I have five seedlings of Musa acuminata coming up. They're about four inches high, with up to a dozen leaves so far. I planted the seeds about ten weeks ago, and they just emerged about 15 days ago (so they're slow to germinate, but fast to grow).
The seedling's leaves don't look much like banana leaves. They're oblate but not enlongated. I assume it'll start looking more like a banana tree as it matures?
I currently have the seedlings in 3-inch pots, indoors, under flourescents. It's ordinary potting mix, and the pots are sitting on a capillary tray for bottom watering by wicking.
1) Will these plants survive outdoors in zone 8a (DFW)? If so, what size should they be before I move them?
2) Should I plan to pot them, and overwinter them indoors? What size pot, what kind of soil?
3) Any other tips? I know it can take quite a while until they flower and produce fruit, but I'm willing to invest the time and care.
Musa acuminata (Dwarf Cavendish)
The seed leaves never look like the plant's true leaves will, and with some plants even the first true leaves won't look like the adult leaves. In terms of hardiness, I've never grown bananas so I'm not the best person to answer, but since nobody else had jumped in yet I figured I'd try and find something for you. Plant Files lists the straight species M. acuminata as hardy to 9a. For the various cultivars, I looked at several of them and saw everything from 8a to 9b as the low end of the hardiness. So my take on it is that they're going to be pretty borderline in your area and if you want to guarantee they'll always make it through the winter you'll bring them in. But if you have a sheltered area and can mulch them heavily then they may work outdoors, but I'd probably grow them in pots and bring them in for the winters until they get to a decent size, and then heavily protect them for the first couple years that they're planted outdoors.