mussa valutina

Hi chaps .I just bought 2 mussa valutina from my local nursery .Im wanting to know if thay could be planted out this summer Or should i keep them in a nice pott?. thanks verry much guys.OOH just one more thing do you over winter them just like you would a basjoo thanks again guys..daz

 

Some treat them the same as basjoo and others just as a summer banana. I have yet to test their hardiness in the basjoo house, but I might give it a whirl this year. My past reading suggests they can tollerate zero degrees, but protection is a must. Prolonged sub zero temperatures might be a problem. They are considered one of the best ornamental bananas and will fruit like the basjoo if mature enough.

 

In view of your location, I would definitely treat them as a patio-plants; placing them outside only when night temperatures remain above 12C. During winter velutina can tolerate some exposure to cold in the 0C to -2C range for very short periods, but needs a lot of sustained heat (25C - 28C or more) to kick-start it back into growth. In late January and February last year we only had a few instances of temps at or below 0C. here in S. Devon, but it was colder than normal for here with an average min of 4C. for February. This coupled with a cool March was cold enough to kill my established plants. So don't be too eager to test the hardiness. They can come back from the root in warmer countries, but long cool springs prevent that happening here. At below -2C all top growth is killed and if it isn't warm enough for the rhizomes to resume growth within a month or so, the plants rots away. At no stage could it be described as being as hardy as Musa basjoo.

Musa velutina is quite variable and I've had plants flower at only 1.5m whereas others have grown to nearly 3m before showing buds. As a container plant is is easily manageable and tends to remain shorter without losing any tendency to flower. Unlike Musa basjoo and other hardy bananas, which have shoots that can take 3 or more years to reach flowering, it is possible for velutina to flower from seed in its first year. Your young plants are capable of performing by the end of this summer, but must be kept growing strongly. Give them lots of light and maintain good night temperatures above 15C. Move them on to larger pots as necessary using a rich, loam-based compost with additional grit, sand or perlite to promote very sharp drainage. I use a mix of equal parts JI. No2 and grow-bag compost to which I add 10-15% by volume of perlite. It works extremely well and is very free draining. You can use sharp sand or horticultural grit instead of the perlite, but don't use vermiculite, it does not improve drainage. Once established in their containers, water frequently and feed at least once per week with a fertiliser recommended for tomatoes.

They can be flowered in 20 litre (37cm. diameter) pots, but need to be moved on gradually rather than giving them a mass of compost all at once. I would assume that the plants are in 1.5 or 3 litre pots already. When they have filled these with roots, move them to 5L pots then to 7.5 or 10L. Once they growing really strongly, they can be moved to their final pots. When potting-on, water thoroughly and then allow the compost to become slightly dry before watering again. This will force the roots to grow quickly into the new compost as they search for moisture. After about 2 weeks, you can keep the plants constantly moist.

The plants can be stood outside in a warm, very sheltered spot for the summer months, but are likely to slow down considerably if the nights are cool. Make sure you acclimatise them gently to prevent leaf scorch. Provide light shade during the hottest part of the day for the first week or so. Here on the SW coast, we get average night minimums of 15C.+ for nearly 4 months in a good year and M. velutina responds well growing very rapidly, reaching flowering by August or early September. I suspect Lincolnshire is significantly cooler by night so you may have to keep your plants under glass for longer if you want flowering this year. Any shoots that start growing during this summer are capable of flowering sooner next year provided they are not killed by winter cold. The plants will need to be overwintered above 5C - 7C to ensure the continuation of growth of any unflowered shoots.

 

thanks banana man and thank you dave for that exellent response.Here in lincolnshire yea its a pritty cold climet only about 30 miles from the coast as the crow flys.Ill have to go out and get some new pots then lol thanks again guys..daz
[ps] banana man hows the gunnera doing my friend...daz

 

Hi dd, its doing fine but still covered after the recent chill. If it warms up next weekend remind me and I will sort it out. :D

Nice write up Dave

 

thanks verrrrry much my friend ill do that thanks again....daz