Germinating Bananas

Discussion in 'Outdoor Tropicals' started by Unregistered, Sep 11, 2005.

  1. Has anyone here germinated Banana seeds before?

    I have several that I am waiting for to do something.. It has been about a month at 80-90 degrees and high humidity and they havent done anything..

    Thanks

    April
     
  2. Ralph Walton

    Ralph Walton Active Member 10 Years

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    Are you sure of your seeds or did you harvest them yourself? Some varieties have up to 1 viable seed per 300 bananas. In other varieties like Cavendish (the usual supermarket banana) the seeds are scarce.

    Ralph
     
  3. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    'Cavendish' bananas are always sterile, so I hope it isn't that!

    80°C is far too hot, it will kill the seeds. Checked up, you want to aim for between 20-22° for outdoor ornamental bananas like Musa basjoo.
     
  4. Hi, Thanks.. It was actually 80 degrees F, not C. No Cavendish, but I do have Velutinas, Violacea, Zebrina, Snow bananas etc...

    Thanks

    April
     
  5. Megami

    Megami Active Member 10 Years

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    I planted some Musa velutina (pink bananas!) seeds about a month ago, still nothing, the person who gave me the seeds said they can take anywhere from 1-6 months to germinate. I've got them in moist soil on a seed germinating heat mat.
     
  6. glen3a

    glen3a Member

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    I started some musa ensete seeds last spring. One seed germinated in a month. The others never did germinate, though to be honest I sort of threw them out after a while because all I needed was one plant. It made a very attractive yet unusual annual for the summer, reached about 4 feet high. I was thinking of overwintering indoors, but don't really have the space.

    Now I have purchased seeds of musa zebrina (blood banana). If these are lucky enough to sprout, I figure the plants would be a more manageable size, grow in a pot on the deck and I will be able to overwinter indoors.

    It sounds like lightly moist soil at room temperature is the key? Unfortunately, for seeds that take a long time to germinate, I usually forget about checking on them and the soil ends up drying out too much. Germinating anything difficult isn't my thing.

    Regards,
    Glen
     

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