Banana

hello, please please tell me how your Musa Basjoo bananas plants are looking so good.

I have had a Musa Basjoo for 3.5 years now. Always been in a pot and this year was the first time we divided the plant but placed all back in 3 large pots with ericaous soil ad recommended.

Each year the plant does die back and look a little sorry for it's self and we bring in during the cold months, but would love to plant out into the garden for its final place but...............I am too worried the frost will kill it off. it does look good during the warmer months and looks very healthy.

after 1 day of frost the plant has wilted and looks horrible, i am devastated and have rushed out and brought all three large pots inside.

Is it a case of nurturing the plant year after year until they are large enougth to plant out, or will this never be the case. We have spent lots of time and money on these plants and just feel very disappointed. I would love to growth more exotic plants but afraid to do so,

Any help and advise would be much appreciated.

Anita

Hello Anita,
I recommend you to plant out yours in the garden next spring. Bananas grow far better in the ground than in pots, at least from my experience. My red banana (ensete) in pot looked very sad this spring (nearly dead in fact) but it came back to life after I had planted it in the ground, although it was partly because the pot was waterlogged. As for the Musa basjoo, I was totally amazed how fast they grew in the ground. I know bananas love rich soil, but I have never heard that bananas liked the acidic soil. I use normal compost and apply lots of food to them. About overwintering, they should be okay if you cut off the leaves and protect them with straw etc. before winter. After a couple of years when they get tall/fat and strong/hardy enough, you don't have to protect them any more. Young bananas are vulnerable even if they are hardy species.
Hope this helps. Wishing you good luck x

Many thanks for your, very helpful reply. I will plant out the largest of the 3 banana's in the spring and see what happens.
I have looked at all your garden pictures, which are lovely and just hope mine can soon look like yours.
I am pretty new to gardening and learning daily. You appear to have quite a few tropical plants and lots of grasses, which are exactly the sort of plants I want for my garden. Can you give any tips and advise on these, soil type etc etc.
anita x

Thank you for taking your time and looking at my photos. I obtained my own garden just about one year and a half year ago, therefore, I am pretty much a novice gardener. I'm learning things from my own mistakes.

Soil type must be important for some plants such as acid-loving plants; acer, hydrangea etc. But I often ignore the instructions and use normal compost. I know it's not good, but I can't afford to buy loads of special compost for them (poor me!), plus I'm not bothered (bad!). So far so good; it doesn't seem soil type has caused massive negative effects on the plants. Ohhh, this is not a tip at all! Just a cheap cheat. Please forget about it.

Grasses are strong and survive without much care nor water. Fantastic. I think it's better to mix some sands in the soil when you plant grasses (and most of plants) to help drainage. Sands are also good to add to any plant; they prevent beetles (of some kinds) from laying eggs. I didn't know that and lost a mandevilla. I applied pine barks on the surface after I potted it, but sneaky insects managed to go under them and lay eggs (I suppose) and white larvae ate all the roots. Well, I don't know, maybe the pests were already there in the pot when I bought it. In any case, whenever re-potting/replanting things, I should break the earth to see if the bad guys are there.

Happy gardening xx