12 replies to this topic

[brugsinCR]

Hi you all expert gardeners!

I already searched a lot about growing musa plants from seed... But I wanted to know your personal experience if any of you by any chance has tried to grow Musaceae from seed. I'd appreciate any input.

Thank you very much

[rudy625]

I haven't tried banana from seed yet,but I will watch this thread with interest,because I think I might like to give it a try. I just started some cannas from seed,and I guess from I have read,you treat them the same way.I ordered some canna seed from Alice Harris' website,and followed her directions. Nick the seeds,and soak in hot water and leave them in the water for a while. I soaked them for 3 days then planted in a seed starting mix. Much to my utter amazement,I got 99% germination,and they are now about 2 inches tall,and growing fast.All this in a 3 week period.I thought it would take longer to germinate,so I am really hyped,and bananas just may be my next project.I am mad at myself for not trying cannas from seed a long time ago,because it cost a heck of a lot less than spending an arm and a leg for canna plants at the local nurserys,but the large hard seeds put me off. Didn't mean to hijack your thread,but musa seeds and canna seeds are very similar.

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[brugsinCR]

Dan, you are welcome to post anything anytime in a thread I've started. I'm growing cannas from seed too, and they were quick and easy. Here's a not so recent pic, where, to the left, you can see some of my Cannas and more that are not in the pic. But so far what I've heard about Musaceae is a completely different story and not good one... I have about 14 packets of different musa seed awaiting to be planted

[Dana58]

Nice cannas you guys! I've grown them from seed, but I've never tried bananas. Edna??

[Edna]

Eddie gave me Musa Velutina a few years back. I gathered the seeds, then decided I didn't want to bother with them. I had them in a bucket and one day in January I was going to the green house, and decided to take them and dump them. I dumped them in a bed, and totally forgot them. Keep in mind we had many freezing nights after I did that. In late spring, I think everyone of those seeds came up. I was shocked. I took me a while to realize what it was... LOL

I would guess that different bananas need different things ? I'm not sure.

[poiuy704]

I grew a number of them a few years ago. I almost gave up on them after 3 months as they were so slow to germinate. Mid July it hit about 120F in the greenhouse for a few days and that seemed to get them moving. Most of them germinated within a couple of days. They reached about 3 feet the first year and up to about 7 feet the following year.

[mayja]

Bananas can take a long time to germinate, even up to a year. Once germinated you could say they grow just like Cannas. When they have a couple of leaves I put them in a rather big pot with rich soil. Once the grow is really going I regular feed them with dried cow manure,
Lots of water and they grow very quickly. Lovely plants to have. At the moment I do have a Musa basjoo ( sown last fall) and a Musa ventricousum Maurelli. The last one I didn't sow but bought it as a plugplant. Love this one for his red huge leaves, it doesn't get edible fruits.

Marian

[brugsinCR]

Thank you dear friends. Very informative.

[RyanWonderland]

I bought a "100% to grow" kit a while back at some store, and one of them came up, i planted it in a pot and it died in 2 days... I still have the other in the kit it came with so I'm hoping they'll come up, but what should i do when/if they do?

[brugsinCR]

Ryan, warm, moist but ventilated soil, never soggy. Sunny place if possible.

[Al]

I've never grown a nanner from seed, but how long should you let a seed grow - once it has sprouted - but before you give it a bigger pot ??

They are impressive plants. I've often wanted to try one, but never had the guts to try.

[RyanWonderland]

Well I'm putting it outside during the day when it's hot, and near my iguanas heat lamp at night.

[brugsinCR]

Al, as with most plants, when you see the pot is almost full with roots.