Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jul 12, 2010 10:16 pm I was wondering if someone could tell me what type of plant this is: its on this website http://www.vanleeuwengreen.com/gallery/award/ and the 14th picture down, the big palm to the left Also, does anyone know if you can successfully grow a banana tree in melbourne Signed contract for the land 5/6/10 Deposit paid to builder 14/10/10 Tender 19/11/10 Land settled 19/05/2011 Site Cut 27/05/2011 Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 2Jul 13, 2010 12:00 am Looks a lot like a banana tree to me, one of the tall varieties like lady finger, and it appears to be growing in Victoria. I don't know if it would produce bananas there though. You would need to plant it in a warm spot. Bananas aren't a tree as such, but a kind of perennial. The plant dies down after fruiting and is replaced by suckers - bananas 'march' i.e. they sucker on one side and will continue to slowly move across your yard over a period of years. There are some ornamental bananas too. I don't know anything about those but maybe they are more suited to your purpose? Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 3Jul 13, 2010 10:00 am My parents have been growing banana's in their backyard in Eltham for years... they grow exceptionally well most years and tend to die back in winter only to come back stronger when the weather is warmer. Every couple of years it gets warm enough for them to flower but I think they've only had one year where they actually fruited. Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 4Jul 14, 2010 10:29 pm thanks for the replies! im trying to find tropical looking plants that will survive (and flourish) in melb and all its seasons and couldnt find much on bananas when i pctured bananas i was remembering the tall skinny tree that my neighbours had in QLD, i didnt realise that big wide one was a banana tree sorry, this may be a silly Q but what is the difference between an ornamental banana and a normal banana? Signed contract for the land 5/6/10 Deposit paid to builder 14/10/10 Tender 19/11/10 Land settled 19/05/2011 Site Cut 27/05/2011 Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 5Jul 14, 2010 10:51 pm An ornamental one is one that will never grow fruit. If you grow it near a brick wall on the north side it might do ok and shade it lots from winds and frost etc 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 6Jul 14, 2010 10:53 pm Check out this page on the ABC Gardening Australia site - http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2594657.htm Tino planted a Banana in Tassie 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 7Jul 17, 2010 12:35 pm There are fruiting bananas available in Melbourne, they've been bred for cool climates. I'd like to put one in, but I think I'm out of room. I've seen them around over the past few months, can't remember the variety though - ask at your local nursery. Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 8Jul 17, 2010 12:36 pm You can also try Strelitzia's (Bird of Paradise) which are closely related. Reginae is the smaller version and nicolii the larger tree sized plant. Planned Landscape Constructions http://www.plannedlandscape.com.au Find us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= ... 9907611509 Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 9Jul 18, 2010 10:36 pm Yeah thanks for that, ive got strelitzia reginae on the list along with canna lily, dracaena, tiger grass or some bamboo, assorted palms etc Signed contract for the land 5/6/10 Deposit paid to builder 14/10/10 Tender 19/11/10 Land settled 19/05/2011 Site Cut 27/05/2011 Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 10Jul 26, 2010 8:33 pm lisanne An ornamental one is one that will never grow fruit. Not so...I'm yet to hear of a banana that doesnt fruit...they all will given time and if they dont die or are cut down beforehand but the "ornamental" varieties have inferior fruit...either too small,too seedy or just plain insipid. I have a purple variety,a red one and a bright pink one...all lovely to look at but all inedible. The plant in the photo looks like an Absynnian Banana. This is an unusual ornamental banana in that it does not sucker.New plants are propogated only by seed and often takes several years to fruit even up here in the tropics(Tully)..(cavendish on the other hand which accounts for maybe 90 percent or so of edible aussie nana's takes 9-12 months till harvest up here.) As you can see the Absynnian nana does perform very well in colder climates and is a stunning ornamental plant.I cant understand why landscapers dont use it more often down there...or maybe I can..a lot of landscapers dont stray too much from the tried and true. Scott Re: Plant ID and banana Q's 11Aug 10, 2010 3:11 am Why not email them and ask? They might not be aware their garden is being talked about as well. That is a top design alright 0 3484 I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 3745 nothing to do with salespeole. you'd do well to read and ccomprehend the post before bashing away at the keys with some negative comment again. 4 5061 |