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Original poster

musa basjoo banana plant

27 replies

rainydogday · 09/03/2021 08:14

Has anyone had any luck growing one in a pot? I have read loads on them and have always wanted one. Most advice has said to take into green house over winter (which we don't have). I have also read that they can be cut back and wrapped for the winter outside. Anyone done this? We live in the southwest so quite mild but we do get frost. It will be in a south facing courtyard near the house, so plenty of sun in the summer. I just love the look of the big leaves.

OP posts:
Kitsmummy · 09/03/2021 08:23

I bought 3 last year and they grew loads (in the ground) and were fab! I've cut them back and wrapped them this winter. Not unwrapped yet so keeping my fingers crossed! We are South West too with plenty of frost although in a sheltered position in the garden. By the way, if you do get one you'll need to keep it in a sheltered position anyway or the wind will completely tear up the leaves.

putthehamsterbackinitscage · 09/03/2021 14:50

We bought 2 plus an Abyssinie variety last year... as well as tree ferns

The Musa's and ferns are wrapped, and the abyssinie is over wintering in a dried out form following GW instructions.

Waiting nervously for unwrapping day!

Hoping they've all survived or it'll be expensive to replace them

Lovemusic33 · 09/03/2021 15:58

My mum has a few in pots, one is outside in a huge pot and stays out during the winter, they just wrap it in fleece and hope for the best. The smaller ones they bring indoors (conservatory).

Original poster
rainydogday · 09/03/2021 19:15

How exciting and nerve wrecking waiting to see if they have survived the winter! I have just bought a great big pot. If you plant a 2-3 foot plant do the leaves grow up really tall the first season? Or is it as it gets bigger?

OP posts:
putthehamsterbackinitscage · 26/03/2021 12:34

Sorry - didn't see your reply

They grow big 1st season .... this photo was early October when the plants had been in 4 months - they were planted as around 2 ft high plants

musa basjoo banana plant
Bluntness100 · 26/03/2021 12:37

Wow that’s really impressive putthe. We just bought one, it’s quite small, about a foot, moved it to a slightly bigger pot ans keeping it in the greenhouse just now, then will put in a large pot outside in a few weeks.

ListeningQuietly · 26/03/2021 12:48

My Basjoo has been in the ground for 20 years.
After the first frost I cut off the leaves and wrap the 6 foot stem in fleece for the winter.
When they start growing I unwrap them for the season.

Ensete and Musella Lasiocarpa go into the polytunnel for the winter (in big tubs)
Velutina needs it warmer

putthehamsterbackinitscage · 26/03/2021 15:39

We're thinking of unwrapping this weekend and then keeping fleece on standby for any late frosts ...

Advice is generally they should be ok to -5 provided it's not a really prolonged cold spell so we ought to be ok.

Emilyontmoor · 26/03/2021 16:10

I first planted a musa over ten years ago. Since then they have multiplied and are sort of marching towards the sun so make sure that you plant them with room in the direction of most sun where the new plants will form! Each year the largest one (s) fruit (but then die and you have to cut them down completely, they don't come back). I cut them down to six feet and wrap them in several layers of fleece in the Autumn and will unwrap them in the next few days as they have grown about a foot already and I will need a pole to get their fleece outer coats off!

When they first fruited I looked online to see if it was some sort of first but turns out that whilst someone claimed a first in the 90s lots of people started planting bananas in the noughties and it is now common for them to be fruiting.

The woman in the garden behind does not even wrap hers (south of England ) and hasn't lost a mature one yet even to the beast from the East but even my tree fern didn't recover to frond that year so I haven't taken the chance.

It not letting me upload the photos Hmm

Emilyontmoor · 26/03/2021 16:15

try again

musa basjoo banana plant
Emilyontmoor · 26/03/2021 16:18

The largest ones easily reach 15ft and they make quite a dense plantation, mine is easily ten feet square currently with five plants but some years more. I fear for the Hamster's doorway!

putthehamsterbackinitscage · 26/03/2021 16:37

There is a brick pathway plus a railway sleeper edging between them and the door... I think we should be ok... 🤣

They are fab plants though... and they very quickly put on a lot of growth so you can transform a new garden quite quickly.

Ours was a new build with just grass this time last year and by Summer you'd never have known the plants in that bed were newly planted.

putthehamsterbackinitscage · 26/03/2021 16:43

We're further north (midlands) and decided not to take a chance on Winter temps...

That said even when we lived in South Yorkshire, the only Winter we thought we'd lost something was I think 2010 when temps fell to -15 and we had snow for days... That year we thought we lost a cordylline but it eventually grew back from the roots.

Emilyontmoor · 26/03/2021 18:31

I have a Cordyline that just keeps dividing up the trunk and growing new trunks from the roots, presumably responding to hardship but not quite dying off. This year it had a new challenge, a family of mice that you could see feasting on the seeds in the evening, looked it up and turns out they can kill it off so they looked a bit less charming after that!

This week I took delivery of another potential jungle monster - a Tetrapanax.....

Original poster
rainydogday · 28/03/2021 09:20

I have a very large pot waiting, just waiting for some bigger ones to be available online to buy. So excited

OP posts:
ListeningQuietly · 28/03/2021 15:34

Tetrapanax are FAB.
Enjoy.

putthehamsterbackinitscage · 29/03/2021 16:22

So the unwrapping did happen this weekend....

Looks ok so far, now just a wait and see if everything grows but the tree ferns all gave new fronds waiting to grow and the bananas see solid even if the outside of the trunk
Is a bit scruffy and damp...

musa basjoo banana plant
musa basjoo banana plant
Original poster
rainydogday · 03/04/2021 10:59

Anymore banana plant updates? I have just order two. A red and a green plant. So excited.

OP posts:
Proudboomer · 03/04/2021 11:54

I really want to try growing one but so far everywhere I have looked online only has very small specimens plus I would rather buy a pup from an adult plant than one grown from seed.

ListeningQuietly · 03/04/2021 16:03

Best way to buy Basjoo and other Musa species is to go to a specialist nursery and but a plant where you can see the parent

itsmeagainagain · 03/04/2021 16:16

Where did you buy them from? Most seem out of stock or future delivery date when I’ve looked.

itsmeagainagain · 03/04/2021 16:17

sorry @rainydogday that question was in response to the two you've just bought...

Original poster
rainydogday · 03/04/2021 18:12

I got mine from yougarden.com, a friend just received hers and was happy with so I took the plunge. Think there is a few weeks wait for the bigger one. The small one is ready to ship out I believe. My plan is to try one in a
Pot and one in the garden

OP posts:
ListeningQuietly · 03/04/2021 18:51

I've just had a look at that website and have rather a problem with their pictures and descriptions.

The small potted Musa Basjoo - both of the lower pictures are of Canna indica
The banana in a pot they show several times is Cavendish, not basjoo

The three plants pack including the musella
the pictures of the potted plants are all cannas, not musa

What they call ensete, the middle one - the picture in a pot is of canna wyoming

Musella Lasiocarpa takes three years to reach flowering size (mine is 6 years old)

putthehamsterbackinitscage · 03/04/2021 18:54

@rainydogday that's probably ensure abyssiniie

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