Growing Banana in Brisbane - 8km Southwest of the City

I have been growing banana in my Brisbane suburban backyard for about a couple of years now, a few bunchs have been harvested.  The bunch has never been as big or as fat as commercial grower though, but taste pretty good and I reckon it's not too bad for a novice although in other word, there are plenty of room for improvement!  Here is my banana corner, on the western side of the house, well protected from the wind by our two storey home but as a result not enough sunshine so each bunch taken so long to mature.  I'll make do with what I have for now.

In the past I never take notice how long it takes from when the flag leaf starts to appear to harvest time so each time I've got a new clump it keeps me wondering. So here is my note.

The small leaf in the centre of the trunk is called Flag Leaf. It is an indicator that banana heart (I like to call it flower) is coming.  Given it is winter time in Brisbane, I am quite surprised it's coming early in the season.  I thought banana will only fruit when the temperature is warmer...  This photo was taken 22/07/12

Another tell tale of flower coming up, apparently, is when the trunk becomes real fat.

Below photo was taken 05/08/12 and I can see that flower is definitely coming up... Woohooo....

Flag leaf in the center and the bulging pinkish banana flower is clearly visible now... 19/08/12.

I will keep you posted on further development....