seeds aren't germinating. HELP !
 

I have been trying to germinate different banana seeds for over 1 year now without success. I have been doing it by paper towel method. everything else seems to work this way. The seeds are
musa velutina
musa balbisiana
ensete ventricosum.
The one i've just started to try and germinate is the musa "tiny". Bought from ebay. Was supposed to germinate after 2 weeks. Lost the instructions. I don't have a really warm place like a boiler so not sure what else to try.
I can grow apple, orange, guava, baby broccoli etc but not the 1 thing I really wish to grow. Can anyone help me?.

Re: seeds aren't germinating. HELP !
 

A south facing window sill on a sunny day will be plenty warm enough and it gives you the alternating temperatures you need. You could put a plastic bag over the pot for added humidity.

I wouldn't use the paper towel method. Plant them in a multipurpose compost and as I've mentioned put them on a window sill.

Not sure what a musa 'tiny' is, but it sure won't germinate after two weeks, if at all. Stick to varieties that have a proper name to start with. Like musa velutina and musa balbisiana.

Re: seeds aren't germinating. HELP !
 

I bought the " Truly Tiny" seeds from ebay. The instructions ( which I lost but just found) said one of the ways was the paper towel method. It would germinate in 2 weeks.

Re: seeds aren't germinating. HELP !
 

Truly Tiny is a cavendish type and so, if it ever flowers, will produce seedless fruit. So your seeds cannot be from a Truly Tiny. I think I know where you bought them from, they would have been expensive, but sadly a dud. I wouldn't believe what it says on the instructions either. Sorry.

Re: seeds aren't germinating. HELP !
 

I paid £10 for the seeds inc p&p

Re: seeds aren't germinating. HELP !
 

I have just found this online.
The reason why bananas cannot be grafted, as suggested by Anthony Whyte (15 February, p 24), can be found in the Royal Horticultural Society’s new book, Science in the Garden: the scientific basis of horticultural practice (Blackwell Publishing, £19.99).

For a graft to unite, the root stock and the piece of shoot to be attached to it must both possess cambial tissue, a thin layer of cells inside the vascular bundles that divide to create a successful union. Monocotyledonous plants (bananas, palm trees, lilies, grasses and so on) do not possess a cambium, however, and grafts are therefore very difficult to achieve.

If successful, the two cut surfaces must be held permanently together by tying or taping, which in all likelihood would further increase the chance of disease.

London, UK