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Old 08-17-2009, 11:22 AM   #37 (permalink)
Randy4ut
 
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Default Re: Musa Velutina Experiment

Quote:
Originally Posted by coast crab View Post
I'm really confused by all of this effort.

Let me first say that I'm on the Gulf Coast, zone 8b, and velutina is one of the biggest weeds I've ever seen. The first year it bloomed I let it "go to seed" because I wanted to see what would happen. It was cool to watch those fat little bananas pop open and show off those seeds. I eventually cut down the old, bloomed out pstems as new ones came up. Well, for the next 2years I pulled up velutinas from all over my garden. I think the cardinals found them and scattered seeds everywhere and they ALL germinated. I have a friend a few hours away in Florida who feeds his velutinas to his parrots who consider it quite a treat.

As soon as I see the bananas begin to mature I remove that pstem and throw it in the garbage. If anyone ever wants fresh seed just let me know, its usually available from mid summer through November.

Russell
Russell,
Be thankful where you live if you love bananas. There are many folks on this forum that are not as fortunate as you are from a weather standpoint and the velutina is one of the bananas that is hardy enough for some of our more climatically challenged growers. I, for one, live in SE TN, which is a borderline 7a/b, and have grown them for about 4 years now. Love the foliage it adds to my backyard and the fruit is just a bonus.
So, with all this said, I hope you now understand what the "big deal" is with growing them... WE ARE LIMITED TO WHAT WE CAN GROW!!! LOL
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