frankthetank

I grew my seed grown musa sikkmensis last summer, overwintered in pots inside and planted outside this spring in 5 gallon buckets... As we head into the first week of September, the tallest is only maybe nearing 6ft... and NO pups from any of them (around 10)! Maybe it was a water issue (they never have wilted and i do water frequently), maybe a fertilizer issue (although the leaves look healthy) and i did feed them a few times over the summer, and as always the lack of heat (only a handful of days above 90F) may have been a factor... I do believe the biggest factor was not enough root space. Just a theory that i'll find out when i put them away this winter (just like my basjoos)...

Next summer i'm hoping my neighbor has his tree removed by then so that a spot in the front yard can be converted into a large bed with sikks, basjoos, and SDCs...along with maybe a few castor beans... Its kind of shaded currently, especially in late afternoon... Photos will be coming, but didn't have time to take them yet...

Chironex

I imagine you will get blossoms next year, maybe late this fall if it stays warm enough, long enough. I wouldn't feed them anymore now though.

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norteno

I used Scott's lawn food which is almost entirely nitrogen on my basjoos this year because I didnt know any better. They made more pups than anything I could believe. I posted about it and someone told me that high nitrogen makes them pup. If someone would second this theory maybe that is something you could try next year.

frankthetank

My basjoos have a ton of pups, but they are in larger containers... Not the bananas fault, just me for thinking they would get huge in a 5 gallon container... Still like the sikks more then the basjoos (coloring is very nice)...

chong

I responded to this earlier and cited my experience with Dwarf Cavendish. Yes, a very high Nitrogen formal will make the plant prone to pup in most bananas. However, you will be sacrificing blooming/fruiting, especially if you limit sunlight exposure to 35%.

buzzwinder

Hi Chong, I read the earlier post about the high nitrogen push pupping, this is my second year growing bananas, I have been using Fish Emulsion (3-1-1) and rose food (24-8-16) and more recently a fert I got from Northern Tropics which is also (24-8-16), all my nanners pup like CRAZY!!!!! What would be a better ratio to promote a flower, my Dwarf Cav is going on its second wintering in Northern Illinois, I would Love to get a flower out of Ye Ol Bucket of DC's, Thanks

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chong

If you get an early spring, it would not be unusual to get flowering if you can set out your plant early. Preparations before you plant it would be required, though. And it would be where you can get the benefit of the heat from the sun. Prepare the area, 3ft x 3ft, you will plant the DC in, by putting a clear plastic enclosure, 3ft x 3ft x 2ft(minimum)high, over it, at least 1-month before. This will be like a hot cap and will trap the heat in the enclosure as well as the soil.

When you can maintain a steady daytime temperature of 60°F in the enclosure, and the ground is at least 55°F, you can plant the banana. You might need to increase the height of your enclosure, enough to accommodate your plant so it has at least a foot of clearance above the tip of the plant. cut or slit two 1" diameter holes on the sides, 6" below the top, and two holes 6" from the bottom for ventilation.

As long as the sun continue to shine, it will heat up the interior of the enclosure. Unfortunately, here in Seattle, we'd be so lucky if we get 4 hours of sunshine in late winter or early spring. I know that when I was in Chicago for a few months, every day the sun was shining brightly. And even when it's raining, the sky was still bright. Here, it's pretty gloomy before and after a rain. More so, when it's raining.

Or, you can plant your DCs in a 50-gallon pot and keep them in a heated area inside that has a lot of light during the winter and put the pot outside "when the coast is clear". There are a couple of nurseries in this area that has them in 50-gallon pots and several had produced fruits.

By the way, last weekend, Home Depot had MiracleGro All Purpose Fertilizer (24-8-16) on sale for $13.95 for the 10 lb, box. That would be an excellent maintenance fertilizer for bananas to get it growing fast from spring through early summer. Then at the height of summer you can switch to a 17-8-28 formula to encourage blooming.

glued2it

I had a mother with three pups given to me last november. I separated the 3 pups into individual pots as well as the mother.

The room I kept them in has a low ceiling and is very narrow so the mother was too large. Each time It produced a new leaf I would cut it off.

Now this year the mother had 7 pups and the other the pups didn't have any.
I just use plain miracle grow and treated all them exactly the same.

I heard that cutting leaves will induce pupping.
Seemed to have been the case for me,Based on my experince.
I'm not sure how much truth there is to the theory.

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sunsetsammy

I concur that high nitrogen fert seems to push more pups. I have also noticed that the basjoos that I am growing in large pots seem to pup more than ones in the ground. I basically use the pots to increase my stock.
I have several basjoos that are out of control with pups. Up to a dozen or more in a half-oak barrell. When they are big enough I divide and plant them in the ground and start over again.

saltydad

My sikkim also hasn't produced a pup, although it is a nice stocky plant.

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nucci60

Frankthetank,I have had no luck for two winters trying to get inground Sikkis to stay alive in zone 6. They seem to rot very easily compared to basjoo. They are wonderful plants and (IMHO) more attractive than basjoo, but I question their cold hardiness now. They were caged like my basjoos at various locations around the house and none pulled through while the basjoos flourished.

Tropicallvr

I wonder if you tried a Musa sikkimensis red tiger, or red flash or Manipur you would have better luck?

nucci60

A couple of them had a lot of red color until they got larger and then the color faded out.

Tropicallvr

I've heard that those other varities are a bit more cold hardy, so maybe they would be a half zone more hardy.
Sorry to hyjack your thread,
Frank, I think your plants look great, but just under the size my seed grown ones pupped at, it's right on schedule.