Looks great! Mine are growing gangbusters.

Here's a photo I just took yesterday of my M. basjoo. It's put out all that growth in just 2 weeks.

Here is a link that might be useful:

mine are in there 1st yr. i snagged 2 from home depot before they killed them, they have put out a few new leaves but are no where near as tall as yours, there like maybe a foot. =(

Be patient. With sun, heat, water, and fertilizer, the plant will put out quite a bit of growth this year, and you may even see a pup or two. But the second year will be even better, and the third year (this year for me) I'm expecting a giant clump. Bananas really respond well to fertilizer, especially early in the growing season, so feed your plants regularly!

How do you take care of your banana during the winter? I have one in a pot that I bring in but it will be too tall next year. Third year for it, I don't know what type it is. I wanted to buy a musa basjoo but it was expensive and I'm not sure how to over winter it. I live in Delaware. Thank you

I don't take any heroic measures to keep the plant alive; I just put a big pile of autumn leaves and undecomposed compost (basically all the vegetation I cut down at the end of the year) around the pseudostems, about 3' high (usually compressing to about 2' by the end of the winter, at which point I remove and compost it). Even with this protection they have died entirely to the ground the last two winters.

In Delaware, Musa basjoo should be perfectly hardy and you can probably protect them in exactly the same way. If you're more ambitious, you can protect the pseudostems to get a head start on the next year. I don't think any other bananas will be reliably hardy, but with a big enough pile of mulch and a mild winter, who knows.

Johnnie, what type of fertilizer do you use? Do you keep them consistently moist? This is my first year with them, I got a couple for Bihai. Thought I had lost one, it died back but luckily I was too lazy (and sad) to get rid of it, glad I was! It has sent up 2 babies! They are still in pots, getting ready to transplant them into the ground this weekend.

I gather that banananas don't like to dry out. 2002 was a drought year and I watered approximately weekly. 2003 was extremely wet so I didn't have to water it at all. In 2004 I will water as needed, but it's hard to say just what will be needed!

I generally fertilize with whatever high-nitrogen fertilizer I have handy, about weekly early in the growing season to push it and cutting back in mid to late summer once it's gotten big. Last year I used Miracle-Gro; this year I'm trying another kind, but can't remember the brand (although I compared nutrient formulas and they're nearly identical).

I've had M. basjoo growing here in northeast TN for about ten years and it just gets bigger each year. I started with one tiny sucker and now I have tons of it growing in various locations on my property. I even have people stop by to look at it, as they can't believe their eyes! It is a very vigorous plant and grows faster than many tropical varieties. It likes plenty of water, although it is fairly drought tolerant once established. I've not watered mine in years and rarely fertilize them. I've sold several rooted suckers and amaze the school kids each fall when I take a few of the leaves to the science classes.

If you thickly mulch the base of them with straw (leaves get wet and can cause rot) to keep the trunks from getting frozen all the way down, they will regrow next spring. If they do get frozen through, they will usually produce several suckers to replace it and will sometimes flower. Mine so far are about eight feet tall with six foot long leaves. By last October, they should be 10'-12' tall. My biggest problem is keeping them thinned out so that I don't run into a disease problem. They will make quite a dense grove in just a few years. The only pests I've encountered have been Japanese beetles.

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Allow them plenty of room. The pseudostems of my 10 year old basjoos mat cover a 12 foot circle with the leaf crown covering a 35 foot circle and with an overall height of 25 feet. They spread out about 1 to 1.5 feet a year. The pseudostems are spaced far enough apart that I can walk between them. They lose their leaves, but the pseudostems don't die back much during the winter. I use the banana mat as a compost pile and throw all of my pulled weeds, leaves, dog manure, and other similar materials in among the pseudostems for fertilizer.

i use fish emulsion and just mulch them with every green thing i have

i have two large clumps that have been here in CT for years

Can you plant them this late in the sason or would it be better to wait until spring in zone 7? Also, any recommendations on where to purchase?

How much sun do they need? I'd like to plant one in partial shade under towering Yellow Poplars. Will it not grow at all in partial shade, or just slowly and/or small?