Juniper Berries, Banana Plants and Perennials From Seed
In this episode Ellen and C.L. talk about the misinformation about edible juniper berries that you find online. We talk about growing banana plants, and why you might want to start perennials from seed. Lauren asks about germinating milkweed seed
:30 What’s for Dinner? Juniper berries…really?
See Ellen’s post about Juniper berries on her blog.
7:16 Eat/Drink/Grow: Banana plants. Growing hardy varieties in cold climates or tropical types in containers.
17:53 Insider Information: Growing perennials from seed.
22:38 Love Letters and Questions: Milkweed seeds
We refer Lauren to this page on the American Meadows website.
These are juniper berries on an Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana.
This is one of the ornamental red-leafed banana plants that are usually grown for their summer foliage alone. These can be grown in pots, and brought indoors in cold climates.
See the little green banana plant on the right side of this photo? That’s the first year that Musa basjoo grew in my Cape Cod garden, which is in a warm zone 6.
The first year I put bamboo cloches filled with salt marsh hay over the bamboo plants to protect them. It turned out that I didn’t need to do this…they survived for many years in my garden with no protection at all. These would grow to four or five feet tall every summer…interesting to know that I could grow them, but not so dramatic or appealing that I wanted to keep them around.
Many people have collected milkweed seeds but they don’t know how to be sure that these germinate the following spring. Ellen and C.L. talk about what it takes to grow milkweed from seed.