Comment

Comment by TCLynx on October 10, 2010 at 2:20pm

The banana in that front porch grow bed has been sending out suckers for months (it is fall now and I planted it in the bed in the spring.)

Not sure of the variety, I believe it is one of the plants I purchased from a catalog that said it was a dwarf that would get about 4 feet tall, obviously the plant didn't read the description.

Bananas supposedly like lots of water but well drained soil. They also like lots of nutrients. They seem to do best with full sun but I've had plants grow well if slower in shade but I've never had any understory bananas fruit for me. Then again, this is only the second time I've had a banana plant fruit.

Comment by Ken Richardson on October 10, 2010 at 2:14pm

How old is the banana tree before it starts these suckers? what are the right conditions you talk about to grow? What type of banana tree is this, maybe drawf?

Comment by TCLynx on October 10, 2010 at 2:05pm

If you can dig a sucker out and get a little bit of attached root along with it, they tend to grow provided with the right conditions.

Comment by TCLynx on October 10, 2010 at 2:04pm

Here is a picture of a banana pump or sucker, they generally recommend not letting too many suckers grow if you want to get fruit.

Comment by TCLynx on October 10, 2010 at 1:57pm

pups, would be the suckers that tend to start around the base of bigger banana plants. Bananas are actually a herbaceous perennial and you can cut out the suckers to replant much like you divide many other perennial plants.

Comment by Ken Richardson on October 10, 2010 at 12:08pm

What are "pups"? How do you get them? Do you have a picture of one? Thanks, Ken

Comment by TCLynx on October 10, 2010 at 6:38am

I've never tried to collect seeds from a banana? I've always just transplanted the pups to make more plants.

Comment by Ken Richardson on October 9, 2010 at 10:48pm

I want to grow bananas like that. What are you going to do with the seeds?