Bananas

Took the covers off mine over the weekend - it looks a bit miserable and where it had started to grow in the bleak mid-winter as it was so warm and not so bleak, the growth has rotted.

I expect it will still recover

 

I've been in the same boat as you, Joolz, my Bananas would make it through the first Winter but not the second even though I did my best to protect them. Good luck with the Black Bananas!!

 

Musa Thai Black Banana tree

" banana planting care and instructions: fertilize bananas using any type of high nitrogen organic fertilizer. Bananas are heavy feeders so we suggest that you fertilize every couple of months After your initial watering. Grow bananas in BRIGHT LIGHT. 12 hours of bright light are ideal for most varieties. bananas prefer Constant WARMTH this is very important - the ideal night temperature would be 67 F. The day temperatures would be in the 80s. Ideally you would have fresh circulating air. If you are in a more northern climate you may bring them during the winter. rhizome / rootball and all, remove the leaves and store the plant, dry, in a heated area over winter. To assure survival, it is easier to dig small suckers, severed very close to the parent rhizome, and pot them for overwintering indoors. Spacing should be at around 4' this will produce a stand or patch. Broad, long, graceful leaves and rapid growth-commonly reaching full size in just a few weeks-make banana a favorite plant for providing a tropical look to pool and patio areas. The development of bananas following a frost-free winter is a source of both pride and amazement to those unfamiliar with banana culture. Bananas are a tropical herbaceous plant consisting of an underground corm and a trunk (pseudostem) comprised of concentric layers of leaf sheaths. At 10 to 15 months after the emergence of a new plant. There are thousands of banana varieties and species and can reach 50'tall banana flowers appear in groups (hands) along the stem and are covered by purplish bracts which roll back and shed as the fruit stem develops. The first hands to appear contain female flowers which will develop into bananas (usually seedless in edible types). The number of hands of female flowers varies from a few to more than 10, after which numerous hands of sterile flowers appear and shed in succession, followed by numerous hands of male flowers which also shed. Generally, a bract rolls up and sheds to expose a new hand of flowers almost daily. It is recommended that bananas be planted in patches or groves, the idea is to place them together in a stand. The shade from a stamd of bananas is generally cooler than regular shade, a well placed hammock will do nicely on a hot summer day. Pests and Diseases: Musa have few troublesome pests or diseases outside the tropics. Root rot from cold wet soil is by far the biggest killer of banana plants in our latitudes. banana care; After fruiting, the mother plant which bore should be cut off near ground level, as it can never produce again. The old trunk will quickly decompose if cut into three or four pieces, with each piece then being split lengthwise. Use the remains in a mulch bed or compost heap. After a major cold period in which there is no doubt that bananas were killed to the ground, cut the plants off at ground level within a couple of weeks of the freeze. Dead bananas are not very attractive and they are much easier to cut off before decomposition starts. banana leaves can be removed after they break and hang down along the trunk. Most bananas will produce the flower bud within 10 to 15 months of emergence as a new sucker, depending mostly on variety and extent of cool/cold weather. Most production north of the lower Rio Grande Valley occurs in the spring and summer following a particularly mild winter. Banana propogation: Bananas can be propogated from pups which are the off shoots from mature plants. These off shoots will form new Rysomes thus creating a new plant. Bnana posses a trunk like feature which is commonly referred to as a pseudo stem or trunk. This trunk is a compulation of fiber ridden leaves that form a trunk like feature. Banana sap is a more like water than sap but will slightly stain clothes if your not careful. Some find it to be a mild irritact. Bananas are called many different names the most common names are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, banana, plantain, banano, platano, guineo, cambur, English, plantain, horse banana, platano, Musaceae, Cavendish and Musa."

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