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View Full Version : California Gold Banana Plants on eBay


harveyc
07-08-2011, 03:02 PM
Jeff Earl presently has a pup for sale on eBay with a half hour to go:
California Gold - Cold Hardy dwarf Banana plant / tree - eBay (item 290584490546 end time Jul-08-11 13:32:31 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584490546&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_1692wt_1185)

Another seller from the "banana belt" of Michigan (joke) has been listing several plants in the past few weeks claiming they are California Gold pups:
RARE AND HARD TO FIND "CALIFORNIA GOLD" BANANA PLANTS | eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-AND-HARD-FIND-CALIFORNIA-GOLD-BANANA-PLANTS-/260814177977?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb9bc86b9)
Jeff Earl and I chatted about this last night and he said he has never shipped a plant to Michigan. These plants do not appear to be the same as Cal Gold and don't even look to be pups, but tissue culture plants. They might be a good banana but there's no telling what they actually are.

chong
07-09-2011, 12:27 AM
I think the MI CA Gold is actually a Super Dwarf Cavendish labeled as "Super Dwarf CA Gold" (on the pot). The CA Gold I have from Joe R and the one from Scot do(did) not have wine blotches on the leaves.

Jananas Bananas
07-09-2011, 12:41 AM
I contacted this "nursery" and asked if these were "stock" photos or the actual plant that was being offered. I told them that California Gold does not have Cavendish wine marks on the young leaves. "IF" they reply and if you guys are interested I will post it here.

I bought my CG last year directly from Jeff.

You notice they have Zero feedback - NOT a good sign!!!

~JaNan

harveyc
07-09-2011, 02:02 AM
Yeah, mine have never had the wine splotches either. I think I'm going to put up a pup for sale myself in about a week. My mat has one plant just about ready to bloom and another about a few weeks behind it, one large pup, and one small pup, so I should think one out, I think. Mine came from Jeff Earl three years ago, I think. I also got one from Joe Real in 2007 but it's taller than what it should be. He got his from Mike in Antioch who supposedly got his from Jeff, but that might have been during a period of confusion when some vandals messed up Jeff's plantation at a church garden.

The seller in Michigan had full trays of Raja Puri and Dwarf Cavendish TC plants a week or two ago so I wouldn't be surprised if a few just got re-labeled.
72 PACK STAGE#5 TISSUE CULTURE RAJAPURI BANANA PLANTS | eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/72-PACK-STAGE-5-TISSUE-CULTURE-RAJAPURI-BANANA-PLANTS-/260806915431?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb94db567)
72 PK STAGE5 TISSUE CULT DWARF CAVENDISH BANANA PLANTS | eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/72-PK-STAGE5-TISSUE-CULT-DWARF-CAVENDISH-BANANA-PLANTS-/260806907814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb94d97a6)

This seller sold one "California Gold" for $80 and another for $72. I just thought it was worth warning.