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banana trees

has anyone ever tried to grow any dwarf banana trees of any sort? i was just wondering, because i've seen some in a catalog and thought it'd be kinda neat to have my own banana tree.
 
Actually the banana is a herbaceous plant not a tree. Bananas are true tropicals and almost all fruiting bananas will die back when temperatures reach below 40F. I have some in my backyard and they require lots of water, sun and fertilizer. Not easy to grow in colder climates unless it is grown in a tropical heated greenhouse...
 
I really like these plants! In good sun, the leaves are attractively variegated and surprisingly, they tolerate some neglect. The leaves even have a high transpiration rate, making them ideal in, say, a warm living room where you are often around.

Here is a link to their care requirements. Just click the '250 varieties' button, and scroll down and click on the 'banana' icon, but not on the underlined text.

Chris
 
thanks for the info guys!
 
I've never really liked plantain plants (they are SOOOO UGLY!!) but I'm giving dwarf banana plants a chance.
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I saw a Musa valentina selling for &#367 so I went ahead and bought it. :biggrin: It's still small, but its nice and pretty, not like the messy/ugly plantain things.
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 This one isn't variegated like some other dwarf banana plants, but the fruits are pink and pretty. I asked the lady that was selling it if you could eat the fruit, but she says that it's not very good compared to comercial bananas. It also has seeds in the fruits so I don't think it would be easy to eat anyway! Hopefully I'll be able to experiment this on my own. Wish me luck!
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Joel
 
good luck with that! hope it grows well for you! let me know how it goes!
jason
 
Woops!! :eek: I was looking for my banana plant on google, writing musa valentine and nothing apeared, so I interchanded the last 'e' with the 'a'. That didn't turn out anything as well, but google put the correct name in the search, so I finally have a good picture of my plant!
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It's called Musa velutina, otherwise known as the pink, velvet, or pink velvet banana plant.
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It's from india, and it grows to 4.5 feet high. It says in a lot of places that the fruit is sweet, so I might actually have something to eat eventually! :cheesy: I'll be sure to offer the seeds here when/if I get them!

Joel  

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Hey Joel,

Now I'm on the lookout for those plantain plants--they need sanctuary in a place free of Joelean contempt! ;-)

That M. velutina actually looks better than the M. cavendishii I keep raving about...seeds, good, thanks.

Chris
 
those are some cool looking plants!!!
 
  • #10
please let us know how the fruit tastes!!
 
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