I think Dawna pretty well nailed it. You probably can get bananas on your plants, but the time that it takes for the bloom to develop, ripen and flower, and then grow eating bananas on the plant is longer than the growing season we have here. I would be ticked just to get one bloom.

I wintered over some large bananas in pots in the house and kept them fairly dry. I'll move them outside in a few days and will have to cut 3-4 leaves on the top of the plant off because they are bent over into the ceiling. I've dreaded getting out the piano dollie and strapping them down to move. My back is already throwing a conniption :-).

randy

I received two BEAUTIFUL blood banana (musa zebrina) plants for Mother's Day. I currently have them in 12" pots on my back patio. They look great there! What do you think. Should I leave them for patio plants, or put them into the ground somewhere slightly shady? If I keep them in the pots on the patio, should I still allow them to go dormant in the winter like you suggested, wolflover?

Any other suggestions on keeping them happy?

Thanks,
Robin, north of Edmond

Here is a link that might be useful: musa zebrina banana plant

Boy Robin,
I don't know what to tell you on that one. I grow blood bananas, but I grow them in the ground. I never have much luck growing anything in pots. Maybe it's my potting soil (but Randy, I did buy some bags of the soil to make some using your recipe - just haven't done it yet). Randy would be the one to advise you on growing blood bananas in pots. I am pretty sure he over wintered some in pots inside his house. I dig mine up and store them dormant in the cellar, because my house has no room to overwinter bananas inside, and my greenhouse is too full also, and not warm enough to keep them happy. I will say they are a beautiful banana and I am sure you will love them. Good luck with them, and I hope Randy will chime in here and tell you how best to grow them in pots.

Hi Robin

I wintered over both rojo and zebrina in the house the last couple years. They were up very close to east windows and kept a little drier than during the growing season for fear of rotting.

They did ok. Ones that had been freshly repotted that season did better than those that were in the same soil for a couple years. I need to repot and pull pups out for new plants.

It doesn't hurt to take a wet sponge and clean both sides of the leaves about once a month indoors. Keeps any fear of spider mites in check:-).

Dawna

A good mix can make a world of difference.

randy

OK, thanks for the info. I may just try bringing them in. You say your plants were close to the east window. Is that for light purposes? Is it better for them to have cooler temps indoors or warmer (during the winter)?

My plants are actually rojo. In researching I found the zebrina picture and it looks exactly like mine. What is the difference in the two?

Robin

Hi Robin

Yes, for light and keeping them out of the way :-). The ones in the house where it was warmer seemed to winter over better.

The grower in the valley couldn't tell me the difference between the two and she's a heck of a lot smarter than I am.

randy

Thanks, Randy and Dawna. My plants are still looking good, in spite of the winds we had yesterday. A couple of the leaves split, but it doesn't make the plant look too bad.

I was wondering. Should I feed them with anything in particular? They are putting on new leaves, but some of the older ones are folding down. Also, there is a bit of scorching (too much sun?).

Love these plants!
Robin

Here is a picture of my basjoo that is blooming in a pot. Once it gets its bananas I am going to put it in the ground.

Blabare,
How cool!!!!! None of my basjoos have ever bloomed, but I grow them in the ground. I'd like to see more pictures as it forms the bananas. Thanks for sharing!

I was so disappointed this year when I pulled my Ensete ventricosum (Red Stripe) out of the cellar. It put on a paddle leaf, then put up a bloom. I would have at least liked to see a few beautiful LEAVES before it put up the bloom. It looks so weird now with this waist tall stalk with a funky looking bloom sticking sideways on it. Waaaaa. I will try to get my DH to help me post a picture of it as I am not too swift when it comes to computers. :(

Blabare

very nice! I'm curious why you will put that plant in the ground. Won't it die after fruiting? Does it have pups?

randy

Yes, it has quite a few nice pups. I thought they didnt die after fruiting, they just didnt bloom again?

Blabare

The perennial portion of the plant is the rhizome or corm below the surface and it will continue to make new suckers, or vegetative shoots. The original shoot or parent plant dies back after it fruits and the suckers or pups carry on.

randy

Robin

Sorry your question didn't get answered. I feed my bananas a 20-20-20 about once a week after they get moved outdoors and keep a 15-9-12 osmocote on the soil. Might hit it every few weeks with a 9-45-15 soon.

I don't worry too much about sunburn early in the season. Those leaves get cut off later on.

randy

Hey Randy. Thanks for the reply.

OK - so many numbers here.....why the variance in feeding? Just curious. And especially the 45. Are you trying for blooms?

I still have mine in pots on the patio. They seem happy. I have to move them out of the wind when it is above the 20mph mark. They just blow too much---sometimes over! I have trimmed some the the scorched leaves and cut off the lower, dying ones. I have several pups too.

So, give the info on the food, ok?

Thanks,
Robin

Hi Robin

A wide range of numbers is not that important. The 15-9-12 pellet is a 9 month formula I like a lot.

The Peters 20-20-20 is a very good fertilizer. If I could only use one fertilizer, that would be it. The fertilizer has a good range of micros, so that makes it a good one to use.

Bananas don't do that well in containers unless you feed them regularly.

Phosphorus is important in flowers and developing fruit, so that's why I will use that on occasion.

We live in Choctaw and have banana plant producing fruit. We got it from a neighbor, so we don't know the name of this type or if it editable