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.

Phil

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.

Phil


You can take a bread knife to it and cut it down as hard as you like it will
regrow quite happily. The "stem" is not a true stem but is the bases of old
leaves growing from the centre the proto(?) stem is in the basal area and
only grows when the plant wishes to flower.


Outside? Depends on variety. Do you know?

pk

"Phil Long" wrote in message
...
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.

My memory says that the banana growers in South Africa cut the plants down
to ground level every third year in order to encourage fruiting.

Franz

Phil

Phil Long29/11/03 12:35

snipAlso would it survive if it was planted
outside? I live in the Midlands.

No. It wouldn't survive with us in South Devon. I know of only one person
who has managed this and he has a very small, walled garden, near the sea
and with its own micro-climate - David Poole - a former contributor to urg.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)

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
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

Phil Long29/11/03 12:35


snipAlso would it survive if it was planted
outside? I live in the Midlands.

No. It wouldn't survive with us in South Devon. I know of only one person
who has managed this and he has a very small, walled garden, near the sea
and with its own micro-climate - David Poole - a former contributor to urg.

I agree with Sacha. It's very mild here but bananas don't survive
planted outdoors even in incredibly sheltered favoured spots.

Janet (Isle of Arran, gulf stream)

The message
from "Franz Heymann" contains these words:
"Phil Long" wrote in message
...
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.

My memory says that the banana growers in South Africa cut the plants down
to ground level every third year in order to encourage fruiting.

Not the same variety though. This one was grown from seed......

--
Rusty Hinge http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm

Dark thoughts about the Wumpus concerto played with piano,
iron bar and two sledge hammers. (Wumpus, 15/11/03)

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.

Phil



I'd say if you planted it outside the frost would almost certainly kill it.
Although you can try fleece and suchlike to give it a fighting chance!

Shame really cos they are really nice plants!

SK

--
Check out my ebay auctions for Passifora caerulea and edulis seeds and
Morning Glory (Star of Yelta) seeds.
http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....sort=3&rows=50

Mine survives outside here in East Yorkshire, though admittedly for only 2
winters.

the local agricultural college have one about 20 ft high that has survived
for many years.

Trevor
Kirkburn
East Yorkshire



"Sacha" wrote in message
.. .
Phil Long29/11/03 12:35

snipAlso would it survive if it was planted
outside? I live in the Midlands.

No. It wouldn't survive with us in South Devon. I know of only one
person
who has managed this and he has a very small, walled garden, near the sea
and with its own micro-climate - David Poole - a former contributor to
urg.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)



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Mine survives outside here in East Yorkshire, though admittedly for only 2
winters.

the local agricultural college have one about 20 ft high that has survived
for many years.

Trevor
Kirkburn
East Yorkshire



"Sacha" wrote in message
.. .
Phil Long29/11/03 12:35

snipAlso would it survive if it was planted
outside? I live in the Midlands.

No. It wouldn't survive with us in South Devon. I know of only one
person
who has managed this and he has a very small, walled garden, near the sea
and with its own micro-climate - David Poole - a former contributor to
urg.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)



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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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WasTa30/11/03 4:59




"Sacha" wrote in message
.. .
Phil Long29/11/03 12:35

snipAlso would it survive if it was planted
outside? I live in the Midlands.

No. It wouldn't survive with us in South Devon. I know of only one
person
who has managed this and he has a very small, walled garden, near the sea
and with its own micro-climate - David Poole - a former contributor to
urg.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)

(top posting changed for logical sequence)

Mine survives outside here in East Yorkshire, though admittedly for only 2
winters.

the local agricultural college have one about 20 ft high that has survived
for many years.


If you fleece, pack straw round and generally produce its own environment
for it, almost anything will survive outside. But that wasn't what the OP
asked about. Even then, there is the danger that with sufficient frost deep
into the ground, it will not survive. The choice and the risk are his. Every
detail of an environment makes a difference with something of this sort -
wind shelter, proximity to a comparatively warm house wall, availability to
whatever sun a winter's day does produce, other houses or plants providing
shelter etc.
I grew things outdoors in Jersey, which over wintered without protection for
several years and then one sharp and rare frost has killed them. Caveat
emptor and urgler!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)

My wife and I have had banana trees/plants for years. We pot them and put
them inside during the winter. We either put them in front of a window that
gets lots of sun, or down stairs in a room with an overhead light and give
them 12 hours of light a day.

My brother in law digs his before the fall, cuts the leaves off but leaves
the a"trunk" and brings them in for the winter. Then he replants them in
the spring. They cant stand very cold weather.

Dwayne




"Phil Long" wrote in message
...
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.

Phil