Bananas

Look my seeds arrived, and I got a freebie Musa yunnanensis

 

I popped them into some tepid water last night (per instructions) and will change the water and repeat today I'm leaving them in the cupboard with the heating pipes as it stays around 30°c when the heating is on so when I sow them I plan to leave them in during the day and then pop them out on the kitchen side at night hopefully the temperature fluctuations will increase any germination.

Sent on the go from my telephone

 

When is every one unwrapping there bananas

 

Unwrapped him (Ensete maurellii) last weekend. He's alive No frost forecast for the next few nights so he'll have a good airing before the next lot of rain arrives.

 

Thanks guys I think I will do like you jwk as its forecast to get down to -3 tonight and had a white over frost last few nights too

 

My ensette karked it over winter...i forgot to bring it in! It looked great until i lobbed the top off! oops! My Basjoo is great though, but will buy another ensette in spring, and bring it in next autumn.

 

Was hoping to leave unwrapping mine for a while, but they are on the move already.
Had to make holes in the top of the wrapping a couple of days ago, as the new growth was pushing through.

 

Just found this thread. Thanks for all the advice.
I've got a 1yr old M. basjoo, which is in a south facing window at the moment and also got some M. sikkimensis seeds in compost that I sowed 6 weeks ago. Gave a friend a Maurellii (excuse spellings, I'm too lazy to check) to match my basjoo.

 

Quick update - Ive got movement on all of the big 'nannas & the smaller pups from last year are getting going too:

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Slowly tidying them up & gave them a big high-nitrogen feed this afternoon.

 

Not a conclusive experiment, but, I planted a Musella lasiocarpa next to the basjoos.
Idea being I could cover them with straw, as I do the basjoos these days, but last year the stems rotted and had to start again from the ground.

I think the same has happened this year, I've cut through the stems, which appear green on the outside, but the centre looks dead to me.

A small plant that was just left out in the open, in a pot, on the allotment appears to have started growing.

Kind of suggests to me that the Musella needs different overwintering and is more prone to rot than the basjoos, which are getting away reasonably well.

 

I bought a Musella lasiocarpa recently from a garden enter to add to my banana collection I was thinking about over wintering with straw like you as I do with my basjoo but might dig it up in winter now and put it in the green house

 

Have you had any pups of yours Pete ? How long have you had it ?

 

Yes it pups like crazy.
Kind of wish they would put more effort into the one stem really.
Probably had it about 5 yrs.

Well as I say Richard not a conclusive experiment, but just thought that two years running with the same outcome might be telling me something.
I tend to doubt the small potted one would survive un protected in a cold winter, but it did get the odd minus 4C on a couple of nights.