My daughter sowed some banana seeds about 12 months ago. One seed
germinated and is now 6ft tall and visibly growing in our conservatory by
the day! The conservatory roof is 12ft max.
How high do they grow (gulp)

Do they survive outside? - We live in Leicestershire

If they have to stay indoors can they be "pruned " and if so will they grow
again (as was claimed at the NEC Gardeners World Exhibition)?

"Phil Long" wrote in message
...
My daughter sowed some banana seeds about 12 months ago. One seed
germinated and is now 6ft tall and visibly growing in our conservatory by
the day! The conservatory roof is 12ft max.
How high do they grow (gulp)

Depends on how big of a pot they are put in. The bigger the pot, the bigger
the plant. Ours have gotten to about 6 ft, but they were put out side only
during the summer. As the leaves died, new ones came back.

Do they survive outside? - We live in Leicestershire

If they have to stay indoors can they be "pruned " and if so will they
grow
again (as was claimed at the NEC Gardeners World Exhibition)?

Yes they will come back. You put them outside during the summer (if the
wind doesn't blow too strong), dig them up in the fall, shake most of the
dirt off of the roots, put he root ball into a plastic or paper bag, cut off
all the leaves, and store it in a cool building that wont let it freeze, and
replant in the spring. We lost two out of 6 one year, so now we just pot
them and bring them inside.

Dwayne

Phil Long wrote:

My daughter sowed some banana seeds about 12 months ago. One seed
germinated and is now 6ft tall and visibly growing in our conservatory by
the day! The conservatory roof is 12ft max.
How high do they grow (gulp)

Pretty high, but in the UK I've seen them outside at about 8 ft. More
in a greenhouse.

Do they survive outside? - We live in Leicestershire

Depends on species and how much shelter it has locally.. With the
information you've given the answer would be yes, if its the 'right'
kind, Musa basjoo

If they have to stay indoors can they be "pruned " and if so will they grow
again (as was claimed at the NEC Gardeners World Exhibition)?


Yes.. there is some very good information on the web. 'search at google
for Musa 'winter storage' and you should get enough to start with.
http://www.urbanjungle.uk.com/bananas.html is the sort of site you want.
//
Jim

"Phil Long" wrote in message
...
My daughter sowed some banana seeds about 12 months ago. One seed
germinated and is now 6ft tall and visibly growing in our conservatory by
the day! The conservatory roof is 12ft max.
How high do they grow (gulp)

Do they survive outside? - We live in Leicestershire

If they have to stay indoors can they be "pruned " and if so will they
grow
again (as was claimed at the NEC Gardeners World Exhibition)?


Well I have a Musa Basjoo, in a pot about 18" across, and it's currently
standing about 12-14 foot tall, churning out one leaf a week, at about 6-7
foot long each. However, if well fed and watered you can cut the plant right
across the main trunk and it should re-sprout with little difficulty. This
is the recommended treatment if the plant should get hit by frost early in
the year. It should start sending up new leaves from the middle of the trunk
within hours of it being cut so you'll soon know if all went well.
Duncan

p.s. They also send up suckers which can be detached and potted on, I bought
one banana plant, which died, but it's daughter! is the 12 foot monster, and
this one now has about 7 children and 2 grandchildren on the go. Now if only
I could find a shop to sell them for me !!!

"Phil Long" wrote in message
...
My daughter sowed some banana seeds about 12 months ago. One seed
germinated and is now 6ft tall and visibly growing in our conservatory by
the day! The conservatory roof is 12ft max.
How high do they grow (gulp)

Do they survive outside? - We live in Leicestershire

If they have to stay indoors can they be "pruned " and if so will they
grow
again (as was claimed at the NEC Gardeners World Exhibition)?


Well I have a Musa Basjoo, in a pot about 18" across, and it's currently
standing about 12-14 foot tall, churning out one leaf a week, at about 6-7
foot long each. However, if well fed and watered you can cut the plant right
across the main trunk and it should re-sprout with little difficulty. This
is the recommended treatment if the plant should get hit by frost early in
the year. It should start sending up new leaves from the middle of the trunk
within hours of it being cut so you'll soon know if all went well.
Duncan

p.s. They also send up suckers which can be detached and potted on, I bought
one banana plant, which died, but it's daughter! is the 12 foot monster, and
this one now has about 7 children and 2 grandchildren on the go. Now if only
I could find a shop to sell them for me !!!

"Druss" wrote in message
...
"Phil Long" wrote in message
...
My daughter sowed some banana seeds about 12 months ago. One seed
germinated and is now 6ft tall and visibly growing in our conservatory
by
the day! The conservatory roof is 12ft max.
How high do they grow (gulp)

Do they survive outside? - We live in Leicestershire

If they have to stay indoors can they be "pruned " and if so will they
grow
again (as was claimed at the NEC Gardeners World Exhibition)?


Well I have a Musa Basjoo, in a pot about 18" across, and it's currently
standing about 12-14 foot tall, churning out one leaf a week, at about 6-7
foot long each. However, if well fed and watered you can cut the plant
right
across the main trunk and it should re-sprout with little difficulty. This
is the recommended treatment if the plant should get hit by frost early in
the year. It should start sending up new leaves from the middle of the
trunk
within hours of it being cut so you'll soon know if all went well.
Duncan


I left mine totally unprotected last winter (London SW19), intending to let
it regrow from the roots. We were hit by some very hard and sustained
frosts, but it grew away as normal from the top as soon as the warm weather
started again. The outer old leaves were clearly badly damaged and I now
have an outer dry husky plant rather than smooth and shiny so I don't know
how well it would survive another winter without protection.

pk

"Druss" wrote in :

p.s. They also send up suckers which can be detached and potted on, I
bought one banana plant, which died, but it's daughter! is the 12 foot
monster, and this one now has about 7 children and 2 grandchildren on
the go. Now if only I could find a shop to sell them for me !!!

Have a word with your local garden centre.....

Maybe they will be willing to help you somehow....

Or ebay them.....

"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
"Druss" wrote in :

p.s. They also send up suckers which can be detached and potted on, I
bought one banana plant, which died, but it's daughter! is the 12 foot
monster, and this one now has about 7 children and 2 grandchildren on
the go. Now if only I could find a shop to sell them for me !!!

Have a word with your local garden centre.....

Maybe they will be willing to help you somehow....

Or ebay them.....

eBay would be fun, imagine the shpping costs, I think the smallest of them
is about 5 foot tall and stuck in a shiny terracotta pot. The pot alone
costs me £10, so i'm not sure I could sell them for enough to make it
worthwhile. Mind you I'd love to take one of these to the local post office
and ask to put it on their scales, just to see the look on their faces.

Duncan

"Druss" wrote in :

eBay would be fun, imagine the shpping costs, I think the smallest of
them is about 5 foot tall and stuck in a shiny terracotta pot. The pot
alone costs me £10, so i'm not sure I could sell them for enough to
make it worthwhile. Mind you I'd love to take one of these to the
local post office and ask to put it on their scales, just to see the
look on their faces.

*Ahem*

Tell the prospective buyer they will need to pick it up themselves!

Druss wrote:

"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
"Druss" wrote in :

p.s. They also send up suckers which can be detached and potted on, I
bought one banana plant, which died, but it's daughter! is the 12 foot
monster, and this one now has about 7 children and 2 grandchildren on
the go. Now if only I could find a shop to sell them for me !!!

Have a word with your local garden centre.....

Maybe they will be willing to help you somehow....

Or ebay them.....

eBay would be fun, imagine the shpping costs, I think the smallest of them
is about 5 foot tall and stuck in a shiny terracotta pot. The pot alone
costs me £10, so i'm not sure I could sell them for enough to make it
worthwhile. Mind you I'd love to take one of these to the local post office
and ask to put it on their scales, just to see the look on their faces.

Duncan

Take a look, under 'plants' catagory in ebay.. Ypu'd be surprised what
size plants people are selling..
//
Jim