Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[Lynn in Bristol]

We have a now enormous banana 'tree' in our garden, and this year it has produced fruit! An enormous appendage appeared sometime over the summer (not sure when, found it after return from holiday) and every few days a large petal-like bit drops off to produce a hand of tiny green bananas

 

So, what do I do with them? The leaves of the plant all shrivel when the first frost hits (I gave up wrapping the thing in fleece a few years ago when I realised its probably capable of surviving even a nuclear winter)

 

Any banana growers out there?

[Lesley]

How exciting! -I can't help though, sorry.

[Janty]

Hubby tried when he was teaching about St. Lucia in school but it died even when he wrapped it up and gave it the life of luxury in the polytunnel.

[Redwing]

I have Bananas but have never been lucky enough to get them to fruit - lucky you!

 

 

Sorry I can't be of more help

[chickenanne]

Once a banana plant has "flowered" (that wierd maroon coloured appendage) and it's opened to show all the little green bananas, they should start turning upwards so that the stalk bit of the banana is at the bottom, before they fully ripen. However, this will depend enormously on the weather from now!

There are loads of different types of banana, and I would imagine yours has been bred for to be as hardy as possible with good foliage, rather than to give you a great crop of desert bananas.

The bad news - banana plants grown for bananas are replaced after they have produced one crop. I don't know if they will carry on growing after producing the first crop or if they just die. You can propagate them by taking a cutting, though, it might be worthwhile to be on the safe side.

[Guest]

Bananas are actually a herb, and once they flower, will die. BUt you should have some offsets to grow on around the base of the stem, but you will have to nurse them through the winter!

 

Louise

[fowlbird]

Bananas are actually a herb,

the things you can learn on these forums!

[kez]

I want a banana tree

 

My daughters eat them like they're going out of fashion