How do I post pictures of my sad little banana tree that I just pulled out of the basement and my Dad's half dozen monster banana trees? Hey Donn, Dad says "hi" and he enjoyed the visit.

First you need to get the photo onto your computer (scanning, digital camera, or whatever). To post a photo, you need to electronically trim it down to size using photo editting software, upload it to an image host that allows you to 'hotlink' (I use http://www.sighost.us/) and then insert it into your post by using the following code:

[img]http://YourPhotoURL[/img]

I just got my new Basjoo today. I am so excited. Really good looking. About 3 ft. Gave it a new home amongst my cannas under the lights in my basement. My jungle is growing rapidly. I hope to take my "babies" up to Saugatuck by the end of May. My plants are growing so rapidly that I am removing the table and placing the plants on the floor. Two of my plants are so tall that they have grown past the florescent lamps and close to the ceiling. This is my first year trying to "quick start" my tropicals inside. It seems to be working great! I'll know how successful it is when I move my plants outside and see if they continue to thrive. I also tried using a new product called "Soil Moist". It is a crystal that becomes a gel that absorbes 300-400% its size in water and keeps the soils moist by releasing moisture when needed. It has cut my watering in half.

Our banana is 'pregnant'! Everyone in our office is excited - our Ohio indoor banana is getting ready to bloom. I've been fertilizing weekly, but about 3 weeks ago, instead of the usual 6' leaf, it had a shorter 4' one, then last week, an even smaller leaf - like 2'. It thought it was sick, but this week, you can see the bud of the 'flower-to-be'. Here's what it looked like this morning:

http://www.sighost.us/members/dcyoung/banana6.jpg

And the entire tree [from the growing bananas in containers thread]:

http://www.sighost.us/members/dcyoung/banana4.jpg

We'll keep you posted on how it goes. We've got a number of questions:

1. Does anyone know how long it takes for the entire fruit to mature?
2. Will we need to support it [our programmer doesn't want it to fall on him!]?
3. Should I fertilize more [the 'eating for 100' thing]?
4. Should I separate the pups now, or hold off until the main stem dies?
5. What should I look for to determine species [we haven't a clue what it is]?

Thanks for all the help! We're looking forward to a banana split ice cream social!

Donn

Sorry folks,

I forgot the img tags in my previous post. Here's what the flower bud looks like:



And here's Brian sitting in the shade of the tree:



Donn

What a great Banana! I'm new at this! Mine is only about 3 feet tall. It's a baby Basjoo. It is enjoying itself amonst all of my other Tropicals right now. Later in June I will be taking it along with my other plants up to Saugatuck Michigan. When I get a chance, Ill post some baby pictures of it. We named it Anna Banana after my daughter.

Hi Folks,

Here's what the flower looks like this week - it's longer and drooping over - she got her weekly dose of MiracleGro today. We can't wait to actually see little bananas. I found some photos of a guy's indoor banana in Colorado - the flower appeared in May and it was January when they were eating ripe bananas. I sure hope ours don't take that long! Anybody with ideas of how to determine species as the flower matures? It's warm enough to have them outside now, but we'll leave Mama where she is!

Houston - We have bananas!

Wow, over the weekend our banana flower opened and we're now seeing 3 hands of 7 or so bananas each - with hopefully more to come - talk about quick development. I'm still not sure of what species it is, so if someone can look at the flower and tell me either what it is or what to look for, I'd really appreciate it.

Donn

Here you go:

Hi Donn,
I wouldn't be able to give you a good guess, but if you post these pics on another forum(undisclosed because of rules) they might know. Email me or send a private message or I'll post them for you on that forum. There are real banana heads there that know their stuff.
Nice pics!
Kyle

I am new at gardening and I live in Columbus OH. While diving on Henderson road I show banana tree in your yard. I am very interested in planting one in my back yard. Please help me understand
1. Where to get seed / plant
2. Plant Verities can be grown in Columbus.
3. Can they service OUTSIDE in winter?
I would really appreciate your advice and help

Amit

Hi Amit (and everyone else, I just joined this forum),

I go to OSU and last year I noticed all the banana trees in the landscaping around campus. I really wanted one, so this year I searched around and found some at Oakland Park Nursery. Unfortunately I don't think they'd make it over the winter outside here though. I'm not sure about overwintering the roots like cannas, maybe that's a possibility. The variety they had I got was Dwarf Giant Banana (Musa Acuminata). It's especially pretty, the younger leaves have red streaks on them. I'm not from Columbus so I don't know any other really good nurseries besides Oakland Park, but I'd definitely go check it out, they have alot of other great stuff too!

B

Did you ever receive an answer to your message??? I have been driving by that house on Henderson Rd. for years an admiring their banana trees. I finally also bought one at Oakland Nursery and was wondering what special tips they may have too keeping it healthy in this climate.

I never recieved a response. I actually never asked Oakland for any tips-- since I'm a college student I'm limited to growing in pots and have to remain mostly mobile, I've been growing mine as a houseplant, and it seems like they were just selling theirs' for landscaping-- I thought, what the hell, I'll try it as a houseplant. It's actually been doing very well-- although compared to the giants I see around town it's pathetic. I've had it for two and a half years. It's not giant, probably because I've had it in some not-so-great lighting and just now transplanted it into a new larger pot (after a year of needing it). It is, though, big and green and quickly turning my small apartment into a jungle (along with my other billion plants). I'm not any expert on growing them outside though, and honestly, I like having mine indoors- it makes me kinda sad to see those beautiful wide green leaves ripped up in the wind! I've always had a great experience with Oakland though, I'm sure they would be able to help you out. Let me know if you hear anything good!

Hello - i saw this post and my sister lives in columbus and we would like to know where exactly is this house on Henderson since thats a huge road. i only have Musa Basjoo that i have been growing for 5 years and i have never protected them and they always come right back. We would like to drive by and take a picture of his house as i love to see others neat tropical landscapes.

Thanks