Any Green Thumbs out there

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 02-20-2004, 07:44 PM

I am starting some banana plants from seed.

Musa sikkimensis (Himalayan Banana)
Musella lasiocarpa (Chinese Banana)

Anyone have any luck growing any banana plants in this area? Portland Oregon

I am not a pro at this but I think I am on the right path. I purchased one of those indoor greenhouses, hooked up two 24" fluorescent plant bulbs, put a heating mat under the seed tray. Did I miss anything? Other than the fact that I will need three more lights if I want to grow on each shelf.

My plan is to try to get one of these banana's to live through the winter in moms yard. I'll keep one in my apartment as well.

I also planted the following plants:

Sarracenia leucophylla (Whitetop Pitcher Plant)
Sutherlandia frutescens (Cancer Bush)
Aulax umbellata (Featherbush)
Limnanthes douglasii (Fried Eggs)
Meconopsis betonicifolia (Himalayan Poppy)
Hypericum calycinum (Rose of Sharon Groundcover)
Kochia tricophylla (Burning Bush)

These are all neat plants that are suposed to survive in our planting zone. I got the seeds at seedrack.com. A local company out of Eugene. My order arrived promptly. And the initial results as far as the seeds sprouting is outstanding.

I don't have my own yard living downtown Portland. But mom is sure happy that I took up an interest in horiculture. I planted around 500 crocus bulbs in her front yard and it is now full of flowers.

I want to grow some real exotic looking plants. Any suggestions on choices? Or any other tips?

[ 02-24-2004, 09:51 PM: Message edited by: HeavyMetal BankFisherman ]

Fish_N_Russ · 02-20-2004, 11:25 PM

It will be hard for banana's to survive through the winter here. The other plants sound OK, and bulbs are great for the person that is more of a green-ish thumb and learning :smile: Lots of impact and they are easy to plant and grow. As far as exotic plants, how bout Eucalyptus? There are many species that are grown as ornamentals and do real good here in PNW.

wannacatchem · 02-22-2004, 08:40 AM

I saw a NW garden show last summer that had a guy that grew banna plants in P-town. Of course I can't remeber the show or the name of the plant, but they were hardy down to 25 degrees. Thought they would be nice to have in the back yard as my wife grew up in a tropical jungle and would pick wild bannas. Going to research it some and plant a few (seems they were expensive $25 per plant)this spring

brshooter · 02-22-2004, 09:52 AM

The banana plants will survive just fine. In the fall, we cut back the leaves and just leave the stump. We then cover it with a plastic garbage bag and duct tape to keep water from getting inside. Pile straw or compost around the base. Ours is a couple of years old and our neighbors is 6 years old.

Fish_N_Russ · 02-22-2004, 06:43 PM

Quote:

The banana plants will survive just fine.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Yes, established banana plants.

HeavyMetal BankFisherman is growing them from seed. Indoors with grow lights will definitely help but by the time this next winter rolls around, it will be iffy if enough growth has occured to insulate from frost/cold damage. I would suggest you keep them in containers so you can move them inside. After they are 2-3 years then yes, you can put them outside and use the method brshooter described.

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 02-22-2004, 07:11 PM

Thanks for all the info. I think that I will put them in large containers and winter them indoors for the first winter at least.

love2fish · 02-22-2004, 07:37 PM

Do banana plants need a pollenizer to produce fruit like an apple tree?

love2fish

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 02-24-2004, 08:50 PM

OK, the plants are sprouting and starting to grow. None of the bananas or proteus have sprouted but the other plants are going crazy!

But this is getting expensive. And I still need to spend more money. I need more lights!

I have more plants sprouting than I know what to do with. Now I have to transplant them all.

Oh man. This is definately going to start eating into my time. I am transplanting everything into two inch peat pots for now. The only problem will be finding room for everything.

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 04-22-2004, 07:29 PM

My bananas are sprouting! One last week and now another one today. The one last week is almost five inches tall. I was getting impatient. But it can take months for bananas to sprout. These guys sure grow fast once they get going.

I had some casualties with some of my other plants. But I have learned much about germinating plants from seed.

All of the exotic stuff I planted died. The Limnanthes douglasii (Fried Eggs) and Hypericum calycinum (Rose of Sharon) grew just fine. I have gotten the heating pads and bought some better lights and everything else planted since has done well. I had to spend money of course. Ouch! But once you get started it's a fever.

I don't have my own yard so I have been helping out with moms yard. Spring was quite a show with all the crocuses and daffodils. I planted hundreds of bulbs. The crocuses are gone. There are a few daffodils on thier last legs. The tulips are almost gone. But here come the gladiolas and some lilies that I planted.

The yard really stood out a couple of weeks ago. Nicest on the street. People stopped to look. Now we are scrambling to keep up the pace. The spring bloom is hard to beat. Just bought 20 or so different varieties and colors of geraniums in bloom to get some quick fill in color.

This garden fever is worse than fishing.

Gus Orviston · 04-22-2004, 08:09 PM

got to love spring. I love to see the bulbs come especially the crocus. I haven't gotten enough bulbs in, I bought a bunch last year and never got them all in the ground. I even was in Amsterdam, bulb capital of the world and didn't have time to stop and buy them on the street :depressed:. It helps end the dreary winter seeing everything come on.

Right now things are really going great, all my perenials that I self seeded from the pods last fall are all taking hold, so my minor investment in one plant is 20 fold. And I managed it with several varieties. Great to see them return from the ground.

I most enjoy my siberian iris because the humming birds lvoe them.

I have enough stuff planted so that I pretty much have a new group of something coming into bloom, or fall color shows.

gus

StinkyH · 04-23-2004, 12:19 AM

You wanna try something exotic - orchids do very well in this area(Vanc here) indoors. My mom is an orchid nut and has about 15 plants and they've done well for her in the last 5 years. Quite a few local orchid shops. Easy to keep up with too.

Could also make a query in the forums on this page regarding what exotics do well in your area - http://www.gardenweb.com/.

My 2�

StinkyH

Jimmy Carl Black · 04-23-2004, 07:48 AM

Is this a joke? Banana plants on ifish?

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 04-23-2004, 08:34 PM

Yes! BANANA PLANTS

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 04-23-2004, 08:41 PM

Quote:

You wanna try something exotic - orchids do very well in this area(Vanc here) indoors. My mom is an orchid nut and has about 15 plants and they've done well for her in the last 5 years. Quite a few local orchid shops. Easy to keep up with too.

Could also make a query in the forums on this page regarding what exotics do well in your area - http://www.gardenweb.com/.

My 2�

StinkyH

Thanks for the link.

Spotted Owl · 04-23-2004, 10:09 PM

HMM heat source and extra lights are sure that you are growing banana????

A few of the guys at the shop have bananas and the are doing very well they are a variety of ages and sizes. Just keep doing what you are doing and you will be just fine and have them established well be fore you put them in the cold Oregon ground. Break them in slow by keeping them in their pots and moving them out side to get use to the cold first so you don't shock them to much. Take your time and don't hurry and things will be just fine.

Sled