Gard

Is it possible, here in Norway, to overwinter Ravenala madagascariensis, in a way something like the other bananas? And, if possible, how?

Thanks!

Gard

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sandy0225

I have three of them but they are all still small, so I just keep them in the greenhouse. I haven't tried to store them dormant or anything like that. I just keep them in a minimum of 55 degrees, and water them only sparingly. They have pulled through that way for two years now. My largest one is only 2 feet tall now, though. I'm not sure what I'll do when they get bigger, but they sure are awesome plants.

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Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

Gard

So they are like trees, getting bigger and bigger by the time? But do they make shoots or those things from the root, which can be possible to take up and grow when the mother gets too big?

Gard

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sandy0225

I've only seen large ones in Cozumel, and it didn't appear to have any pups around it. But maybe that's because the gardeners there had everything trimmed so well. Maybe someone else will know....mine is only about 2 or 2 1/2 feet tall, and it doesn't have anything like that coming up.

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Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

MediaHound

A little more than a year ago, has two suckers:


a year later

now with about ten suckers (hard to see in this photo)
(also please note that the mother plant had lost all its fronds from last years storms here in S. Florida and has made an impressive comeback. I thought I would loose it, but here in the photo is has about eight fronds and now, it has a few more)

A lot of people like to trim the suckers off, it keeps the tree nice and clean looking. Some people only like to have the one solitary trunk.

As for digging up the pups, they grow very tight to the mother, it might be a huge effort, they are not nearly as soft and pliable as bananas. They are quite hard to remove!
I do not think its possible to dig these up and overwinter. You should wrap it or pile insulation around it somehow.

Gard

Ok, so they make suckers.

So like something like a cage around it filled with dry leafs or sawdust could work. I'll just have to try.

Are they hard to germinate, is it done the same way as I do with my bananas, 10 hours 35°C and 14 hours room temperature?

Thanks! And, MediaHound, those you got there is just awesome!

Gard

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MediaHound

Thanks!
I've never grown these from seed, so I can't offer advice about germinating them.
Good luck! Come back after the winter and let us know how it went!

Gard

I will tell how it gets going! I haven't yet ordered the seeds, but I will today. Will be fun!

Gard

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JoeS475

I've been wanting a traveller's palm ever since I saw them in St. Croix. Can anyone tell me their growth rate? I was wondering if they are fast like bananas, or slow like bird of paradise.

Thanks,

~Joe

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MediaHound

Slower than bananas, faster than bird of paradise, and probably about the same or maybe a little faster than the intermediate-sized white bird of paradise. But this is magnified as it grows much larger than any of these.
When it does push a new spear out, you can see the daily changes quite noticeably.

Gard

I'm not sure, but from what I have understood from looking at pictures: It gets taller when old leafs falls off the stem (more of the stem will show) and new leafs begins in the top. Is this right?

Gard

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MediaHound

Yes.
And shoots emerge from the base. When an older shoot starts getting tall, it sheds it's leaves - the place where additional new pups will emerge is on the older pups, between an old leaf about to die and where the stem is starting.
The new pups' orientation is not the same as the mother plant. This makes very old clumps look disorganized (not that it bothers me). It would be really beautiful if the pups faced the same direction as the mother plant, but they would quickly run out of room to grow.
And this shows that it's a myth that the plant grows facing the sun.

Gard

Is it possible to grow in a pot or a container of some kind? If so, how big does it have be?

Gard

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Gard

I have now received some seeds of these. Will they germinate at same temperatures as my Musa seeds have, 90°F day/60-65°F night? Or should they have constant temperature?

Gard

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