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amantedelenguaje
12-03-2013, 11:35 PM
I've got a 2.5-year-old indoor Dwarf Cavendish pushing a flower in the middle of the winter. It's kind of odd because I had another 2-year-old Dwarf Cavendish push a flower at this exact same time last year. I wonder if the onset of winter combined with the movement of the plant from outdoors to indoors may have an influence on the time that the flower appears. My research indicates that bananas flower whenever they feel like it, but it is interesting that the timing of the 2012 and 2013 blooms are almost identical to the day.

I hope I can get the fruit to hang on until spring/summer, when I can return the plant outdoors.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OptixtXkhEg/Up6nGAiii2I/AAAAAAAADWE/FxAk8BOmnHA/s320/PB270085+(800x600).jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uon8PMnAcLE/Up6nFTX7U4I/AAAAAAAADWA/UlPcWBhlC9s/s320/PB270087+(800x600).jpg

Nicolas Naranja
12-04-2013, 01:13 AM
The plant started the flowering process months ago. My mind may be failing me, but I think flowering is determined 4-6 months prior to actually seeing the flower. Somewhere during this time the number of hands is set.


I've got a 2.5-year-old indoor Dwarf Cavendish pushing a flower in the middle of the winter. It's kind of odd because I had another 2-year-old Dwarf Cavendish push a flower at this exact same time last year. I wonder if the onset of winter combined with the movement of the plant from outdoors to indoors may have an influence on the time that the flower appears. My research indicates that bananas flower whenever they feel like it, but it is interesting that the timing of the 2012 and 2013 blooms are almost identical to the day.

I hope I can get the fruit to hang on until spring/summer, when I can return the plant outdoors.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OptixtXkhEg/Up6nGAiii2I/AAAAAAAADWE/FxAk8BOmnHA/s320/PB270085+(800x600).jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uon8PMnAcLE/Up6nFTX7U4I/AAAAAAAADWA/UlPcWBhlC9s/s320/PB270087+(800x600).jpg

amantedelenguaje
12-11-2013, 05:57 PM
My DC is progressing nicely. I've had to run the indoor lights because its been overcast for about a week.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4GO5HLXsjSk/Uqjof7wxqTI/AAAAAAAADW4/jpGddY_9P-8/s320/2013-12-11%2B17.31.46-778038.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxkCAFLhrzY/UqjqqhdOb6I/AAAAAAAADXE/lGnXqD43pJ0/s320/2013-12-11%2B17.42.01-732360.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7AyRhBb9KiQ/Uqjqrtn4wOI/AAAAAAAADXQ/bhj3UV2eD5A/s320/2013-12-11%2B17.41.27-738467.jpg

scottu
12-11-2013, 06:30 PM
I think I would leave those lights and maybe more on about 20 hours a day! Very cool and keep us updated with pics please.

sal
12-12-2013, 09:40 AM
How tall is your DC when it started flowering?

Mine, the tallest is about a foot.

amantedelenguaje
12-13-2013, 03:44 PM
How tall is your DC when it started flowering?

Mine, the tallest is about a foot.

The current pseudostem height is 3.5 feet. However, this is not its real flowering height. I chopped the pseudostem in half in late summer 2012 and again in late summer 2013. My reason is that I must prepare to bring the plant indoors for the winter. The plant usually has 4-6 feet of pseudostem and stands well over 8 ft. tall with the flower pot and vertical height of the leaves before I sever it. I cannot bring a nine-foot monster into a room with 8-ft ceilings, so I chop it in late summer to give the plant time to recover and grow some new foliage before winter storage.

I try to be careful. If I feel the plant is about to flower, I don't chop off as much. It's a gamble, but I don't have much choice.

amantedelenguaje
12-13-2013, 05:56 PM
The bud is still trying to emerge. It seems like it is taking an eternity. The inflorescence is rather large considering that the plant grows in zone 7, has been moved from pot to pot, chopped in half twice, has a confined growing space, and is sitting in the middle of a bedroom. Hope I can get some fruit this time.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aFCvaSHqeCY/UquJy6ejwMI/AAAAAAAADXk/NiPv12EZSP4/s400/PC070008+(600x800).jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-avAntgdP1rI/UquJxgIXDtI/AAAAAAAADXc/zwejOTCTW3g/s400/PC070007+(600x800).jpg

amantedelenguaje
12-13-2013, 08:25 PM
All Choked Up :-(

So I was hoping that my banana was not choking, but I can no longer deny it. I decided to do some surgery to try and liberate the inflorescence. I had to sacrifice two leaves in the process, and the remaining leaves have weakened petioles. I have tied them up to help them withstand the stress. We'll see what happens.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c_NC0WSNvQU/UquuVwiIDpI/AAAAAAAADX0/aRdVyRzle_I/s320/PC070001+(768x1024).jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/--oPIyZAWjxA/UquuWMFi-XI/AAAAAAAADX4/5-7BRiMY8MU/s320/PC070002+(768x1024).jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g9K38FkSyS8/UrkNjBO3iZI/AAAAAAAADYw/Is1fbrUFfrE/s320/PC170014+(1024x768).jpg

amantedelenguaje
01-13-2014, 08:07 PM
Well, the bananas are still hanging on. I hope I can get these to ripen eventually. Right now I am 0-2 when it comes to my success in getting ripe bananas from a banana inflorescence. The plant still has 4 pitiful leaves. The pup has started growing steadily, so I hope it will help provide energy to the corm. We will see.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LRS0P2Blu8o/UtSKIgt2MsI/AAAAAAAADZY/AOg03xf2vF8/s320/2014-01-13%2B19.46.16-704870.jpg

Funkthulhu
01-14-2014, 01:00 PM
I could only hope that I am so lucky. It may be the only way I'll ever see a flower in my climate.

amantedelenguaje
01-29-2014, 08:00 PM
The fruit are still hanging on. You cannot tell it from the photo, but they have gotten a little longer. They are growing very slowly.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=55638&size=1

amantedelenguaje
02-13-2014, 07:51 PM
It's been another two weeks, and the fruit is still hanging on. The fruits are 2.5 to 3.5 inches long. They are plumping up, albeit very slowly. There are only 3 leaves left on the plant though. The low humidity is frying them.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m_NTvJs4dGU/Uv1k4TSW3CI/AAAAAAAADaM/S4tLI2w048Y/s1600/2014-02-13%2B19.31.50-744353.jpg

JCA433
02-13-2014, 08:16 PM
Your bananas are about the size of my Goldfinger bananas now. I think they will fill out and mature.