# Banana Plant



## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

Are those runners or roots? The roots will turn green if they're in the light.

Eventually the plant sends up a big leaf to float on the top and when its big enough the stem breaks and the leaf floats around and slowly grows roots from the bottom of the stem and eventually finds a place to stick to and it all starts over again.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

Sweet!
Thanks for the info!

I don't know If I want more than 1 or 2 of these if the leaves get too big... Can I snip the big leaf off and discard it without any ill effect to the plant itself?

SJ


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## jahmic (Jan 30, 2011)

Absolutely. 

I snipped off a larger leaf on my banana plant about 2 weeks ago, and it has since grown 2 more in it's place. You can keep track of which ones are "older" and snip them one at a time as you please to keep the plant in check.

This was one of my favorite plants in my aquarium as a kid...glad I'm not the only one that still likes them, haha.


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

sjuapseorn said:


> Sweet!
> Thanks for the info!
> 
> I don't know If I want more than 1 or 2 of these if the leaves get too big... Can I snip the big leaf off and discard it without any ill effect to the plant itself?
> ...


The plant makes one kind of leaf for underwater and a second kind of leaf for floating on the surface.

It sends up the second kind to reach for the surface when it wants to. Supposedly if you let one of these reach the surface and grow there thats all the plant will make in the future but I think its more complicated than that. Its only these big ones that go to the surface that are supposed to eventually break off and make new plants.

Anyway, you can cut off the big leaves without a problem. Banana plants are really dwarf lillys so just treat them the same way.


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## v369 (Nov 14, 2010)

+1 boringname on both posts.


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## damenblankenship (Nov 11, 2010)

I currently have one that has a large leaf at the surface. I've been waiting to see what happens with it. If you "plant" it so that it is mostly above the substrate it will send out roots. When I rescaped my tank I was surprised to find that the roots had spread clear to the other side of my 10 gal tank! I wasn't sure I'd like this plant at first, but once the leaves start to get nice and big it looks really good. A very nice and easy little plant!


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I love my banana plant. It was tiny when I got it - about the size of a baseball with leaves and everything. Now it has huge leaves and one big one on about a 40 inch stem. The banana parts have grown down into the soil, almost burying the whole thing , and I can see small roots coming out. 

Very cool! I have one of those leaves that goes up to the surface right now. Can it really produce a baby banana plant? That would be pretty cool!


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## Cuchulainn (Nov 2, 2010)

boringname said:


> Eventually the plant sends up a big leaf to float on the top and when its big enough the stem breaks and the leaf floats around and slowly grows roots from the bottom of the stem and eventually finds a place to stick to and it all starts over again.


Sweet thanks. I was wondering about this.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

Wow.. the Rhizomes buried themselves?! Hmm.. I kinda stuffed the roots of mine down into my cave since it had an opening in the top. 

That stopped it from coming up off the bottom. And the 2nd plant (the bigger one) has a new leaf that is almost opened but it's wierd because both of the new leaves are really bright green. Also they have stopped reaching upward since I added a new 6500k light today. 

I thought it was a neato plant so thats why I bought it.. 

 Atleast I know there's guys out there with em that can help me if I run into anything funny.

SJ


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

I've noticed that if you let a banana plant float it grows one long root with a hook in it like a sheppard's crook. And it floats around and the hook catches on something like an airline. I think its supposed to do this, prolly in nature it tries to hook on to something. But if you weight it down it sends out multiple roots in normal plant fashion.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

Sweet!

It's just my small one that is going crazy with the roots.. they're all coming from above the rhizomes so I have no chance of burying them. I noticed this morning that it had pushed itself out of the cave so I guess it just wants to float!

if I were to bury it half way up the rhizomes would that kill it?
how about pinning it down with a toothpick through one of them?

I don't wanna mutilate it but I can't have it swimming all over my tank either


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

What I did was take a small piece of driftwood and tie it to a sort of leash around the bottom of the stem of the plant. Then I buried the driftwood in the sand and the banana plant only had about half an inch to move around in any direction.

It continued bumping around but within a month it had literally starting growing into the gravel. Now you can just barely see the tuber/banana type parts - they are mostly buried. There are clearly small roots coming out.

Once the plant was in solidly in the ground it went CRAZY with huge leaves and constant growth. Leaves the size of my hand.

As I read this thread the plant sent up a gigantic stem with one of those odd looking leaves unfurling at the surface. I wonder if I will have a baby banana plant?


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

OK so the 2 newest leaves on my banana plants are light green... The stalks are elongating toward the surface and the leaves are about 2x the size of the other darker ones. 

I guess I'm doing something right?
^_^

They're also sending out roots like CRAZY!!!!!!!!! 
And I have 2 more stalks starting to bud out from the Rhizomes.
This makes me happy.

I'll get some pics in a day or 2.. I'm bushed today!
It's been a long frustrating day.

-SJ


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

sjuapseorn said:


> Sweet!
> 
> It's just my small one that is going crazy with the roots.. they're all coming from above the rhizomes so I have no chance of burying them. I noticed this morning that it had pushed itself out of the cave so I guess it just wants to float!
> 
> ...


I would bury it and then lift it up out of the gravel later on when your sure the roots will hold it in place.

I had a floating banana plant that didn't sink even after 6 months floating.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

Since I've been slacking on pics I only have 2 to show right now.

These are of my bigger banana plant.

















the one leaf is getting big and definitely going higher than the rest.
Both plants have one like this  and both have a new stem emerging.

I can't wait for my new tank to come in. It's going to have alot more light and a little more room to expand. Also going to have an inert sand over top of the potting mix substrate. Maybe that will make the roots happier. I know it will be alot easier for them to bury up in the sand than through the gravel.

SJ


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

An update

Since I haven't talked about the Banana Plant in a while, and it seems to be my only plant that has shown significant growth no matter what.

I thought I would post a little snip of info.
I bought a 29 gallon last week or maybe the week before.. anyway..

I put an old incense bottle in there (after a good scald and scrub) and used the bottle as a "pot" for the big banana plant. It has in the past 3 or 4 days decided to send a 13" stalk straight to the surface. I'm excited to see what happens when it opens up!

I'll have to take some better pics in a day or 2 and post them.

This is just a shot near the surface with the new leaf. but doesnt show the relative length of the stem at all 
xD


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

*!!!Sweet Mother of LongStalks!!!*

Here's an updated photo of the banana plant.. with an FTS showing the whole stalk (yellow highlight)

the colors don't show up good on my camera but the leaf is green with red and purple.. very pretty!


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## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

ya, that is one long stem. i got one, but the light i had at the time wasn't adequate. it grew algae all over and died. i will have to get one once i get my new zoomed fixture. i will probably order it in a week.

oh, and you don't have to type in the reason thing on the bottom when editing. if you leave it blank, it will not appear. good luck for those banana plants and happy fish keeping.


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## RogierFvV (Dec 16, 2014)

Well, interesting thread. I have two banana plants in my little 5g nano tank, and the largest one went through a real downturn, and even the "bananas" sort of disintegrated and fell off, but it's growing new ones. The root system on that plant was enormous, and obviously healthy anyway, but I've never seen a cycle of decay and renewal like that. Very exciting.


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