"DavePoole Torquay" wrote in message
oups.com...
There appear to be several forms of sikkimensis sloshing around; some
quite hardy, but others are very tender. I feel that unless you live
in the southern half of the country, it is definitely one to bring
under cover in winter. This past winter has tested a lot of plants and
it would seem that many have lost much if not all of their top growth.
Down here, all forms are hardy enough not to require any protection at
all and in mild winters retain some or most of their leaves. Go
further east along to Southampton or beyond and plants need the
'trunks' wrapped.

I planted mine as a 2ft. seedling in March 2000 and now it is a clump
of about a dozen 'trunks' varying in height from 3 - 10ft. excluding
leaves. By July the whole lot is up to 20ft. or more high. It resumes
growth about 2 weeks later than basjoo, but soon catches up. I prefer
this to basjoo since the leaves are less prone to wind-split, but on
the debit side they present more wind resistance and it is not unknown
for the 'trunks' to snap during violent summer storms.

Rupert, Ae Ae is a very tricky variety to grow well and extremely hard
to get. Much better to covet the variegated form of basjoo, but that
almost never becomes available Bookworm, the way I grow these
(basjoo, sikkimensis & balbisiana) is to provide a lofty canopy over
shade-loving 'understorey' palms (Chamaedorea, Arenga etc.). You can't
really stop them growing tall because that is the way they grow.

If you need something that remains at around 6ft. or so, maybe you
should try Musella lasicarpa instead. It really seems to do well in a
pot, appears to be happiest when root-bound and makes a very handsome,
tight clump of large, blue green leaves. After several years, the
oldest growth will flower spectacularly - rather like a giant, golden
yellow artichoke, which lasts for months on end. A big tub of this is
far easier to protect in winter since the 'trunks' never grow much more
than 3ft. high.

a little trivia...

Whilst living in Malaya/Malaysia many moons ago, we had hundreds of
bananas(variety unknown) growing nearby. They have suckers which shoot up
next to the adult plant & after a few years of producung bananas & leaves
for the local market, the adult plant is hacked down by machete & gets fed
to pigs. The suckers will now take over & normally a strong plant around
chest height will be chosen & the rest hacked off but you will often see new
growth from the adult plant or suckers coming up the following years. This
practice continues year in year out. Soil type normally rich but free
draining is important. I might be mistaken but i recall sometimes, the
locals dig up the suckers & hack it off the main plant & take it off to be
planted or potted for sale in the markets. The flowers or bulb are also a
delicacy, often stewed in curry just like ginger flowers.

I've not grown bananas here but i would imagine if your pot is big enough &
with the correct conditions, suckers will emerge after flowering. If yours
does.. you may try hacking off the main plant which i believe will enable
the shoots to grow faster. Regarding keeping them over winter... i've seen a
15' high banana growing in a walled garden along lake montreux in
Switzerland, planted in, not pot bound. I've been told they wrap it up over
winter. hope this helps.