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hoosierquilt
09-04-2012, 08:41 PM
Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. My name is Patty, and I live in N. San Diego county, and am planting my first bananas. I'm a CRFG member and have lots of other fruit trees and berries. I've been expanding my semi-tropical and tropical cultivars, and have just planted two Ice Cream bananas. Hoping to add two more varieties. Probably a Dwarf Namwah and hopefully if I can find one, a Pisang Klotek. If not, possibly a Ceylon. Hoping I can find some nice, sweet eating bananas to enjoy. Glad to find the forum, and looking forward to learning more about my bananas!

Abnshrek
09-04-2012, 08:53 PM
Hello, Welcome, Happy Hunting and Growing.. :^)

hoosierquilt
09-04-2012, 08:58 PM
Thank you, Abnshrek. And Sunfish, I see you're in my neck of the woods! I may ask you a few questions related to our area, with regard to cultivation in the future. Hope you don't mind.

sunfish
09-04-2012, 09:03 PM
Thank you, Abnshrek. And Sunfish, I see you're in my neck of the woods! I may ask you a few questions related to our area, with regard to cultivation in the future. Hope you don't mind.

I don't mind at all.

RandyGHO
09-04-2012, 10:10 PM
Welcome Patty to bananas. I think their are several here from GardenWeb.

I had hoped to post a picture of yellowing lemon leafs for your opinion on the GW tonight but did not get to it. I have the Fl link on leafs but still not quite sure. Will try to post pics in the morning on the GW

I think you will enjoy the banana additions.

Randy

crazy banana
09-04-2012, 11:54 PM
Hello from San Diego. I am a little south of you...

Yug
09-05-2012, 04:57 AM
Welcome Patty to bananas. I think their are several here from GardenWeb.

I had hoped to post a picture of yellowing lemon leafs for your opinion on the GW tonight but did not get to it. I have the Fl link on leafs but still not quite sure. Will try to post pics in the morning on the GW

I think you will enjoy the banana additions.

Randy

Ah, gardenweb. I remember them from my orchidweb experience - I believe they are connected. Orchidweb was militantly against any mention of any other orchid forums - you would get banned if you did. total assh*les. Good riddance. :waving:

Dalmatiansoap
09-05-2012, 08:05 AM
I'm a CRFG member and have lots of other fruit trees and berries. I've been expanding my semi-tropical and tropical cultivars, and have just planted two Ice Cream bananas.

:pics:

Welcome on a board
:woohoonaner:

hoosierquilt
09-05-2012, 08:58 AM
Well, thank you everyone for such a nice, nice welcome! I see I have more than a few folks in my neck of the woods, which is great! And, I'll run up my hill and snap some photos of my two Ice Creams! I'm planning on running over to Exotica Nursery today or tomorrow, to pick up a Pisang Ceylon and a Dwarf Namwah. Now, if anyone has any leads on a Pisang Klotek, I would have all the bananas I'm after. And yes, Garden Web used to get pretty testy about mentioning other forums, but they seem to have relaxed this attitude over the last year or so. However, both this forum, as well as the Tropical Fruits forum have some very active and helpful members, so it's really nice to be so welcomed at both places. :goteam:

bananimal
09-05-2012, 09:41 AM
Patty --- contact momoese in LA or Pitangadiego in SD. I could send you a PK pup but they have rabid banana dogs all along the Cali border waiting to pounce on all incoming plant material.
Post some pics btw.

Dan

venturabananas
09-05-2012, 09:50 AM
Welcome Patty. In your neck of the woods, Sunfish (Tony) is a great source of information and plants. He can teach you how well banana plants do without being babied too much. :ha: You probably already know Jon (Pitangadiego; search for Encanto Farms) from CRFG, if not, you should make his acquaintance. He's another great source of plants and info. And a tour of his banana jungle always relaxes me and makes me feel like I've escaped to the tropics. He has Pisang Klotek, though I don't know if he has any pups available.

If you are looking for variety in fruit flavors, don't get both Pisang Ceylon and Pisang Klotek, and Ice Cream and Dwarf Namwah. Out of those 4, you'll essentially get two kinds of fruit. There are lots of other varieties that make different tasting and delicious fruit that will do well where you live.

sunfish
09-05-2012, 09:55 AM
Patty --- contact momoese in LA or Pitangadiego in SD. I could send you a PK pup but they have rabid banana dogs all along the Cali border waiting to pounce on all incoming plant material.
Post some pics btw.

Dan

I wonder why they have rabid banana dogs all along the Cali border waiting to pounce on all incoming plant material.

momoese
09-05-2012, 10:02 AM
I wonder why they have rabid banana dogs all along the Cali border waiting to pounce on all incoming plant material.

Bugs

I wonder why the dogs are rabid? :ha:

hoosierquilt
09-05-2012, 11:31 AM
Okay, will do all things suggested. So, since I already have Ice Cream, and I think I want to get a Pisang Klotek, what other nice, sweet, eating bananas would folks recommend? I like sweet fruits, prefer not too tall plants, and have room for a couple more varieties. I'll try contacting Jon. I think he belongs to the San Diego chapter of CRFG, and I'm up in N. San Diego county, and belong to the N. county chapter, so I won't see him unless we do joint functions together. Carol Graham is our resident banana expert here in our N. county CRFG chapter. Not sure if she's a member of the forum or not. She spoke at our May meeting, but I couldn't attend, so I missed her great presentation.

momoese
09-05-2012, 11:46 AM
I have a couple PK pups but no time to package and ship. If you are ever in the LA area and want to pick one up lmk.

venturabananas
09-05-2012, 11:55 AM
I have a couple PK pups but no time to package and ship. If you are ever in the LA area and want to pick one up lmk.

Patty, note that Mitchel was the original source of all the PK pups that the rest of us on the org have. He's been very generous.

venturabananas
09-05-2012, 12:09 PM
Okay, will do all things suggested. So, since I already have Ice Cream, and I think I want to get a Pisang Klotek, what other nice, sweet, eating bananas would folks recommend? I like sweet fruits, prefer not too tall plants, and have room for a couple more varieties.

For the SoCal climate, in addition to the ones you already have, I'd consider Goldfinger or FHIA-18 (they are siblings with similar flavor), Dwarf Brazilian, and by reputation (not personal tasting -- yet) Monthan. Most of what is sold as "Ice Cream" at nurseries is a Pisang Awak variety whose fruits are indistinguishable from plants sold locally as Namwah, Misi Luki, and Belle (if from Jon). Even if it makes fruit that taste the same as your "Ice Cream", I'd also plant a Dwarf Namwah because it is short and bulletproof. There are many others that could do well for you, but the ones I mentioned are ones that seem to be consistent producers of tasty fruit across SoCal. Avoid anything with Cavendish in the name -- you can buy them at the supermarket and they don't like our winters.

sunfish
09-05-2012, 12:32 PM
I have a PK and lots of others.K-m5,lakatan and yada,yada,yada

sunfish
09-05-2012, 01:09 PM
I haven't tasted any yet but I hear K-m5 and lakatan are the best.

hoosierquilt
09-05-2012, 01:42 PM
Wow, thank you all so much! Mitchel, I may be able to get up to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks, when I am on my call week (am an RN, and every 9 weeks work the night shift on call). Maybe we can meet 1/2 way? I'd be more than willing to pay for the pups, that would just be great! Thank you for the offer. Tony, I may end up contacting you, too. Ventura, I thought about Goldfinger, so maybe that's an option. Would be fun to also consider a red-colored banana, just for the color variety.

Here are a the photos of my two Ice Creams. Maybe folks can take a look at the photos and make sure they are, indeed, Ice Creams:

<a href="http://s940.photobucket.com/albums/ad246/hoosierquilt/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_1771.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad246/hoosierquilt/IMG_1771.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s940.photobucket.com/albums/ad246/hoosierquilt/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_1770.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad246/hoosierquilt/IMG_1770.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

sunfish
09-05-2012, 01:46 PM
If that Ice Cream is from Home Depot or Lowe's it is most likely Namwah and not true Ice Cream

sunfish
09-05-2012, 01:48 PM
http://www.bananas.org/f12/not-ice-cream-13977.html?highlight=ice+cream

hoosierquilt
09-05-2012, 01:54 PM
Ugh, Tony. So, what do you think it is? It's from Lowe's. Which is really from Laverne. Mark doesn't think it is, either. So, looks like a trip to your place for some pups?? Poo.

hoosierquilt
09-05-2012, 01:56 PM
OH, okay, maybe a Namwah. That's not bad, though. Just wished it was a dwarf Namwah, is there a difference?? So, back to trying to get a REAL Ice Cream and a REAL Pisang Klotek! Had no idea there was this much mix up with varieties within the world of nanners!

sunfish
09-05-2012, 03:56 PM
It is a taller plant.Has good fruit so no worries.

momoese
09-05-2012, 04:02 PM
It is taller than dwarf but not too tall. It's a medium sized plant and the fruit is tasty! I've never had a wind problem with mine unlike the HA or tall reds.

hoosierquilt
09-05-2012, 04:11 PM
Okay, thanks Mitchel and Tony. At least I have a nice variety. Looking forward to adding a few more to my hillside. It's in kind of a sheltered area, next to my neighbor's banana trees. I'm going to have to ask her what varieties they are. They are Philippino, so they might be plantains and not sweet bananas. But, at least they are all keeping each other company, and look really pretty grouped together.

sunfish
09-05-2012, 05:29 PM
OH, okay, maybe a Namwah. That's not bad, though. Just wished it was a dwarf Namwah, is there a difference?? So, back to trying to get a REAL Ice Cream and a REAL Pisang Klotek! Had no idea there was this much mix up with varieties within the world of nanners!

You may be able to pic up the real blue java at Quail Gardens

caliboy1994
09-05-2012, 07:49 PM
Welcome from (not so sunny at the moment) Granada Hills in the San Fernando Valley! I grow Ice Cream (which is also probably not), Pisang Ceylon, Mysore, and an unknown plant which is probably Rajapuri or Dwarf Brazilian. I'm looking into getting FHIA-18 and possibly a few other types such as Manzano and Praying Hands.

You'll be amazed at how fast these plants grow. This May, I planted an Ice Cream in-ground, and it more than doubled in height. I also planted a Mysore which was just a tiny little pup about a foot tall when planted, and now the stem is taller than me!

If you want a red plant, probably go for Dwarf Red. The one at Mark's place is doing great, and it's a very beautiful plant. Just note that it's not very cold hardy, so you might want to plant it close to your house or in a space where heat is trapped. Also, young Mysore, Pisang Ceylon, and Pisang Klotek plants have red coloration to them which fades as they get older (they are pretty much all the same plant).

Anyways, good luck on your banana growing adventure!

hydroid
09-05-2012, 08:04 PM
Welcome Patty, there are lots of great people here on the forums we even have get-togethers in my neck of the woods. You are in a great climate for growing lots of tropicals. If you ever get to the upper Gulf Coast please give us a holler.
Bo

hoosierquilt
09-05-2012, 08:29 PM
My gosh, thank you all so, so much! Bo, absolutely. Occasionally I'm out that way, so if I am in Alabama, I will definitely let you know. And Tony, I will make sure to check out Quail next time our CFRG's have a work party scheduled. I will go and donate my time, and see if I can manage to get an Ice Cream pup. And Caliboy, thanks for the suggestion for a red banana. We do get some cold temps here in the hills of Vista. But, this area on the hillside is fairly well protected by a very large crib wall to the east, as well as a huge pile of granite rocks on the north. My neighbor's banana plants are doing well right there, so I planted my banana plants just below them (right across the property line from hers). I have plenty of room for probably 3 or 4 more varieties. My neighbors are already running from me and pulling down blinds when they see me walking with bags, lol! I have over 65 citrus trees (about 40 varieties), along with that many stone fruits, 17 pear varieties, 5 different apple trees, grapes, cherimoya, sapote, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries, 8 different pomegranates, asian guavas, pineapple guavas, papayas, and probably more that I can't remember off the top of my head (like Honeyberries). If the Apocalypse comes, I'm set as long as I can get water, lol!!