Yunnan Banana Seeds

SF404 Yunnan Banana ( Musa sp. "Yunnan" )

This beautiul banana grows to about 15 feet tall and is one of the hardiest species for cold winters as even the leaves can tolerate a bit of frost. Features huge, long leaves that grow to several feet. New leaves have red coloration on their undersides. Sought after as an ornamental and for its cold tolerance.
A beautiful, high altitude banana from China's Yunnan Province and Arunachal Pradesh in India that has proven to be a very interesting cold tolerant species that will thrive under similar conditions as the legendary Musa basjoo and M. sikkimensis, even though not quite as hardy. It is a slender stemmed, extremely fast growing plant with large leaves supported by waxy white leaf stalks. Some confusion surrounds the introduction of this banana into cultivation: and it now turns out to be a new species, described in 2007 by Markku Hakkinen as Musa yunnanensis.
Considered hardy to zone 5. Exact hardiness is unknown. It may be close to as hardy as Musa basjoo, and has reportedly tolerated temperatures down to 10F. Upon freezing weather the plant will die back to its base, but quickly grows back once weather warms up.

For more banana seed varieties, all in stock and ready to ship, visit our Banana Seed Page .

Growing bananas from seed info:

Commercially grown bananas that are cultivated specifically for consumption do not have seeds. Over time, they have been modified to have three sets of genes instead of two (triploid) and produce no seeds.

If you want to grow banana plants from seed, be aware that the resulting fruit will not be like those you buy at the grocers. They will contain seeds and, depending upon the variety, might be so large that the fruit is difficult to get to.
Bananas grown from seed are normally for ornamental purposes, we do however offer a few varieties that will produce edible bananas ( with seeds of course ), and they have a wonderful flavor superior to store bananas.

Bananas are one of the more difficult seeds to germinate in terms of time and effort required, especially compared to vegetable and flower seeds most gardeners are familiar with, but they can be germinated at a decent rate if one is diligent.

The first thing to understand is that banana seed take a long time to germinate! Nature has built in natural germination inhibitors to insure they do not germinate in the wild too soon.

We have been germinating banana seeds in our germination trials for over 25 years. The normal germination range in our greenhouse trials varies from 1 to 6 months. We have had some varieties germinate in just a few weeks, only to have the same variety take several months during the next germination trial, you cannot predict how long they will take to germinate.
The basic things to remember if you are germinating banana seeds are:
1. Always soak seeds before sowing. We recommend 24-48 hours.
2. Use a well draining soil mix. A mix that holds water will rot the seeds in place.
3.Soil temperature must be at least 68 degrees or warmer for part of the day. But, seeds need alternating temperatures for germinating. We found that just putting a heating mat under the seeds and leaving temperature constant was not nearly as effective as heating the soil for a few hours a day, then allowing it to cool.
4. Keep soil damp, but not wet! Wet soil will rot seeds quickly. Placing the seed tray inside a plastic bag is a good way to keep moisture constant.
5. Be very, very patient. Seeds can easily take several months and in most cases will. We only offer seeds from the latest harvest and have them tested before making them available to our customers. Due to the long germination time of these and the difficulty germinating them, we do not offer a replacement guarantee on these seeds, please consider this before purchasing.