Ok, NOW I'm jealous!

Amazing picture!

Nice looking flower. So how tall do these plants get?

Beautiful! I have a large specimen on the way that I just ordered online. I can't wait to get it to bloom this year!

vibez, the yellow banana does not get more than 6ft. This plant was about 5ft. It looks like all the leaves die off and the bloom comes from down in the middle of the stem.
Due to surgery I have only been to the greenhouse 3 times since Nov. so I did not get to see the different stages. My plant was about 3 years old.

I planted two in the ground in spring of 2004. I still await my first flower. Congratulations Louise that is fantastic! Hayes(plantaholic)had one flower sometime last year(I think) in his garden in Alabama. This is a great banana for it gives you the tropical look without taking up so much space.

So, may I ask 6 questions?

1) how long is germination of the seeds?

2) from seedling, how long (average/expected) before first flower?

3) once in bloom, how long does the flower last?

4) does the plant die after the flower is done or does it flower again after a rest?

5) does it do well in a pot?

6) what soil mix is good for this one? Can I assume that what a Musa Bajoo likes, this plant will like? i.e. well draining; rich, composted soil with sand and triple mix?

I'm curious about these things because I'm looking at ordering some seeds from EBay, a dealer in Canada.

Thanks in advance.

#1 have no idea as I have always grown it as a plant

#2 Varies, once a stand of plants in in existance, there may be all sizes of plants flowering at once from 4-5 ft plants down to 1-2 ft plants

#3 The flower will last 5-6 months

#4 the plant that flowered dies but usually there are lots of pups to replace it

#5 will stay in a pot until it gets a stand going then needs to be planted in the ground. Its extremely hard to divide pups off the stand without damaging them and killing them, its possible but VERY HARD

#6 your soil mix sounds fine

I have been growing this plant since the 2nd year it was introduced into the USA, when it first came out the only people who had one were Fairchild Gardens in Miami, they grew it for a bit then it was put into Tissue Culture. Stokes Tropicals got ahold of some and was selling them for about $200-250 each, then overnight when TC was successful, the price dropped to $20.

I have seen photos of the bloom before but your snaps are particularly nice. Congrats on the bloom!

I was hoping there was some trick to getting pups off the mother. It really is a hassle. I got a small one off last fall, and it has been fine in a 1 gallon pot over the winter in the house. Several of my other naners in 1 gallon pots did not fare so well :(

BTW, my local HomeDepot is selling single plants for $40 (well, they are big plants).

seahorse

I don't recall having a problem removing pups. I leave the mother plant in the pot and use a small trowel and long blade knife to slice around a pup to remove it. I do it when they get 2-3 inches tall. If you want to long the pups start dying out.

I don't recall having a problem removing pups. I leave the mother plant in the pot and use a small trowel and long blade knife to slice around a pup to remove it. I do it when they get 2-3 inches tall. If you want to long the pups start dying out.

I was just out cutting my yard and while I was weedeating around my larger Chinese Yellow, I spotted the telltale swollen trunk!! I can just barely see the tip of what soon will be my first flower!! I am very excited!! I hadn't looked that close till now. I took some pics of where it is now that I'll post in a bit. I can't believe I was just saying my plants hadn't bloomed.