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Tropical Plants - Australia

Banana trees in Melbourne

18 years ago

Hi All.

I am thinking of planting a couple of banana trees in my garden to give a tropical look. Love to get some info. what types of banana trees are suitable for Melbourne climate? and can they produce actual edible fruit? I am new to Melbourne and not sure how the cold winter here would play on banana plants.

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Comments (11)

User
18 years ago
I know you can grow ornamental bananas in Melbourne, because I have seen them in the neighbourhood. As for the fruiting variety, you'd have to be awfully lucky. There was actually a banana tree which bore fruit at the old Ringwood Fire Station on Maroondah H'way. It was growing (I believe) between two buildings in an extremely sheltered spot, so it was a micro-climate. But you would have to be super lucky to achieve this I think! I would think if you ask at any large nursery, they would be able to give you the suitable varieties to grow here.
Cheers,
Dee.
Louis_VIC
18 years ago
Hi
Its been some time since last time I visited garden web so Hi All.

Yes you can grow and fruit some types of banana here in melb.

I grow lady fingers, golden cross and another; I think its saba. I eat fruit of these every second year and its better tasting than any of the fruit you can buy from the grocers.

regards
Louis
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I was born and raised in Melbourne -- a great place to live, and a great place to grow fruit. As Larry says, most people on this forum are in the US, as I now am. I believe a very well regarded nursery in Australia is Daley's. You can find them on line. I know that here in the US serious fruit tree growers order their trees on line from nurseries that specialize in fruit trees, rather than from local nurseries whose employees tend not to be very knowledgeable about growing fruit trees. And if you want to grow fruit trees, get yourself a copy of the great book by a fellow Melbournian, Louis Glowinski, "The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia." He used to grow an enormous number of kinds of fruit trees on his quarter acre block in Caulfield -- maybe he still does.
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It's certainly seems to be another camelia, this one slightly sicker with a lot of dead growth. Not really the season for pruning but you could get rid of the dead stuff. Let's see if we can find out why this one is not thriving. There's a lot off leaf litter on the ground - is it from the plant or something else? There are two branch-like projections coming from over the fence - what are they? The shot shows a lot of sun over the fence, can you describe the location where this is growing (to rule out too much exposure)?
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User
18 years ago
Do you grow them under cover Louis or what? How do you protect them from our frosts? Or are you one of the lucky ones in a frost free area?
Dee.
spikekali
18 years ago
If just for looks abysinnian banana (very big) from Tropical Gardens in south morang

You can get about 10 different species of banana from Perrys in SA

I keep mine out of strong winds (it shreds the leaves) and to get lots of sun.
They need lots of food and mulch potash mainly and seaweed and poo

have fun
Louis_VIC
18 years ago
No cover; out in the open garden. We rarely get frosts though.

Louis
bernard_qld
18 years ago
Louis,
good to see you are back on GW. Can you send me an email please? Thanks
Bernhard
Yisraelee
18 years ago
Anyone know of any reputable Banana plant nurseries in WA or where I can get seeds?

Thanks
RugbyLeagueRocks
18 years ago
Yeah I want nana seeds anyone please????
kubuku
18 years ago
Hello to all the other 'bananaphiles' of Victoria ... just dropping by to let you my Abyssian banana palm is about to go to God but in doing so has left me many special reminders of her beauty ... Yes, I have seeds ... only problem is how to cultivate them? Anyone had any experience in cultivating them ... ?
spikekali
18 years ago
Hullo exotic gardeners in Melbourne, you can now hightail it to Bunnings garden centre to get your bananas musa acumita some with the maroon blotchy leaves $10
cheers
alan_bollands_iinet_net_au
13 years ago
I am enquiring about growing a Banana tree in Perth and if there is a variety that would be suitable for our climate and availability

Thanks,

Alan

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