growing banana trees from seeds?
is it possible to grow banana tree sprouts from seeds indoors?
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applestar
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Yep -- The way I heard it, most edible banana's are seedless. When they do have seeds, apparently they have lots of them -- too much to make it easy to eat. I've heard of one or two varieties, though, that are supposed to be so good that they are worth the trouble.
Do you already have seeds? What variety? Many ornamental bananas, including ones that are more winter hardy do have seeds and you can grow from seeds, though I haven't tried it myself (I wanted an edible kind -- I'm growing super dwarf cavendish ...no successful fruits yet)
But I did come across a number of instructions when researching how to grow bananas -- you soak the seeds, maybe scarify with rasp, use sterile mix, vermiculite and/or perlite, and keep under humidity dome in warm conditions (heating mat, etc.) heat and humidity seem to be the key... I imagined similar conditions to starting peppers and eggplants from seeds , though it probably takes longer. It's probably easier to do during warmer seasons.
Do you already have seeds? What variety? Many ornamental bananas, including ones that are more winter hardy do have seeds and you can grow from seeds, though I haven't tried it myself (I wanted an edible kind -- I'm growing super dwarf cavendish ...no successful fruits yet)
But I did come across a number of instructions when researching how to grow bananas -- you soak the seeds, maybe scarify with rasp, use sterile mix, vermiculite and/or perlite, and keep under humidity dome in warm conditions (heating mat, etc.) heat and humidity seem to be the key... I imagined similar conditions to starting peppers and eggplants from seeds , though it probably takes longer. It's probably easier to do during warmer seasons.
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rainbowgardener
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yes, or dividing it, for things like irises that multiply at the roots. You can just dig up a big clump of iris and cut the rhizome (root) in pieces and re plant. Starting from cuttings or dividing the root are both ways of vegetative propagation (cloning). It is done without flowers or seeds, so the two (or more) new plants have the exact same genetic makeup as the original one did.
okay that makes a lot more sense thanksapplestar wrote:Bananas grow "pups" -- baby plants from root offshoots forming clumps. So these babies can be divided/cut off once they have their own roots. Once you have one plant, it seems like you will never lack for additional plants.
I think they might also grow them in laboratories from cell cultures.
. so basically if I got my hands on some banana tree roots or some "pups" then I could grow a banana plant from that ?Yes. Here we call the pups keiki. Most bananas here are sold bare root, however, depending on how common they are where you live there may be some transport restriction.
Logees has a good selection of tropical plants. Dwarf cavendish or Chinese Banana as I know it grows 5-8 ft tall. The fruit is edible. Logees has a super dwarf that it about 3 ft tall.
https://www.logees.com/banana-super-dwar ... inata.html
Logees has a good selection of tropical plants. Dwarf cavendish or Chinese Banana as I know it grows 5-8 ft tall. The fruit is edible. Logees has a super dwarf that it about 3 ft tall.
https://www.logees.com/banana-super-dwar ... inata.html
What applestar said adds up.
A very easy and ornamental one to grow from seed is Musa Velutina. It's also called the hairy banana or pink banana.
It grows 4'-6' tall, needs 3'-4' spacing, produces a vertical stalk with 3" fuzzy pink and edible bananas in 1 year, and can be grown in partial shade.
To grow them from seed:
1. Gently file one side of each seed, just till you see the white flesh under the hard shell.
2. Soak the seeds in warm distilled water for 24 hours. Do that in a warm room.
3. While the seeds are soaking, fill pots with a soil-free mix, like potting soil.
4. Over water each pot and drain them several times till the mix is dark and just moist to the touch.
5. Keep the pots in a room that's always about 68*F to 75*F.
6. After soaking, plant the seeds 3/8" deep and cover.
7. Slip each pot into a plastic bag to maintain humidity.
8. Place the bagged pots in the 68*F to 75*F room away from direct sunlight. Also away from drafts.
9. Check the pots daily and if the soil gets lighter in color, add some water.
This should work for almost any banana seeds.
If you harvest seeds, wait till unblemished fruit is very over-ripe before harvesting and drying the seeds.
It can take up to 6 months for the seeds to germinate.
If you use pups, then wait till the pups are about 2' tall and take lots of root when you cut it from the mother plant.
You may want to take more than 1 pup since some pups are suckers. A sucker is a pup that only grows to provide more food and water for the mother plant. They die soon after being cut free and never get very big.
Good luck.
A very easy and ornamental one to grow from seed is Musa Velutina. It's also called the hairy banana or pink banana.
It grows 4'-6' tall, needs 3'-4' spacing, produces a vertical stalk with 3" fuzzy pink and edible bananas in 1 year, and can be grown in partial shade.
To grow them from seed:
1. Gently file one side of each seed, just till you see the white flesh under the hard shell.
2. Soak the seeds in warm distilled water for 24 hours. Do that in a warm room.
3. While the seeds are soaking, fill pots with a soil-free mix, like potting soil.
4. Over water each pot and drain them several times till the mix is dark and just moist to the touch.
5. Keep the pots in a room that's always about 68*F to 75*F.
6. After soaking, plant the seeds 3/8" deep and cover.
7. Slip each pot into a plastic bag to maintain humidity.
8. Place the bagged pots in the 68*F to 75*F room away from direct sunlight. Also away from drafts.
9. Check the pots daily and if the soil gets lighter in color, add some water.
This should work for almost any banana seeds.
If you harvest seeds, wait till unblemished fruit is very over-ripe before harvesting and drying the seeds.
It can take up to 6 months for the seeds to germinate.
If you use pups, then wait till the pups are about 2' tall and take lots of root when you cut it from the mother plant.
You may want to take more than 1 pup since some pups are suckers. A sucker is a pup that only grows to provide more food and water for the mother plant. They die soon after being cut free and never get very big.
Good luck.