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Musa Basjoo - Growing


When I ordered my Musa Basjoo I was a little skeptical but I was also hopeful. The catalog says it'll grow to 10-12 feet (if it's in the ground, not in a pot like I have it) and will survive a NJ winter with a little help in the form of deep mulch and a tarp. Catalog claims usually reflect the best possible growing conditions but only if you're standing on one leg on a Tuesday during a lunar eclipse... I figured if it grew a few feet tall and looked good, I'd be happy with the purchase. Go Banana Go!

When the Musa Basjoo arrived in the mail, I thought I'd been robbed. This little twig is going to grow 10 feet? I was robbed! Where's my money back guarantee? But I planted it anyway just to see what would happen. I'm pretty good with my container plants, let's see if I could grow a big banana.



I planted it in the biggest pot (22" diameter) I had and used a mixture of compost and manure. The pot has been in full sun since I got it and it's doing well as seen in my last Musa Basjoo Update

Now it's been about a month and a half and the plant has got 3-4 leaves and it's a few feet tall and it's still early June. I may get somewhere near 6-8 feet by the end of summer.

6/03/2006 09:46:00 AM | Labels: |

This entry was posted on 6/03/2006 09:46:00 AM and is filed under Colocasia Gigantea . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 

6 Comments:

  1. Christa said...
    9:06 PM  
    How interesting that you're trying to grow one of these. I'll be curious to see how it does. My parents have tried to grow banana plants in their greenhouse. The plants do pretty well, but they've never gotten any bananas. Hopefully you'll have better luck with yours!
    Anthony said...
    9:46 AM  
    I agree, it is interesting and that's why I'm trying it. It would get boring if all I grew were tomatoes year after year. :)

    This is actually a non-fruiting hardy banana plant. Even if we had 14 months of 80 degree weather, I would still be banana free.
    Anonymous said...
    1:52 PM  
    So how big did it get and hows it doing this year?? Im dying to find out as i have just ordered one and im hoping it will grow to at least 6 foot by the end of the year.
    Anthony said...
    2:08 PM  
    Anonymous, here's a link to all the posts I made about my musa basjoo. Right now it's wrapped up in newspaper in my garage along with 2 pups.

    Musa Basjoo Updates
    Kurt said...
    8:01 PM  
    Anthony, I have been growing Musa Basjoo for going on three years now.Currently mine are cut back to just a few inches, but I just went out and checked and see new growth pushing out of the center of several of the "trunks". Last year mine reached 10 or 11 feet. I live in Seattle. I cut mine back and wrap with burlap and cover with plastic garbage can (upside down).They are the "wow" factor in my garden.

    Kurt
    Anthony said...
    8:41 PM  
    Hi Kurt, I'll probably follow your lead and overwinter mine in the ground this year. The garbage can is a good idea. I was thinking about using a tarp.

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