardave

Well it must be a lucky week. I have mine ,soaked for differing lenghs of time. One batch was about 2 days and one ended up being soaked for closer to 4 days. All the seeds were planted in a seed starter/coconut husk mix in plug trays. Si far no above ground activity ,however, there are several new roots coming through the underside of the plug tray heading towards the water in the tray. If the progress continues, I should be seeing above ground growth by next week.The roots dropping down by the way, are very thick and solid. Sounds all good to me.

klemmthamm

DSL is finally back up so here is a pic as promised.... and more to come later on.

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"No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want." - Unknown officer

Randy4ut

Is this one of my "babies"!!!! Congrats, James!!! How many do you have thus far? Keep us posted to its / their progress...

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klemmthamm

I have 2 more just barely pokin their heads out of the soil and 6 others that are putting out some roots as we speak.... I lost a lot due to a overzealous German Sheperd pup... but I messed up when I tried to do a lot just in soil in cups w/ bags over them... because I had no way to tell what was doing what. I didn't ever receive my gel packs in the mail that I ordered, so I just went with the paper towel in a baggie method and so far that is all that has worked for me, I just waited until the germination caps popped off and then planted them and so far that has worked wonders.

I still have a quite a few in soil in a plastic bag that I suspect will be popping up in a few weeks with the proper care.

The one in the pic is by far my largest... just a couple o' days ago it was just a green worm lookin thing stickin out of the soil and wah-la it now has its first leaf.... truly amazing how fast the little bugger grows.

-James-

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"No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want." - Unknown officer

klemmthamm

WOW!.... that is all I have got to say... I have more velutinas than I know what to do with... I guess when spring rolls around I will have plenty to give to the community garden.

I checked the plastic bag full o' soil and there are probably another 20 or so germinated and I am sure in the next couple of days there will be plenty more.

I went from 8-10 germinated to over 30 almost overnight. I really had low expectations for growing banana plants from seed because all I have ever heard is "bananas are hard to grow from seed"... that, in my experience is not the case... you just have to have patience.

I am going to try several more varieties but I am going to wait until my new set up gets here in a couple of weeks... check it out

I will post more pics (if and when I remember).

-James-

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"No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want." - Unknown officer

D_&_T

Hey
we ignored seeds for couple weeks and see what happens






so we have 90 of 135 up so far

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dpren3275

Unreal!!!!! What great germination percentage! Good for you!!!!To what do you attribute your success?

D_&_T

partly to good supplier, and advice from members

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Randy4ut

Looks GREAT, Dan and Tara!!! Looks like you should have plenty come spring... Please, do not give any credit to the supplier, as he just cleaned and shipped the seeds to you. You folks did all the work and should get all the credit... Keep me posted as to their progress...
Randy

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D_&_T

well you provided FRESH seeds, had to be a big help in this adventure
so THANK YOU for your generosity

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RobG7aChattTN

Unfortunately when you buy mail-order banana seeds they are very difficult to get to germinate. If they are not dried enough then they don't store very long (which is necessary for a seed supplier who is storing and shipping seeds). If they are dried properly (which ensures that they are viable for a long time) then it is very difficult to get them to re-hydrate enough to germinate (and often there is a narrow window between hydrated enough and rotting). So, the ideal way to store seeds is to clean fresh seeds and store them in moist peat (as you would if you were trying to germinate them). So, if you get fresh seeds you will be in business. But if you order mail-order don't expect great results. I had great luck with the velutina that I got from Randy last year and with some seeds that I collected off of an unknown variety. My rarepalmseeds Musa seeds did very poorly and sadly out of the hundreds that I tried I killed the one sikkimensis 'Red Tiger', the one itinerans, and the one Helen's Hybrid that I got to germinate.

Randy4ut

Just wondering if anyone here has any updates on their seeds... Haven't seen or heard from anyone in quite awhile... Sure hope some of you have had success and just not reported back, yet...

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magicgreen

Randy, i bought a heat mat yesterday! Still watching and hoping!
Magicgreen

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

microfarmer

I have your seeds and also some from Tropicallvr. The Almanac says the 16th is a good time to plant...I start hydration on that day.

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My new hero...

AllenF

Still nothing.

Allen

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You don't have to be crazy to grow Bananas in Alberta, but it helps

cedardave

I am also awaiting..... nothing really yet. I thought I had a root starting...but maybe not. So.. we wait

klemmthamm

mine are all working on their third leaves..... sorry for not reporting more but as you are well aware I am staying busy with other seed germination

Sabal Minor, Trachy wag x fortunei, Musa itnerans, Musa helen's hybrid, Musa sikki 'red flash', Musa sikkimensis, Musa cheesmanii, Washingtonia filifera and robusta, Ricinus communis, some sort of canna that is red and gets freakishly huge... and I am waiting on my T. takil seeds from india and my Cyrostachys renda seeds

I will post pics later... I moved them all from styrofoam cups to peat pots in a tray. (I had 30, I think, and I broke a couple so I am down to 27 or 28 now)

Remind me about the pics cause I tend to forget.

Merry January the 15th to all!!!!

-James-

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"No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want." - Unknown officer

Dean W.

Randy,

I'm still waiting. They haven't done anything, yet. I guess I need to try a different method. Maybe, I can use potting soil instead of perlite or vermiculite.

Have you had any luck with your Arenga engleri? I had some with mold that I cleaned and some others I threw out.

Whew, I still have alot of different seed I need to get started too.

Dean

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Randy4ut

Dean, I too, have so many different types of seeds going right now, that I can't keep up with them. I will do my best to take a look and give you a report on the Arengas when I get home this evening... Sorry to hear you have yet to have any luck with the velutina. If you have any left, try the potting mix in a 4" pot with plastic over the top and on a heat mat if you have one. Make sure you presoak seeds before, and you should have some success. Keep me posted...
Randy

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wamstick

Still no sign of life on my seeds( Velutina)--I swear my seeds have gone on vacation or fell asleep. Maybe come spring, they will wake up--I am a patient person though, so I am still waiting.