I am not a babana expert, not even close. I want to share my experience trying to grow a banana plant in New England with you. I bought a dwarf Cavendish from Logee's in the spring of 2013. It's supposed to bear fruit but I've found out that I can't provide the condition it needs to flourish to that point yet. It grew very well last summer and fall. It had a few pups but I did not separate them. That's my first mistake because later they crowded the mother plant competing for nutrient. By late fall, I moved the pot inside the house, gave it the best location for sun through windows. I have a hot water heating system. The house is very dry, probably too try for banana which likes high humidity. I may have done both overwatering and underwatering it,too. By early spring, the mother's plant did not push out new leaves and the leaves starting turning brown. When new leave (the inner most) turned brown, that's a bad sign. By mid spring, the mother plant looked really bad. The pups started to look bad, too, so I took the pot out on the deck. I separated the pups. Got two pups, one for each pot. The mother plant was dying. The inner trunk was brown so I did not save it. Cavendish won't survive winter outside in my area. My house is too dry for it to thrive. Watering potted plants in a dry house is challenging. I think it's killed because of allowing the mother plant to be too crowded, overwatering/underwatering and too much dry heat. Banana loves rich soil, high humidity and heat. Hard to provide in my house. My two pups are growing and pushing new green leaves out on the deck. I'll see if I could make them happier indoor next winter. If I were you, I'll separate those two plants. Don't let them compete. Fertilize them often and make sure you don't overwater or underwater them. I had no problem growing the mother plant last year on the deck. It grew form 1 ft tall to 4 ft.and pushed a few pups in 5 months. I am considering buying a musa basjoo to plant in ground just for a tropical feel of it.

Hi Gary, Unfortunately I don't have any vireyas at the moment, but I did grow them when we lived in Miami. Unfortunately I gave them away when we moved, but I do plan on growing them again as soon as I get some sort of a shade house where I can give them some winter protection as I am not too sure about the cold snaps we get here - although if coconut palms grow you are supposed to be able to grow vireyas. When I grew them I had all hybrids except for a macgregoriae, as I think they are much easier in all this heat than the species and of course I stuck to low altitude crosses. I bought all my plants by mail-order from Bovees in Portland, Oregon. Very good quality plants and service etc. Another good source is Pacific Island Nursery in Hawaii - I have not bought from them, but a friend has and again excellent plants and service and prices not bad. I just love the flowers and the colors and really want to try some leucogigas hybrids as this flower is so big and beautiful. Although it is a high altitude plant I am hoping that when hybridized with something low altitude, the progeny might be more heat tolerant. Do you have any? I am really looking forward to getting some more and trying Pacific Island Nursery, although Bovees have some on sale at various times of the year. Pacific Island Nursery is also the seed bank for vireyas, so you can buy seed from them very cheaply. I grew some from seed once with no problems. I had them covered with glad rap to create a mini green-house in bright light but not direct sun. I forgot that the sun had moved lower in the sky and ended up cooking all my little seedlings.

I checked and the links to the videos work. It might be something to do with your browser settings. I think you need flash player installed. You would just go to the adobe website to get that. I think all youtube videos use the flash player.

A few tips from a northern horticulturist now living south of Santee. 1. Soil is sand with very little nutrition and high in phosphorus. Do not use fertilizers high in phosphorus. 2. You will find that many plants grow best in high shade or morning sun, afternoon shade. 3. Epsom salts will be your best friend. It is magnesium which is necessary for plant absorption of iron. Don't be afraid to scatter it around plants. 4. Sandy soils are best amended by placing compost/manures on soil surface under pine needle mulch. Don't dig them in. Compost everything you can get your hands on. You will need it. 5. Winter gardening is fabulous here. Prowl the growers on St. John's Island near Charleston for plants and advice. Spring bulbs should be purchased when they come on the market in the fall, refrigerated until Jan. 1, then planted. Carleton is the best daffodil to grow here and is one of the few that will rebloom every year. Be certain to attend the hidden garden tours in Charleston for great ideas. 6. Careful selection of disease free rose varieties and many of the old shrub rose varieties will prove to be valuable garden additions. 7. Study on-line catalogs such as Plants Delight and Singing Spring Nursery for helpful tips. Best to buy plants rated for Zone 8b-9 to grow in this area. Be prepared to say goodbye to many of your favorite plants and be ready to learn about many new ones. Also, you will find far fewer insect and disease problems here. No Japanese beetles! Fire ants...yes. Numerous northern annuals are perennial here. You will have an enjoyable learning curve and quickly adapt to gardening in this area.