Banana

tr says...
the small fruits will never get any bigger ,, just cut of the bell and leave plenty of stalk to grab when cutting the bunch down .. I hang mine upside down .

trikus says...
they really need an inch of rain a week , every week to get nice fat fruit . wait until the fruit has rounded out before picking . it will be very angular now . can take up to 6 months depending on what type it is . wait until you hear the fruit bats screaming and eating the first hand then pick !!! hehe .. bag them if you can get up there , and make a note to check in 3 months or so .. keep an eye on them .. I love home grown bananas .. got 6 different ones planted out no , and they are growing like the clappers.

John I. says...
Hi All, I just planted my first Lady Finger and Red Dacca. They are Cool Banana brand (from Humphris nursery). I was just wondering if anyone has had luck with fruiting bananas in Melbourne?

Lucy says...
I saw an office in Carinish rd Clayton near railway line had a banana grown in the big pot indoor with a flower about to open.

Tony says...
Hi Stella, A banana plant/tree itself doesn't have a deep root system even late into fruit bearing stage. However, the suckers (little banana plants) will eventually spreadout extensively in the surrounding areas. I therefore wouldn't plant any banana tree near an above ground swimming pool.

Jantina says...
John l, ok, I will email Kirst who has bananas growing and fruiting next door to her in Melb. and see if she can ask the neighbours if they will talk to you or let you visit.

Jantina says...
Email has gone out, we await reply. Goodness I thought I was keen but having to uproot plants and store them over winter or wrap them in straw and chickenwire? I have my hands full agonizing over the best site I have for things and then keeping them watered and protected from our occasional frosts!

Jantina says...
Thankyou Jason, you've been off the airwaves for a while and our computer went haywire and I lost email addresses etc.Could you email me again with your ph.no. please and we can make arrangements to collect the banana. Also you probably didn't see the post where I said I've got 3 grafted lucumos coming and did you want one?

Jantina says...
John l, have received email from Kirst. Apparently the man next door has moved but she has fruited bananas herself and said she will try to find time to write on the forum.

John I. says...
Jason, where did you get your Dwarf Ducasse from?

John I. says...
Thanks Firefly. I was hoping to find somewhere a little closer to Melbourne.

HappyEarth says...
The seperated banana suckers will be dwarf also

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

John I. says...
This weeks Gardening Australia program (episode 9) had a segment on how too replant a sucker. If your interested go to http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2528894.htm and click on the "Watch the story" link to view the video.

Jantina says...
Hi John I, how goes it ? Have you managed to find anyone with a fruited banana yet? I haven't heard from Jason again and I sent away for a dwarf ducasse from bluesky bananas. It was only a small plant but is putting out new leaves and growing well. I've got it in a north facing partially enclosed verandah along with my other subtropicals.

Jantina says...
What's aluminet John? I think seasol helps plants resist frost. What about putting some warm bricks near the base of the banana on those really cold nights? Or a big container of really hot water?

John I. says...
Hi Jantina. Heres a picture of my bananas. The large one is a Lady Finger, which was planted mid Jan (when it was about a foot high). The small one at the back is a Ducasse which I planted on the weekend, and the small one at the front is a red Dacca that I had replanted into a large pot in late Jan, and replanted in its current location last night.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

John I. says...
Hi Jantina,
I finally found a supplier for Aluminet, but I think the cost is going to be prohibitive. Looks like warm bricks and hot water may have to do.

trikus says...
Amanda , home grown will be far better as they are usually much superior cultivars than the commercial cavendish .
Also Bunnings would be selling tissue cultured plants , no one would dig up the thousands they require for a min. order !
Small plants generated by T/C may look like a water shoot but grow much better . Even a water shoot will grow but take longer .

Kath says...
Hi Amanda,I bought one banana plant years ago for $2 & have had kilos & kilos from it's offspring. They are no bother-I chucked it in the chookyard where the retic hits it & never fertilize it, & it's fantastic with nice big bunches. Since then I've bought some Cavendish from Bunnings & Tass 1 & Lady's fingers. I'm surprised more people don't grow them as they look great & watching the bananas form is pretty cool-I've had many people comment they'd never seen them forming close up -they are fascinating to watch over a few days as they change so quickly. Kids especially like picking a banana and it is so much nicer than getting it from a big airconditioned supermarket when you can bet they have been gassed to ripen.I am hour south of Perth so they can handle a bit of cooler weather.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
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amanda says...
oops - sorry john didn't mean to offend. Gor for it! My plant definitely a water shoot according to a professional grower. I live in low rainfall area and don't recommend dripper irrigation for these - it's too confining for the suckers. I was reading Glowinskis report about apples and tend to agree - u have to weigh up the pros n cons i guess. Never-the-less my banana plant is getting the chop 2morrow to make way for something else (a capulin cherry) - and that's the fun of gardening - you can always change your mind!?

peter says...
amanda,
is that report from glowinski about
apples available anywhere for me to read.

John I. says...
John I. says...
Hi Amanda,
I saw the Gardening Australia segment. The banana they planted is branded Cool Bananas www.humphrisnursery.com.au/coolbanana/info/coolbananas.html
They are sold by bunnings and various other nurseries around Melbourne. I have three varieties of them. From what I have read they are considered cool climate bananas because they are a little bit more cold tolerant, and because the time it takes for fruit to ripen is shorter than other varieties.

stef heinze says...
G'day John I, I have a 3 year old cool bananas, Dwarf Cavendish growing in Kew against high eastern fence (to protect against hot NW winds in Summer); 7 ft high and going beautifully with minimal care. Have found them at Bulleen Art and Garden and Greener Life in Hawthorn

stef heinze says...
Hi Juanita, any tips on how to get them to fruit?

John I. says...
Hi Stef and Juanita,
My Red Dacca is already showing signs of frost damage from the light frosts we had recently ( it's in it's first year). I noticed that the temps we get out here in the west are general 3 to 4 degrees below the Melbourne forcast.

Trikus, it's not recomended to feed and water bananas over winter down here in Melbourne. We don't get much growth due to the low temps, and the new growth is succeptable to frost. The blossum boosters a good idea though.

John I. says...
Stef, a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen but high in potasium and phosphorus is often recomended as a way to boost flowering (and support fruit growth).

stef heinze says...
Thanks John

John I. says...
Micheal, I scoured the web a few month ago to find an answer to this. The experts all claimed that it was not possible. I did however come across a blog where the guy had a plant (dwarf variety) in a pot next to his desk at work. He watered and feed it daily and it did flower and begin to fruit. The blog kind of ended there so there was no mention of the fruit maturing.

randey says...
my first plantain was in an old copper and with vigorous feeding and watering it not only flowered but gave me about 3 hands that matured. just keep in mind that if you do pot grow them you are going to have use a BIG pot and be aware that you will have to repot every so often to accomodate the new suckers.

marg says...
Hi stef just remember they are small I am in Camberwell so just around the corner..email syndet@msn.com.au and I'll send you my address

cheers m

juanita says...
Any suggestions what's the best fertiliser high in potassium & phosphorus for bananas?...Tnx in advance.

amanda says...
Hi Kath - sorry 4 your losses!! thats every gardeners worst nightmare picture!?
I have two mates that are ex-banana growers from Carnarvon and they have both looked at my plant n had a laugh!

Interesting their thoughts tho' - in WA (outside of kimberley) we are growing in a more marginal climate. They plant very (very) thickly in C'von. This is to increase shade n humudity - but also for support (still get cyclonic winds there) I keep thinking of B'nanas growing in their home environ - supported by the rain forest and the concommitant humidity/rainfall.

Your plants look great! Was that the recent storm we all copped? Every single one of my trees got thru' that with no damage at all - I was stoked - I have been practising deep infrequent watering and been "treating them mean to keep them keen" - not because I knew any better but it just made 'sense' to me somehow? Maybe a couple of 2.4m star pickets and some loops of rope could save them next time?

Jantina says...
They look like Ladyfinger bananas Michael, I have some plants growing and doing well but too young to fruit yet. Where is Wakeley? Kath I think I would have cried, they look like they were doing great.

Speedy says...
Banana names are really frustrating.
There are differnt names in different countries and cultures for bananas of the same variety
and same names for different varieties.
very confusing. :-?

The little banana in the pic is known in some contries as 'Lady finger',
but in Aust that name is used for other bananas.
As trikus said, it's generally known in Aust as 'Monkey Banana'.
I think it's official name is 'Sucrier' (genome formula AA).

I managed to get a small plant in early 1990's but it didn't survive. :-(

Malay friends know it as 'Pisang Mas' (lit. Golden banana) ,
and Thai friends call it 'Klue Khai'

Trikus, if you do manage to secure some and get it to TC,
I'd really love some.
Please let me know if you do. :-)

Here's a very handy reference for Banana cultivars.

http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Musa.html#con.names

Cheers

Speedy says...
Did whoever you bought it from have a name for it?
The 'monkey banana' or 'sucrier' is about that big and has quite a thin skin and a sort of gold tone to the flesh.
The stem of the one in the pic looks a bit bigger in proportion to the fruit than I remember though.
maybe this is something else and the not in season 3/4 size banana is 'monkey banana'

John I. says...
Hi Michael, It looks like a super dwarf cavendish. I don't know where to get them but have a look at this link for some info...
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/Bananas/Musa_cavendishi_Super_Dwarf.php

John I. says...
Michael, there is a nursery near Melbourne that sells a super dwarf banana but when I asked what type it was and if it fruited I was told that they didn't know. Here is a link to their website...
http://www.denisestropicalgardens.com.au/products.php?base=34

Sally says...
I have seen super dwarf banana musa acuminata it says ornamental but was told still edible looked on the net but could not get a proper response if anyone can help thx

Jess says...
so even if it states ornamental should be ok because i saw one exactly the same musa acuminata but stayed away i didnt want to waste my time if i couldnt eat them so u think will be fine?

John I. says...
Hi Sally, where did you see the super dwarf banana?

John I. says...
Hi Sally, I can't find much information about the super dwarf from australian websites. According to some of the international websites they are often advertised as ornamental but do produce small sweet eadible fruit. The main varieties seem to be the super dwarf novak, and super dwarf cavandishi. Then there are a whole range of brand named versions in the US. I think it is worth a try anyway. How long have you had yours?

John I. says...
Sally, I always thought that ornamental meant that it didn't fruit at all or that the fruit was of such a poor quality that it wasn't worth eating. From what I've read recently this does not appear to be true. There is a good chance that your super dwarf will produce small sweet fruit that could taste nice.

John I. says...
Thanks Sally. If it does fruit I'd love to get a pup from you. Good luck. Keep us posted.

Jimmy says...
Just bear in mind they ripen very late in the season, so you might be best to pick them ealry and ripen inside with a ripe apple as a source of etylene in a bag for best results.

Jimmy says...
Bunnings normally have some over summer, otherwise Tass 1 trees in Baskerville always has them,

Eddie says...
Hi Juanita as per my pictures i roughly framed the area then put the clear roofing on top and put shade cloth around the frame and also lined it with bubble wrap from the inside and did not die only opened the side during nice days otherwise just watered and feed them. i live in the south east suburbs and my friends neighbour didnt protect and was not looking the best. Hope this will help you and others.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
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Charles cant spell says...
My Cavandish (I think) has taken 3 years from a knee high sucker to flower. I was getting to much wind damage on the leaves and not enough love. Its suckers are doing much better as I improve the wind issue and microclimate. I was cosidering putting shadecloth over the top to keep all the wind out but might see how they go.

ITs 40ish today and they dont show any sign of stress.

How tall are you bananas Kath ? They look 3-4 meters or so. I wonder if mine will get larger with more protection.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1	Picture: 2

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi Maurice,

I have had no problem with banana plants in Melbourne in winter. They cope very well, I have done nothing.

I lost one (got burnt) during bush fire season last year but 2 suckers came up so it was ok.

I have had the tall Cavendish plant fruited a couple of year ago twice, 3 years apart and very skinny hands. I abandoned that plant because of the drought, no water for them. I now have a water tank.

Three years ago, I started to grow again (dwarf lady finger), the first year I grew in pot from a rhizome, transfer into the ground the second year and lost the main one and this year the
plant is doing well. I read the QLD DPI website the other day and found for every plant, I must feed 800 grams of lime, 240 grams of nitrogen, 600 grams of potash and 60 gram of phosphate divided into 4 application from September to May (I did not do that for my first one, no wonder the fruits did not form properly).

I have done my 1st application in combination of watering every day. I could see them getting stronger and bigger every day.

My plant has blotchy pattern on the leaves when young.

I hope this helps.

Good luck.

Jason says...
Ive just picked up a Cavendish from Trees A Green in forrestfield yesterday. $15
Not sure how much success Ill have with it but for $15 its worth a shot.

Just repotted it into a larger pot today and keeping it in semi shade during this 40 degree week we are having.

Hows the weather up Geraldton way Amanda?

Mish says...
Hi everyone

Jason: I just picked up a Cavendish the other day too. Very excited about the adventure... It says on the tag 'perfect for containers'... or 'grow indoors'... (strange), but what size I am wondering? 50L or 100L? What size pot have you put yours in?

My main worry is protecting it from the wind... as I don't have any place in the garden where it isn't windy.

John I. says...
Does anyone know how to determine the height of a banana plant? Do you measure from the ground to the tip of the tallest leaf?

John I. says...
Hi Megan, as far as I can tell from visiting numerous websites, it measured from the ground at the base to the point where the leaves emerge.

John I. says...
My Blue Java banana plant arrived today... I'm very excited so I thought I would just share that with everyone.

John I. says...
Phil. Great picture, I can't wait... Should be about three years if they survive our Melbourne weather.

jerry says...
i live in melton, victoria and i have a banana tree which is producing bananas

trikus says...
BJ , you will need a massive pot ,plant 1 out, it will grow great in your climate , and if rented premises you can always dig up a sucker and take with you when leaving .
nb; as long as you are not leaving the banana growing region you are in now .

John I says...
Jerry, do you have any pics of your banana? What variety do you have?

trikus says...
Give yourself about 1m from the fence line so you can get in there to cut off suckers . The stands can get very big , this is my best grower and I should have thinned it out a bit more than I have . I have 2 bunches hanging on it now , about 1 month apart . Both are propped up on bamboo supports and they are stringed together with baling twine . These are SUPERB TASTING FRUITS .

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Well done Marg - I knew you could do it!

HappyEarth says...
Hey Marg ... they wont ripen up until next spring/summer. Put a bag on it when you cut the bell of the stalk - which you do when you start getting lots of little bananas emerging. You'll need to support the plant as well otherwise you risk it blowing over from strong winds.

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

gus says...
Great forum everybody, inspired me to grow bananas here in Perth. Just cant find the dwarf varieties!

BJ says...
Thought I'd post a few pics in here of the Banana plots up on Murray Island. The interesting trellising and support system and fruit 'wraps' caught my eye. Not to mention the masses of fruit...

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1	Picture: 2

trikus says...
1 bet the bamboo scaffold can be used for checking and harvesting as well.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi BJ,

You could get some tropical fruits on the way from Cooktown back to Cairns.
- Amazone farm in Mossman on the main street, just 5 minutes out of town.
- Port Doughlas Sunday market
- Rusty market in Sheridan Street Cairns city, open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6 AM but normally, tropical fruits may be gone by 9 AM.

Enjoy your time in Cairns.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi BJ,

Yes, I agree with you that inland road via Mareeba is much better and safer than the coastal way (Pord Doughlas, Mossman, Bloomfield etc..).

If you only have a few hours on Saturday then the best place to go is Rusty market about 2 Kms from the airport. That all you need to go.

Mangosteen and rambutans and lots of tropical fruits in season right now. Hopefully you could get some even you arrive at lunch time.

I would not try Amazone in Mossman even though it is about 70 kms from Cairn and 10 kms from Port Doughlas but getting there using winding Captain Cook HW (after northern beaches) it will take you more than one hours not counting the time to get back to Cairns.

Last time when I was there, they had green sapotes and mamey sapotes from the working farm.

I was told that there are a number of tropical fruit farms in Cooktown. I would pop in a farm and ask if I could buy some fruits from them if I was you.

Safe driving and good luck.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
I am glad you had some nice fruits to eat.

BJ says...
Is Bluggoe the same type of plantain you are after, or are you after a special type of Plantain?

Steven says...
Hey everyone

I just wanted to ask? do bananas need to be cross pollinated in order to fruit? i bought a banana a couple of years ago which has now turned into about 5 banana plants. once the greenhouse is finished im going to plant them in the ground and am obviously hoping for fruit. but seeing that all the plants are suckers from one banana plant will this cause a problem in fruiting?

Thanks

Steven

Rev says...
Hey Trikus

sounds like we need to get those other plantains out of the banana zones
then they become legitimate

what you grow outside designated zones is your own business

Rev says...
lime/gypsum/dolomite is like? $14 max per 20-25kg sack
worth every cent

if you pee on your bananas religiously theyll get all the Nitrogen, phosphorus and potash they need!

as a northerner
ill honestly say
that cavendish the is WORST banana of the 5 or 6 i can legally grow/buy
ill only buy it if i have to

it ships well
thats about it

the banana equivalent of a cardboard tomato

you have so much ahead of you when you get back to real bananas!

Rev says...
search for 'cool bananas' range
many new sp available

sweeter, tastier, diff colour and textures

i think with bananas that variety is good!

Steven says...
Hey Rev

Yeah thats the type of bought, cool bananas ill check out what else they have available.

Ive tried lady finger before, i know alot of people like them but personally i dont really see what the fuss is over them. maybe ill try out the other varieties.

Thanks alot

Steven

Rev says...
Most bananas are eaten under ripe IMO

Cool bananas = Backyard bananas
same diff
i dont know if they are related businesses but the sell the same cultivars, except CB has red dacca
which only commercial growers are allowed to have up here

whatever banana you have - microclimate for extra heat and summer humidity and irrigation would help id think
Good thing is that bananas thrive on greywater

John I says...
Hi Rev,

Yeah your right cool bananas are pretty much the same as backyard bananas except for one or two cultivars (red dacca, blue java, bluggoe).

The difference is that humphris is a wholesale nursery while backyard sells to both retail nurseries and direct to public (via mail order). Not all nurseries stock all the cool bananas varieties (I couldn't find a red dacca anywhere in the western melbourne suburbs earlier this year). Also the labels on the pots can often get lost or mixed up. The red dacca that I thought I bought a couple years back turned out to be a cavendish (I suspect... it hasn't fruited yet). At least with direct from wholesaler you'd expect to get what you payed for.

http://www.humphrisnursery.com.au/coolbanana/info/coolbananas.html

http://www.backyardbananas.com.au/order.html

speedy says...
New introductions ...
sounds good, I'd be interested to see what they are.

Of the Backyard bananas, I want to get Dwarf Ducasse (Kluay Nam-Wa).
It seems to be the most popular dessert banana in Thailand.
Most recipe I've seen with banana call for Kluay Nam-Wa
...Khao Tom Mat , Kluay buat chee

Rev says...
Hey BJ
ive found my Platanos
Local central american gardener

as far as im concerned its bluggoe. legal. end of story :D

Kat says...
I want to grow Bananas in Melbourne and I'd love to some advice - especially from John (I'm also in the West).

We are going to renovate next year and we're drawing our plans with growing bananas in mind. We will have a north facing masonry wall in a fairly sheltered area (2m x 6m) against which we plan to grow our bananas.

Do you think this will be enough to get them fruiting? We are toying with the idea of building an attached greenhouse, but not sure if it is necessary and worried about the cost.

Also interested to hear which varieties are best; how many we could fit in that space and where to purchase from

cheers,

John I. says...
... The area that you have described for planting your bananas sounds ideal (as opposed to where mine are planted). You may still get some frost damage but I think covering with cloth will help as the wall will provide some heat.

Don't plant the bananas to close together as they will develop pups and start to fill the area. I think a minimum of about 1 to 1.5 meters would be about right.

According to Jason the Ducasse banana is the most cold tolerant that he has had. As I said I removed mine but this was due to poor soil preparation. I did some research on US websites that indicated that Blue Java would do well in a cool climate so I planted one in October.

The Cool Bananas range of plants are usually available from Dec in Bunnings, Mitre 10, and other nurseries. You can also order banana plants online from Backyard Bananas. Have a look at the links I posted mid July for what's available. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Jason says...
I tried Dwarf Cavandish once but I could never get it to grow enough to flower, Dwarf Ducasse is infinitely faster growing for cool climates. But the full size Ducasse continues to be more hardy than the Dwarf over winter (it gets damaged much less by temps near 0c than the Dwarf).

Still the Dwarf is my pick for fastest growing and earliest fruiting, I expect mine to throw a flower sometime over Summer hopefully after it has a few new healthy leaves. When you get a wide and short leaf that's the one the flower follows up, it's very obvious and easy to tell the flower is on the way once you see that leaf. The stem bulges as the flower comes up too. Currently the Dwarf is opening it's second new leaf for the Spring, it will speed up quite a bit from now on. It's about 5-6 feet tall and just starting it's third Year (I started from a tiny 10cm tall spindly tissue culture).

I've had Lady Finger fruit before but not very well so I concentrate mostly on the Ducasse's now

John I. says...
Hi Jason, silly question but does the banana plant continue to produce leaves after the flower has emerged? It seems to me that if it flowers in summer and the fruit doesn't ripen for several months, then with winter leaf damage my plants wont have any good leaves to help produce large edible fruit?

John I. says...
Thanks trikus. Sounds like it may be an issue for me down here in Melbourne. I'll have to figure out a (cost effective) way to protect the leaves from wind damage.

John I. says...
Hi Eddie, I took these pictures this morning. You can see the wind damage on my largest plant (lady finger). The small plant by itself is my Blue Java. I had it sitting in a pot over winter and planted it in October.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1	Picture: 2

John I. says...
Thanks Eddie, I'm thinking maybe making a few sheaths from frost cloth, to slide over a few leaves. I'd only do this after/if the flag leaf emerges. I'll be disappointed if this doesn't happen over summer.

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Great looking plantation there trikus - what varieties do you grow? I had ordered a Blue Java, Dwarf Ducasse and Goldfinger last year from Blue Sky and they are powering away after arriving as tissue cultured plants, phenomenal growth rates,

Eddie says...
Any pictures trikus and phil

MiLK_MaN says...
Hi,

I'm growing some bananas in the north suburbs of Melbourne. I'm trying them in pots, and given the heat and humidity we've had in the last few weeks they are starting to grow pretty quickly.

I've got a Blue Java and Dwarf Ducasse. First time I've ever grown bananas, so will see how I go.

I water them daily at the moment, the excess water just drains out of the pot so I'm not real concerned about over watering. I feed with compost tea every couple of weeks, and with bokashi juice when it's available.

My house faces about 10 degree north, and I have a masonry wall I will put the bananas right next to when they are big enough, so I should be ok with overwintering these.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

John I. says...
Hi Marg,

They look good. I guess all the cold weather has slowed them down a bit but it looks like you should have plenty of ripe bananas before the end of summer (if not sooner). I'm glad to hear they survived winter.

I'm not sure if bagging them will help with ripening (I thought bags were used to protect the bananas from birds, fruit bats and sunburn). Couldn't hurt to try though.

I'm very exited at the moment because my first hand of 9 bananas on my lady finger has just appeared this afternoon.

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Picture: 1

Mrs V says...
Hi..i have a 17mths old banana tree and just about 90cm tall. I noticed that there's about 3 little banana like growth around it. Is that what you called banana suckers? what should i do? should i dug it out or just let it grow with my banana tree?
thank you.

fruitist says...
Red Banana.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

Grali says...
Hi all,

I just put in my first bananas, a dwarf caverdish and a red dacca. I'm in bayside Melb so relatively frost free (10min walk from the beach) so I hope all will go smoothly. They're in the backyard with is paved so hopefully it will act a bit like a heat sink and keep them going.
Reading this has now inspired me to go out and see if my local Bunnings has a dwarf ducasse to add to the collection. Keep up the good work ppl.

Shell says...
Great thread!

Check out Bunnings now for the Red Dacca, I recently added one to my collection.

I have had a Cavendish growing in a pot for a couple of years - took it out for some tlc and to remove a sucker on the weekend. Have learnt a lot since reading this thread and going to give it a whole lot more lovin'!
I really just want mine to flower since visiting the Whitsundays and watching one flower outside my hotel room. Fruit would be a bonus

snottiegobble says...
Good luck with it Jason. Would some form of plastic protection be advisable?

snottiegobble says...
Absolutely, I have never contemplated bananas before having only seen one tree in Vic near Geelong ( Dinosaur Hotel). If you can grow them & get them to produce fruit in Portland it should give everyone down south confidence to have a go.

Gordo says...
Hi fellow fruit-lovers, check out www.backyardbananas.com.au/ for all advice, supply, recipes, etc for bananas. They have been hit by cyclone, but are back up and running. Always great service. Lovely to deal with.
I was so happy to find PLATANOS or plantains (cooking bananas).

Grali says...
Do other people note the their banana seems to wilt on hot days? I try to chuck a bucket of water on mine daily so I don't know if I'm not watering it enough or whether them usually wilt in full sun on a hot day.

Eddie says...
Hey Grali iam in Melbourne too and as said need alot of water but if you mean wilting as in the leaves flap back but still erect in a way thats just the plant not needing any more sun so it closes back its (photosynthesis) the plant controls how much sun it needs hope thats helps and iam 99% sure iam right with that but happy if i get corrected. Maybe a pic will help us help u when it occurs

snottiegobble says...
Ok now I am serious about growing bananas ( seen their price lately?)
My kavendish now has 2 pups, but I know it will soon run out of the pig manure,
b&b,& potting mix that I incorporated into the hole before planting into my WA soily sand. What I would like to know is how quick do the roots spread out? I wish to dig holes round the plant & bury more manure, compost etc. The tree has now been in the ground 5 weeks+.

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Don't forget to choose your pups carefully to use for propagating more plants. Watershoots are pretty much useless so you need to wait for your banana tree to produce a spear shaped sucker which will go on to bear fruit.
http://www.hardytropicals.org/index.php/blog/entry/splitting_banana_pups

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John Mc says...
Blue Java banana - any one know where I might be able to buy one?

The only source I can find is Backyard Bananas in Nth Qld. The only problem with them is that they will only send 50mm culture tubes @$10ea. That's fine, I'm about to place an order for 4 plants with postage of $10.
I thought I'd do a little ask around before I went ahead with my order.

It's going to be tricky nursing 2 month old tissue culture plants over winter. It's a good thing they send detailed instructions on how to raise them.

John Mc says...
Thanks for the assurance on the tissue culture plants. Phil didn't have any trouble with his either. A ring around all the local nurseries had a negative result as expected. I did come across a goldfinger which was surprising, it'll be picked up tomorrow.

Jantina says...
Good idea trikus, how's it all going with the cleanup?

Lachlann says...
Brad even a very small patch of a few square metres is enjoyable. They cope with a little bit of crowding and shade as long as you pre-emptively thin the suckers very well as time goes by so that you don't have a lot of crowded big stems.. Circles can also be made from a start with just one plant; suckers spreading outwards like a mushroom circle, only slower, and removing any growth in the centre as well as thinning out the peripheral suckers.

Grali says...
Thanks Eddie and Trikus. If we have another hot day (its Melb so who knows) I'll try to get a pic. I'm not sure if what it is as it seems to happen even after a good soaking.

Hey with the current price of bananas backyard growing in places like Melb might even become mainstream.

snottiegobble says...
I dont know much about bananas yet, but I do know that a little Seasol in water helps plants through the trauma of being moved. it is best though to soak the pot first using seasol before transplanting, & then water the plant in with it also.
My kavendish has never looked back using this method yet its been damned hot here ever since!

Steven says...
From my understanding nash. what you need to do is allow one pup to grow to a reasonable size as the main plant. then only allow one other pup to develop as the daughter plant. Genetically they are identical as they come from the same plant so they all should grow as well as long as one isnt sick in some way.

One plant will only produce one bunch of bananas then die back. once this is done cut the main plant down and chop it up as mulch for the daughter plant to now become the main plant. And obviously repeat the process as long as you can.

Regards

Steven

Animal Lover says...
I am growing my 1st 3 banana believe all my are dwarf cavadish. I found that they will often leaves appear to die, however my thery is the plant is trying to conserve energy to produce another leave and each time they drooped there lower leaves a new leaf has emerged. Good to know that other melbournians have had some success with fruiting! I'm in narre warren area.

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Nick says...
I have a dwarf cavendish too in a pot and its already got 6 or so leaves since I bought while also retaining all its original leaves, except the lowest one.

Jason says...
It wont ripen over Winter but if the leaves stay undamaged until Spring it will ripen then. Can't say what variety it is

Gary says...
Hi

Have first flower on Goldfinger. Plant been in just over 2 years growing at Heathmere, Portland Vic. In photo on right side of Goldfinger is a Dwarf red Dacca same age. Just wondering if it's necessary to remove the stems? If u have the room to leave them on, I'v left mine on, would u get more bunches? And if the flower get through winter do i need to put bag over it? And is it true bananas don't need pollinating to get fruit?

Thanks Gary.

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Brendan says...
Hi Nick,
I use Super Growth from Katek, plus any manure I can get.
Even Rooster Booster from bunnings works well, just add some extra sulphate of potash.

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John I. says...
Hi Drady1990,
As long as the stems are ok then they will be fine. They will start to push new leaves as soon as they get some warm weather.

Drady1990 says...
thanks everbody i appreciate it.

Drady1990 says...
Hey can anyone help out with the best pots to grow bananas in. Thanks

Lissa says...
Hi all.
Does anyone think they can help me to identify my banana variety from the pics? Taken at various times from the beginning of the flower head, to fruit just forming to almost current.

It's a dwarf but a friend growing the Dwarf Ducasse (which I have a small plant of from Blue Sky)says it's not this.

Nor is it blue enough to be a Blue Java.

The person who gave me the plant obtained it from someone else and doesn't know the variety.

Thanks.

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Drady1990 says...
These are my bananas hit by the cold weather of bathurst as you can one banana still has nice green leaves but the rest look very sad

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Jason says...
Drady, those bananas are fine, just a mild frost damage. once spring comes around they will grow again. You have to get a banana really cold and frozen under the ground to kill it, especially a large one. If you don't want to have them regrow from down low each year move them into the shed before Winter next time and leave them there until spring. People in New York dig them up and wrap them in newspaper without soil and leave them in the shed like that over Winter, then plant them again in Spring. But for you leaving them in the pot probably without any watering or very little over Winter will be fine

John I. says...
Drady1990,
Here's a picture of my dwarf red dacca after its first winter in the ground, and about a year later. As long as the corm is healthy (the part of the plant that is under ground), then it will start pushing new leaves out in spring.

You can remove the leaves now if you like or as I didi I left it until the first spring growth and then removed all the damaged leaves.

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Johan says...
Here is a photo of one of my banana plants I think it is “Sugar”.
The leafs are around 2 m long and the plant stands 4 meters tall.
I use CK88 as fertiliser it’s from Incitec Pivot 15.1 N, 4.4 P,11.5K and
13.6 S. I also add aglime and wood ash when the bunch is forming
I also mulch well so far the plants are at great health.
Love to get some red bananas looks like it is not easy.
Johan

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John I. says...
Hi Johan, Your bananas have a lovely yellow color. I hope they taste as good as they look. I have a Lady Finger banana here in Melbourne and I have been slowing picking them, although they are still quite small. I've been ripenning them in a plastic bag with an apple and the skin color of mine is mor of a brownish yellow.

John I. says...
Hi Juanita,
The bananas that I picked early were nice. They weren't as sweet as QLD bananas, but they had good texture and a pleasant tang (I'd rate them a 6 out of 10). The final hand ripened on the plant at the start of August, and they weren't so good. I don't know if it was because of frost damage but the top of the banana was edible but the bottom half was woody.

snottiegobble says...
Cmon guys, Im going bananas waiting to find out! (00)

grub says...
snottie forgot to ask you if ya pups were suskers or flag suckers.flag suckers have a narrow base and not suitable for transplanting

Lissa says...
I attended a garden workshop on banana growing a year or so back. It was terrific - informative and great presenter - and I went home and removed young plantlets (suckers? pups?) as advised.

But....each time I removed them the plant replaced them. Seems it really wanted two suckers on the go, so I eventually let it have what it wanted.

The main plant is now in fruit and the two ladies in waiting just sitting there nicely ready to do their thing when needed.

MiLK_MaN says...
I have three banana plants at home, two I left outside in winter to fend by themselves, the third I put under a grow light in my garage.

All 3 are back into their growing phase with the warmer weather in Melbourne. They are all in pots, will be interesting to see them fruiting and the reaction from neighbours when they walk past!

Can anyone advise when is the best time to bag the bunch? Do you wait until they are full sized but yet to ripen, or do you bag them as soon as you see them?

John Mc says...
I'm going to try a little experiment when I get my Blue Java tissue culture plants. Two are going in the ground and one is going into a recycling hydroponic pot system, something in the order of 35 to 45 litres. Bananas are very hungry and thirsty plants and I can't think of a better way to supply both as much nutrients and water as and when the plant needs it. I tried a crude hydro pot last year on some dwarf banana plants and they grew extremely well even though I had to manually water them, which wasn't enough in the end because of their growth rate. When they get to a certain size they have to be watered several times a day to keep the vigour up and I just wasn't home enough to give them what they wanted. Next time the watering system will be recirculating and automatic.

Steven says...
hey how are you. most nurseries sell bananas so you should be able to get the pretty easily. bunnings usually has them too. if they dont have them now then its probably because they only have them in summer.


Regards

Steven

Lissa says...
Buying banana plants in Qld means one source only at the moment - Blue Sky Nursery referred by DPI.

Things must be a little easier down south with Bunnings and nurseries selling suckers.

juanita says...
Hi John...Just wondering if your dwarf red dacca has given you fruits yet?

coastie says...
Good morning, I have been reading and watching this forum for some time and now I think I can be of some help in some subjects.
I have been growing the dwarf cav.banana, red and gold for some time now.This is a photo of last years crop of red, they were absolutely yummmie,we cover the fruit as soon as the fruit loose the square look, and we cut off the flower before it opens.
We have shade cloth bags which we made and it is to protect them from bats.
We bought the plants[1 gold 1 red]in pots, from KMart in Melbourne about 4yrs ago and we have had fruit almost every year since, red and gold.
We have decided this year we would not cut the whole bunch down when we think they are nearly ripe,we will on pick them in manageable hands and when we have eaten those which might be 15mins or 15days, we will pick another hand.
This will be better than having the whole 300 banans ripening at the same time.

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coastie says...
Hi John, they all grow green colour and when they start to change colour that is when they have stopped growing, that is when you think about picking them. There is no special time to pick them,just when you think it is time,remember the shop ones are all picked green and they never fail to ripen.

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John I. says...
Thanks coast... and welcome.

HappyEarth says...
You can in Wollongong, NSW. You can buy them at Bunnings.

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

trikus says...
You will soon find out what you have as Blue Java are very distinctivly coloured .. you will easily ripen them before winter so sit back and wait . My bunch is getting fat , but the stand looks disgusting as it is infested with stem borers , Blue Java is very prone to them .. got the toxic chemical I need to spread to kill them , must do it asap.

MiLK_MaN says...
Here are the two banana plants, which do you think is which?

Both in pots, neither was covered during winter at all.

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John Mc says...
Good luck with it mate, there's not a lot of content there atm, but I'm sure it will grow as the content grows. At your location you will only find Blue Java if someone else has them privately.
There's nothing wrong with tc. My blue Javas are from tc and are powering on fantastically. The only problem with tc, that I've found, is it takes quite a while from placing the order to actually receiving your tc plants in the mail. If you want them bad enough, at least it is an option sometimes the only option of aquiring them.

John Mc says...
It will be a while, I only got them 6 weeks ago. They're still less than 200mm high. But sure, I'm thinking it'll be another 12 months before I get enough suckers to give away.

John Mc says...
No, I haven't tasted Blue Java fruit yet. But with words describing it like Ice Cream banana, I don't think we'll be too disappointed. Mine are powering along well in the poly house, I'm super charging them to as big a size I can before planting them out. Can't wait to build my large poly tunnel so I can grow stuff like this in it to maturity. Apparently the Blue Java plant is quite tall.

My future poly tunnel height will only be 3.5m in the centre. I might have to revise that ceiling height.

Jantina says...
I'm jealous Phil! How on earth are you going to reach that banana hand 18 feet up?

Phil@Tyalgum says...
@ Jantina - it seems to be coming down to meet me!

Maurice says...
Finally after 3 years I have a flower on my ?Cavendish banana plant. It emerged a week ago then turned towards the ground and changed color ro wine red. Just today it started to unfold slightly revealing some very tiny bananas. I gave it some potash today and watered it in. Should I bag it soon, I know I may need to prop it up if it gets heavy. Does anyone have experience with how long it could take for bananas in this climate. Hoping it hasnt emerged too late in the season. I have a pic but the iPhone won't let me upload, re

trikus says...
Bunches will ripen much faster in warmer weather .. feed with blossom booster fert , feed and water heaps .. fruit will be mature in 3 months easy . $20 bet ..
How many bunches have you harvested in Disneyland John ?

Maurice says...
Thanks John and Trikus for your comments.
I agree protecting from frost is going to be the problem especially if its going to 5-6 months. Maybe 3 months could be the best case scenario especially it we have a late summer. Its a shame it takes so long but I guess it does also have a lot to do with night temperature. The temperature drop over night would definately slow things down. In Melbourne where I am I also get heaps of wind damage. It seems there is rarely 3 or 4 days of calm before its extremely windy again and any new leaves get completely shredded. At what stage is the flower cut and should I use a bag to protect the bananas later on when they emerge properly? I want to maximize my chances of getting some fruit but I am realistic and realise it may not happen. Regardless it's been very interesting and educational experience.