Vickie H.

Here is the banana I started growing in water last year. I stayed in water all winter in a cool basement and I put it outside in June. This is my second banana grown in water. The other I bought at a nursery.

Moonshiner

Just amazing, Vicki!

I think the next time I cut a pup away from my DC, it's going to go into water. How do you fertilize? Any other tips?

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Mike

Vickie H.

First you have to get it use to setting in water. I started buy putting the pot in a saucer of water. That was in May Last year. Then over the summer I slowly raised the water by putting the pot in a bucket and bringing the water slowly up over the top of the pot over the summer. I have used pond tabs to fertilize because it is setting in a pond. I cannot use something that will make green algae in the pond so pond tablets you push into the dirt. The one I bought was dwarf cavendish. This one I think is the same kind. This year I have done this to some big bananas and some musa basjoo. Good luck on trying to grow your water banana. Also the banana was only one banana last year and you can see it is healthy and growing pups.

wordwiz

Vicki,

Actually, one doesn't need to acclimate the plant to water. I bought a live plant, that had a nice rootball in potting mix. Washed the mix off, cut a large enough hole in the bottom of a 5" net pot to get the roots through and dropped it in a 5-gallon bucket of water so the bottom of the next pot was just above the water line - the roots were in 2-3" of water. It's a DWC hydro system. The entire system sits about 8" under a 125-watt LED panel. It's drinking like a sailor, consuming two quarts of nuits per day. After two days, it has added a new leaf.

Mike

Vickie H.

Mike how is the banana doing in water? Mike I grow mine in my ponds in the summer. Fish are in the ponds and I don't fertilize much but I do use pond tabs sometimes. This is one from last summer. I seperated it later.

wordwiz

Vicki,

It sort of died this winter. The leaves turned yellow, then brown, then got ugly. I trimmed them off, as well as a couple of feet of roots. But the pup kept growing so I let it go. All of a sudden, it started growing again and has added four leaves in the last three weeks. I haven't checked the stage of the pup in the last couple of weeks, but the last time it had two leaves. I can't get my head wrapped around how it (the pup) grows with no direct light - it is under the lid of the hydro bucket.

Mike

Vickie H.

It will be interesting to see how it does. Mine are in the basement in water and the coolest temp is 50*F. They are alive. I have had one in water since 2007 and in my basement in water every winter.

Vickie H.

wordwiz any update on your banana?