On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 12:35:12 +0000 (UTC), Phil Long wrote:

I have a banana plant grown from seed that is now about 7ft tall. Over the
summer it grew well producing several large leaves. It now appears to have
stopped growing and looks rather unsightly with a bare stem and three
yellowing leaves at the top. It is presently in a heated conservatory but I
am considering hiding it away in the greenhouse and hoping it will survive
the winter.

I have been told that I could cut the stem at the base and new growth will
appear next spring. This seems rather too good to be true! Does anyone
have any experience of this? Also would it survive if it was planted
outside? I live in the Midlands.

When I was a child growing up in Maryland, my father grew bananas
for a few years. I don't know if they were the hardy Musa bajoo
or a tender tropical form. Every fall he would dig them up and
lay them flat on the basement floor on newspaper, where they were
cool and dry, though humid. Replanted in the spring once the
weather turned warm, they took off and grew freely.

What he had during the winter was, in essence, a giant rootless
bud.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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