Hi,

Yes most edible bananas are unseeded and propogate via pups so the seeds you purchased would not produce an edible fruit bearing plant.

What makes the most attractive banana is subjective. Many people like the variegated bananas such as the Ae Ae (~$300). The Zebrina (also called Sumatrana, Rojo or Blood Banana) is also very attractive (~$20). I think the "plain green" banana plants are perfectly attractive too however.

I personally prefer buying baby plants (pups or TC) over seeds.

Please also note that Ensetes are not fruiting plants. In terms of edibility they are generally only considered a root crop (such as a potatoe).

http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Ensete

Laurence

Let's see ...

We have here 10 each of the following ...

Musa Coccinea ( Scarlet Banana )
Musa Paradisciaca var. ( Dwarf Cavendish ) Edible.
Musa Rosacea ( Flowering Rose Banana )
Musa Velutina ( Velvet Pink Banana )
Musa Zebrina ( Striped Banana )
Musa Ensete ( Ethiopian Banana )

And of course, I have my Musa Acuminata 'Novak' ( Super Dwarf Banana ) which I bought as a small plant or pup as you put it. I'm inspired by this thing's rapid growth.

I guess I have enough material to start. At this very moment, the seeds are soaking in water with little GA-3 added. Documentation recommends that I plant them IMMEDIATELY. Too bad, I'd like to have held some of the seeds in reserve, but apparently they need to be planted right away or they won't remain viable. Luckily, I have a lot of pots on hand and 3 big bags of compost soil.

The seeds go into the pots later tonight after the sun goes down.

This is my first sewing of seeds since earlier this year when I found myself loosing seedlings and seeds alike to high temperatures here in BKF. I've learned from the experience and have bought and put up shade cloth to reduce the scorching heat of direct sunlight on my concrete patio.

Fingers are crossed.

Hi..that sounds like a good deal on all of those different types of seeds. I paid $14.40 for 15 seeds in all and that was for just for 2 kinds..well that includes s/h also. This is my first time planting seeds. It will be exciting to see them sprouting. IF they sprout. LOL I don't have anything to put on mine but only Miracle Grow. Are you using the regular Miracle Grow?
Deb

Hi,

Regarding the fertilizer. I personally generally avoid nitrogen fertilizers though it would promote rapid foliage growth. Some people do like the results of the N heavy Fish Emulsion (5-1-1). General consensus favors fertilizers which are either balanced 1:1:1 (or close) or potassium heavy (such as 6-2-12 or 9-3-27). For in-ground plantings generic 1:1:1 granular is by far the cheapest route.

http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Info:Fertilizer

Most MG is 3:1:2 ratio (24-8-16 or 12-4-8) unless you can find MG Select which is 1:1:1 (20-20-20). Peters also makes a competing 20-20-20. MG Tomato food is 18-18-21 which is also a good solution for water soluables too. Unfortunately HD and Lowes usually only stock the 3:1:2 ratio MG (unless you want to pay more for the MG Tomato). I had to go to a smaller hardware store to find the 1:1:1 water soluable stuff.

Laurence

Here is a link that might be useful: Fertilizer Wiki

Deb,

It is a deal. Go to seedman.com and see for yourself.

I also got 10 King Sago seeds for $7.95 from them too.

The plant fertilizer I have is NOT Miracle Grow, but something called KGRO, All Purpose Plant Food. The K is probably for K-Mart which is where I got it. Major ingredients 15% N, 30% Ph and 15 % K2O (Potash) with the rest being various minerals.

That's where I got my seeds from at seedman.com I do remember seeing the banana kit at the top of that page I was on but forgot about going back to it when I found the other banana seeds. LOL He has good alot of seeds I would like to have. Does it take the Sago long to sprout? Thanks for the info on the fertilizer to you and Laurence. Do you have a heat mat under your seeds. I got mine planted last night.

Deb

I don't know how long it will take the Sagos. My success with seeds has been erratic due to the high temps here in BKF. You could say I have a heat mat. My patio has a concrete deck and it gets super hot in summer. So hot that I had to learn the hard way about it.

I actually use shade cloth to cool things down and have most of my seedlings and young plants under the shade cloth.

I wasted a lot of seeds by having them ruined by heat. The concrete just amplifies the heat and makes it worse.

Believe me, I don't need a heat mat here! An ice cube tray would probably be more helpful.

:O

Where is BKF? You really do have them on a big heat mat. LOL I took my seeds out and put them on my cement driveway for awhile each day now. How long does it take for them to start coming up? I look every day and hope that I will see some green sprouting.

Deb

BKF is Bakersfield, CA. The airport disignator for all of you Aviators out there is actually BFL, not BKF. BKF is what you'd find on Man Hole or Sewer Covers and is the running joke as most people abreviate Bakersfield as BKF. Bakersfield has a lot of street gangs and some folks chide that Bakerfield doesn't know how to take out the garbage and would argue that BKF does make a better abreviation, even if at least one local news station has started putting BFL on their weather maps. LOL.

But then we have to give the BPD ( Bakersfield Police Department ) and the Kern County Sherrif and Deputies some extraordinary credit. They have a tough ball park to work in ( I'm sure their are other cities that can lay claim to just as tough of tougher ) and these problems aren't easily resolved. I think BKF needs outside help or some of that Arnold Schwarzeneger money designated for this purpose to get more man power. Arnie also likes to send CA convicts to other states ( due to overcrowding ) and Arnie will definitely get my vote for another term. But I don't have too much faith in giving that Schwarzenegger money to the community program stuff as I've seen the criminals pose as organizers of such programms just to get the money. Posers make it a waste of resource and effort. I think I'd like to see Arnie pass legislation that if drug abusers or traffickers are apprehended and they have children, that it be manditory that social workers be sent to evaluate child endangerment and take the kids away. If we can do that because some idiot leaves a kid in a car on a hot day or unattended at home, then damn it all, we should be doing it when kids are growing up in a home where the parents are abusing drugs or trafficking in drugs - or are gang participants. It is imbecilic to do one, often for petty cause and not do the other at all. I think mandatory social worker evaluations for child endangerment would go a long long way to solving the problem. No parent except for the absolute worst would want their kids taken away. ARNIE - are you reading this? Hey Deb, get your friends together and write Arnie a whole mess of letters with this suggestion. Chain mail it all over CA.

But so much for BKF.

Yes, it's hot here. My Banana seeds are out on the concrete patio and are under a shade cloth to help with the temps. Banana seed however are a tropical equatorial plant and I figure the heat isn't going to be that detrimental. The seed packets did have a warning about over watering as too much water could rot the seeds. I don't think I'll see anything right away as banana seed are very hard and tough. Even though scarified, I suspect that it'll be a couple weeks at least before I see anything sprout.

It sounds like you planted yours about the same time I planted mine. Keep in touch and share when yours come up.

Hello Deb,

Check your seedlings! I've got two that sprouted!

They look like this ...

{{gwi:415646}}

I gotta get a digital camera that lets me do macro photography. I just got to.

Of the two that sprouted, they are ...

Musa Paradisciaca var. ( Dwarf Cavendish ) Edible.
Musa Ensete ( Ethiopian Banana )

I planted 2 seeds in each of these 1 gallon pots and have them protected by window screen to prevent other windblown seeds from getting in and to keep the birds out.

{{gwi:415647}}

I water once a day toward sun down, sparingly. I've also hit each pot with a solution made from Dr. Hornby's Voodoo Juice, Pirahna and some Nitrozine and MegoGro Giberellic acid. 3 of each seed type, I planted indoors in peat pellets. Justin case the pots failed to produce results, this backup might work.

The bananas are beginning to sprout!

I started soaking them on July 24th and within about 20 days, I've got some sprouts!

Yeah!

How are yours doing?

Hi...That is great!! Yours are doing good! I still have not seen a sprout at all. :-( Maybe I need some of the solution you water yours with. We did plant them at the same time. The Ethiopian banana is one of my favorites. Maybe I should have ordered those seeds. I'll let you know if I ever see a sprout. I'm not giving up yet. LOL

I'm looking at these sprouts and I'm wondering right now whether they really are Banana or some sort of seed that got introduced into my planting pot, even though they were covered by window screen material.

The sprouts have a small stem and two leaves. I have germinated Bird of Paradise and Canna seed and they don't come up that way. They emerge as a single spade leaf and then proceed to emulate what they will do in maturity. I would think Banana would do likewise.

I think these two sprouts are other than Banana.

However, I will let them grow for a while to see what they do and if they really start looking like something else, I'll exorcise the pots of them and ... well, maybe replant them in another pot just to see what they are.

why don't you just get some plants?

I did get one ... a Super Dwarf, which I found at Food Maxx fro $3.95, - a deal!

Seeds, though cheap, don't always work out, but if you really are into the whole gardening thing, you do seeds. It's just more interesting and ultimately more rewarding. Finally, you may get seeds for certain species that you can't find in order to 'just get the plant'.

IMHO: If you really want to intimately know and understand your Banana, grow it from a seed and see it through its entire life-cycle, from sapling to fruition, division and death.

I agree about starting plants from seed,which I do a lot of. If you do like a challenge then by all means grow bananas from seed. Many are very tough yo germinate and can take months. There is a seed growing forum on bananas.org that may be helpful.You can join the forum, it is a great banana site. good luck.