Hello all, I was given a mystery rootball and was told they were elephant ears. To my surprise weeks later, this is what I started to see come up. Needless to say not elephant ears. My question is: Exactly what species is this banana plant? I would like to be better prepared next year on how to care for them. They grew close to 9 feet tall over about 3/4 of the summer here in SE Missouri. Also, there were 3 big ones that were together but I didn't want to separate them at the wrong time and hurt them. When is the best time to do that? Any help would be wonderful.

Thanks
Chris

I think they are Japanese bananas (Musa basjoo).
Caring for them is pretty simple: they are very heavy feeders, so buy a bag of agri-strength NPK fertilizer and follow instructions for eggplants and other nutrient-intensive plants. Liquid fertilizer is absolutely fine but considerably more expensive. They can endure dry spells but will not do well, so water them regularly.
Now comes the "tricky" part: while they get established these bananas like a thick layer of mulch applied before first frost to protect the roots. And this is absolutely critical: don't cover them up during Winter. As soon as you spot frost damage, just cut them to the ground. Most people cover these plants, fail to notice frost damage and/or fungal infections and the rot merrily makes it way to the root system during Winter killing the plant. After you cut the plant to the ground in late Fall you can also dig them out of the ground and transplant them: just make sure the rootball does not dry out.

And that would be all: these are pretty tough plants and once you get the "cut-to-the-ground" part right they will easily get established.

Musa basjoo is a good guess. We never do anything to ours in winter, they have survived multiple nights of temps between 20-22F on the rare occasions we get temps that low. We also never cit them down, because the trunks do not freeze here. The leaves will get burned by frost, but that's about it. If you do cut it to the ground, it will come back.

However, there really isn't a way to know what type of banana it is unless it has unusual or 'signature' leaves (shape, something like a sheen or difference on the underside of the leaf, color variegation etc. The real way to tell is when it blooms.

Bananas usually have blooms somewhat unique to their species. This is the bloom of Musa Basjoo. If your plant blooms and it looks like this, this is what you have. The bananas of Basjoo are inedible. The plant is mainly used as a fiber crop, not a food crop

Thanks for the info. Should I separate them this spring before I dig the hole to put them back in the ground or should I let them stay together from the same rootball?

It would be nice to get a bloom, but I'm afraid that probably won't happen. The only tropical plant I've ever got to bloom was an elephant ear this past year and I don't even know how I managed that.


Well Thanks again for the info. I'm fairly new to this gardening thing but enjoy it.

chrischris7979 said:

Thanks for the info. Should I separate them this spring before I dig the hole to put them back in the ground or should I let them stay together from the same rootball?

It would be nice to get a bloom, but I'm afraid that probably won't happen. The only tropical plant I've ever got to bloom was an elephant ear this past year and I don't even know how I managed that.


Well Thanks again for the info. I'm fairly new to this gardening thing but enjoy it.

It really depends on how you want to grow them: single tree or group. It won't really affect growth or the overall health of the plant: it's merely a matter of personal taste.

You actually may get it to flower. The Musa run on their own schedule when it comes to blooming. Most of the bananas used commercially (and non-commercially, as in geographically in some countries like Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Philippines, etc for food run on an 18 month cycle. 18 months from the corm sprouting the sucker, the sucker growing to a tree mature enough to bloom, and the fruit to develop enough for harvesting. Since the weather pattern is much more seasonal in the USA and does generally not follow this 'endless summer' pattern of warmth (except in South Florida and maybe some places the most Southern California) growing bananas as a food crop here in the US has always been unreliable and that is why they are imported from banana farms in the tropics. But some people do get bananas here on a regular basis in backyard situations. The rule is, (but there are exceptions re:species) if only the leaves burn off in a frost/freeze but the trunk remains completely viable and doesn;t have to be chopped down to the ground, you will probably get bananas the next season.

But the ornamental banana species can sometimes grow more like annuals. Plants like Musa Velutina, Musa beccari, Musa laterita etc grow and bloom all in one season.

Basjoo is considered an ornamental Musa, just a very big one, because it is not used as food but in the textile industry in Japan. Sometimes even if you have to top it, it will come back and bloom in less than the normal 18 month cycle. So don't give up hope!

Gina1960, I didn't know what would be the best as far as wintering, so I did both dug up some of the larger ones to store away and then I chopped off (about 3 feet from ground) and covered the smaller ones. We shall see. That would be amazing to get a bloom.

As far as the ones that all came from the same huge ball, do you think I should separate them before planting them this spring?
****UPDATE**** I missed your preference reply to the question of separating them.

Gee Whiz I am so ready to unpack and replant all my tropical stuff. I also have a few Pindo Jelly palms, a Blue Hesper, and a Sabal palm,

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement

Chris

well, separating them is your call, but, my Basjoo do not clump tightly like that. They sometimes send up what is called a sword sucker close to a mother plant, but mostly mine send up new plants at least a foot or more away. They get really tall here, about 12-14 feet. The bloom photo I sent you, that bloom has been on that plant since about October, and it sent up a pup, which is now almost 7 feet tall to take its place when it dies off. I usually just let mine do whatever they want to. It takes too much energy for me to go out and try to rearrange them in the flowerbeds. Just be sure of you separate ten, use sterile equipment and make sure everyone has the ability to root

I used to live near an agricultural research station where they were studying cold hardy bananas. They would divide them each fall and have a big festival and sell their divisions. They would divide them with a sharpened shovel and then remove all the roots from the round, swollen corm They would cut off the pseudostem (trunk) at around 2'. The cleaned corm could then be stored like any other tender bulb over the winter - except they were pretty large.

LOL Alice I guess I am always worried about fungal attack. I have always used this One pruning saw that I keep just for separating stuff like bananas, heliconias and ginger rhizomes etc so I can clean it between plants

A couple of us were a bit surprized that they used the same tool for all the plants. Actually, about 20 years ago I visited a banana farm down towards the Keys and the owner took me out to the field and we chose a plant and he too just took an old tool that looked like a machete on a pole and whacked off a pup and cleaned off the roots for me,. As I recall that was in early spring, I remember because he also let me pick some strawberries on his farm.

Mmmm strawberries.

Ladies an Gentlemen, I am about to have a heart attack!!!! If my thinking is correct I have a banana plant that is flowering....the only problem is the weather is about to turn cold. I would've loved it if this happened 2 months ago but what ever.

Enjoy all your gardening this fall and winter down there in the tropics

Chris

Yep that is the signal flower. I have one in bloom too with bananas on it...and am in the same boat LOL. These may mature before any frost comes here but then again who knows?

Maybe the cool weather will hold off for a while.

We are under a frost advisory for tonight but then the 10 day outlooks a bit warmer for the next 10 nights...fingers crossed

How did you make out?

Ardesia, so far so good I think. No visible frost burn signs on this particular plant (In fact it's still growing out) but one of my other smaller ones has just a bit of frost burn so I hope I'm good for at least another week or two if I'm lucky. I'm still just shocked every time I think about it. I was originally thinking something was wrong when I saw the small leaf before the bloom. I had never even investigated what it would do when getting ready to fruit. Everything I had ever read said they have to grow for at least a steady year but more like 18 months before they produce.

Chris

Hello all, I have an Orinoco plant that is about 5ft or 6ft tall. It has 3 pups fro from it that are from 8" to 10" tall and 1 that is just poking out the ground. My question is should I separate them when I dig them up for the winter or would that be a no-go? I have a feeling they would die if separated from the mother. Also should I replant them into a pot or what? The first frost is apparently going to be here in about a week or so. I need some direction here...I'm torn

Thanks
Chris