While out riding, I discovered bananas that were only about 5 feet tall and bearing fruit. After some research, I found out they were the Dwarf Cavendish variety, which piqued my interest. I reached out to a local gardener group but didn’t get a response right away. Later, a neighbor mentioned seeing some banana trees further down the road, though he wasn’t sure if they were the dwarf type. When I went to check, I found a cluster of banana trees, both tall and short, in someone’s yard. I asked the owner about them, and to my delight, he confirmed there were dwarf bananas among them and generously gave me three pups to plant. I was so happy I practically danced home with them. The next day, a member of the gardener group responded, offering me two more pups if I wanted them. Now I have five plants, and they’re all growing beautifully. Hope that all will grow well as this is my very first time planting banana.
Great story . I’m so happy for you. I hope you can keep us posted on how the new banana plants do. I wonder how long it will be for the plants to set fruit ?
How exciting , agree with Pac please post progress updates. Mmmm freshly picked nanas, how delicious would that be topping our muesli in the morning.
Excellent @KK Ng I grew one from seed once but it grew so big I had to cut a barrel in half for a flower pot
@KK Ng I hope your banana plants grow big and strong. Your climate has ideal growing conditions for them . Sending the garden fairy’s across the seas to watch over your new plants. I luv banana plants huge billowy leaves fully grown are so beautiful and fruits to boot, who could ask for anything more from a single plant. I had a red banana plant in a pot with beautiful red tinged huge leaves and trunk. I tried every way tested to over wither it with all my might. But unfortunately whiteflies and aphids enjoyed that plant more than I. Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’
Nice banana plants! Sharing is one of my favorite things about gardening. In a few years, you'll have lots of bananas, plus plants to share.
Thank you all, with no experience at all in growing banana I am watching the plants grow day by day. If I feel anything is not right I will first consult Google before fellow gardeners. Thanks, Pac. I think it will take about a year before it bears fruit, and yes, there will be a progress report. I do hope they do not grow too big because they are the dwarf type. Thanks for the info about whiteflies and aphids I will keep an eye out for them. Yes Oreti I will make updates and yes I think freshly pick bananas are delicious. Zigs I have never thought of planting bananas before because they are really big and tall but with these dwarf type I believe it is much easier to manage. Daniel you are so right, I always share my produce and it is a good feeling. In a year which is very soon I believe there will be lots of bananas to go round.
That was a good story. You know that we will be waiting for update reports as time goes by. This is such good news KK. Well done,
Thanks Sjoerd, it is indeed going to be a very exciting journey and I will definitely update the progress.
When I return from Seoul South Korea last week I noticed that one of the banana plant looks like it is not going to make it. The leaves were turning brown. Yesterday, I decided to check its roots to see if I could save it, but the whole plant came away from the ground when I held it. It’s the weakest of the five I have, while the others are doing well. It was a sad moment.
That's normal @KK Ng. One out of six with transplant shock is to be expected, but it's a bummer to lose any plant, isn't it.?
Thanks, Anniekay, for the comforting words. I was just thinking that if I had removed more of the excess part from the donor plant, it might have been fine, but that’s just an “if.”
KK— that is sad. Fingers crossed for the rest of them. Do you have any ideas what went wrong underground?
Yes it is indeed sad and Sjoerd thanks for the encouragement. When I removed this pup from the donor plant I did remove quite a chunk of the donor plant at the base. It is not possible to just break it off as it will damage the pup. Anyway I made a sketch so that it is easier to understand. According to Google, which I learned later, it’s best to let the cut area dry out before planting. If I had minimized the cut area, it might have survived like the others. The rainy weather probably didn’t help either. I suppose it’s best now to focus on the four plants that are still doing well.
