banana fruit

[Palm crazy]

Noticed one of my banjoos is blooming. 

[Hammer]

  Congrats!  Have read Basjoos are not very good eating.  Have you tried them before?

I just put a Gros Michel in the ground and have another Gros Michel and a Manzano to pop in this week.  Really excited to add these to the garden!

[Palm crazy]

Thanks, they have little fruit and all seeds….. I do have one that is called ‘Hellen’ that does fruit but still has seeds, its only 6’ tall. 

Yours are going to have some yummy fruit! And, they grow fast! 

[Hammer]

1 hour ago, Palm crazy said:

Thanks, they have little fruit and all seeds….. I do have one that is called ‘Hellen’ that does fruit but still has seeds, its only 6’ tall. 

Yours are going to have some yummy fruit! And, they grow fast! 

Thanks! I am super excited. 

[Palm crazy]

I have three banana stocks that have a lot of fruit on them and one is actually turning yellow (a first for me). How low can banana fruit take before getting damage? I think I still have a month before it gets cold enough to freeze so like to take these down and look at them even thou they are just Basjoo bananas. Thanks for any answers. 

PS: I had my first cold night last night at 39F and maybe another one tonight before going back up… rainy season start this coming tuesday with one rain storm after another.  It was a good growing season this year. 

Edited October 14, 2017 by Palm crazy

[Palm crazy]

18 minutes ago, Palm crazy said:

I have three banana stocks that have a lot of fruit on them and one is actually turning yellow (a first for me). How low can banana fruit take before getting damage? I think I still have a month before it gets cold enough to freeze so like to take these down and look at them even thou they are just Basjoo bananas. Thanks for any answers. 

PS: I had my first cold night last night at 39F and maybe another one tonight before going back up… rainy season start this coming tuesday with one rain storm after another.  It was a good growing season this year. 

I think what I will do is just wait for the first 32F night and cut the yellow bananas down the day before that pretty much solves the problem and my curiosity. 

[Palm crazy]

Update of my fruiting Basjoo. Even though the leaves are toast some of the flowers still look good to me? It will be interesting to see if they continue to grow or just die right away come spring. Not pretty to look at, lol. 

 

Edited December 31, 2017 by Palm crazy

[dalmatiansoap]

They are gone. Cut them away after after frost are gone 

[Palm crazy]

8 hours ago, dalmatiansoap said:

They are gone. Cut them away after after frost are gone 

Your right but I still want to wait and see what happen come March then I will take leaves off and if no sign of growth on flowers will cut then to the ground. Lots of compost.... Thanks for answering back, and Happy New Years! 

Edited January 1, 2018 by Palm crazy

[Mangosteen]

My Ae Ae fruited. The leaves are the only part that are variegated. 

[Palm crazy]

1 hour ago, Mangosteen said:

My Ae Ae fruited. The leaves are the only part that are variegated. 

Love to see the pictures..... I had two or three variegated basjoos once, they all reverted back to green in the first year.  Ae Ae seems to be the most stable.  

 

[Palm crazy]

I finally got around to cleaning up the banana clumps. Took down three fruiting flowers and all the dead leaves. Really for spring now.

Photos: Before, After, Debris. 

[Bennz]

Maybe no fruit, but at least you've got a bit of good mulch out of it!

Ever had fruit from the Helen? I've been curious about that one since first hearing about it. Any chance of pictures?

 

Ben

[Fusca]

On 7/16/2017, 10:06:26, Palm crazy said:

Thanks, they have little fruit and all seeds….. I do have one that is called ‘Hellen’ that does fruit but still has seeds, its only 6’ tall. 

Yours are going to have some yummy fruit! And, they grow fast! 

I'm sure the best way to propagate bananas is through division of the suckers, but I have heard about banana seeds and have never seen banana seeds.  Would you be able to grow them from your seed - are they viable?  I'd be interested to try it myself some time.  Do you have any photos of the seeds?  I'm curious...

Jon

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

45 minutes ago, Fusca said:

I'm sure the best way to propagate bananas is through division of the suckers, but I have heard about banana seeds and have never seen banana seeds.  Would you be able to grow them from your seed - are they viable?  I'd be interested to try it myself some time.  Do you have any photos of the seeds?  I'm curious...

Jon

I grow and sell thousands of ensete glacuum and ventricosium each year and have also grown many musa species from seed. The seeds vary in size and shape, but are all black in color. 

[Cikas]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

I'm sure the best way to propagate bananas is through division of the suckers, but I have heard about banana seeds and have never seen banana seeds.  Would you be able to grow them from your seed - are they viable?  I'd be interested to try it myself some time.  Do you have any photos of the seeds?  I'm curious...

Jon

Edible bananas cultivars are seedless. Suckers are the only way to propagate them. Wild and decorative banana species which are not edible have seeds and they can be propagated by seeds. 

Edited February 6, 2018 by Cikas

[Palm crazy]

10 hours ago, Bennz said:

Maybe no fruit, but at least you've got a bit of good mulch out of it!

Ever had fruit from the Helen? I've been curious about that one since first hearing about it. Any chance of pictures?

 

Ben

Ben, I gave the Hellen away last fall.... the trunk died back at 21F so I didn't want it anymore. It a beautiful banana does have some small seeds but is edible. 

 

2 hours ago, Fusca said:

I'm sure the best way to propagate bananas is through division of the suckers, but I have heard about banana seeds and have never seen banana seeds.  Would you be able to grow them from your seed - are they viable?  I'd be interested to try it myself some time.  Do you have any photos of the seeds?  I'm curious...

Jon

I have grown banana from seeds, long time ago. The trick is to use rainwater to get them to germinate. I already got rid of the mulch. I put the mulch around my tree ferns. 

1 hour ago, Cikas said:

Edible bananas cultivars are seedless. Suckers are the only way to propagate them. Wild and decorative banana species which are not edible have seeds and they can be propagated by seeds. 

Pups are the way to grow with Basjoo, they sucker freely. 

Edited February 6, 2018 by Palm crazy

[Fusca]

Very cool - thanks guys for the responses.  I may try to grow from seed some time, but I'm growing so many palms I'm running out of room!  Bananas aren't as popular here in SA as in Houston probably due to their water needs, but they're still beautiful plants.  Actually they're not so popular in Corpus Christi either due to the wind.  I think white bird-of-paradise is a better option there.  I'll bet banana seedlings are interesting looking.

Also I've heard many different opinions about cutting back after a hard freeze - some say it's better to just trim off the dead part, some say cut them all the way back to the ground, others prefer to just leave them alone.  I've always just cut back the dead part, but I've never had any get big enough to fruit.

[Bennz]

On 2/7/2018, 3:13:48, Fusca said:

I'm sure the best way to propagate bananas is through division of the suckers, but I have heard about banana seeds and have never seen banana seeds.  Would you be able to grow them from your seed - are they viable?  I'd be interested to try it myself some time.  Do you have any photos of the seeds?  I'm curious...

Jon

I've got a banana that established itself from seed!  It's surprising as my summers tend to be a bit dry and cool. Not sure what species it is, it has fruit with seeds (not much flesh), but doesn't quite fit the descriptors for basjoo. More like sikkimensis, but this one is not supposed to be in NZ. This thing is growing strongly in an area in which the fruiting bananas died from neglect. I've heard there are wild bananas establishing around Auckland too.

[Fusca]

6 hours ago, Bennz said:

I've got a banana that established itself from seed!  It's surprising as my summers tend to be a bit dry and cool. Not sure what species it is, it has fruit with seeds (not much flesh), but doesn't quite fit the descriptors for basjoo. More like sikkimensis, but this one is not supposed to be in NZ. This thing is growing strongly in an area in which the fruiting bananas died from neglect. I've heard there are wild bananas establishing around Auckland too.

That's good to hear Ben!  I'd love to have a plant produce good edible fruit, but it's not likely possible in my climate.  My summers are dry and very hot (sometimes VERY dry and VERY hot!)  I do like the looks of the plant so it would be strictly ornamental for me.  I don't always like the "easy" route, but enjoy more growing from seed.

Jon

[dalmatiansoap]

11 hours ago, Bennz said:

I've got a banana that established itself from seed!  It's surprising as my summers tend to be a bit dry and cool. Not sure what species it is, it has fruit with seeds (not much flesh), but doesn't quite fit the descriptors for basjoo. More like sikkimensis, but this one is not supposed to be in NZ. This thing is growing strongly in an area in which the fruiting bananas died from neglect. I've heard there are wild bananas establishing around Auckland too.

Any pictures? Probably some of Australimusa genus.