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frankielove
05-23-2014, 02:12 PM
Hello! I'm a newbie banana grower. I picked this plant up at a local nursery here in Michigan. It simply said "banana plant, keep moist and avoid direct sunlight outdoors, provide a large pot" The tag had a cartoon monkey eating a banana, so I'm hoping it's an edible fruit variety. It doesn't have any marking on the leaves. It stands about 11" high including the new leaf. When I bought it, it was in a 4" pot and pretty root bound. It was grown by Colasanti Farms in Ontario. I checked their website, but it didn't offer any additional info. Any help is much appreciated! <a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=56091&ppuser=18687><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=56091&size=1 border=0></a>

Duckfood
05-23-2014, 09:30 PM
Best guess??? It's a Dwarf Cavendish...

siege2050
05-24-2014, 12:09 AM
Looks very similar to my Dwarf Cavendish.

frankielove
05-24-2014, 10:14 AM
I hope you're both right. I suppose a greenhouse here in Michigan would most likely sell a dwarf cavendish, but they did have some large ornamental bananas too. I'm really hoping for fruit, so here goes! Thanks!

CountryBoy1981
05-24-2014, 03:47 PM
It looks like a dwarf cavendish except it is missing the wine spots. Usually at that height it should have wine spots or I am blind and not seeing them in the picture.

siege2050
05-24-2014, 04:03 PM
It looks like a dwarf cavendish except it is missing the wine spots. Usually at that height it should have wine spots or I am blind and not seeing them in the picture.

Mine gets the spots depending on how much light it gets, Right now it has none, but a few months ago it did. The pup I split from it is the same way.

Abnshrek
05-24-2014, 04:29 PM
I think a side view would help a lot where we can see the stem, other than that I's say wait a month and do a redo.. :^)

Duckfood
05-24-2014, 04:53 PM
It looks like a dwarf cavendish except it is missing the wine spots. Usually at that height it should have wine spots or I am blind and not seeing them in the picture.

They are not really pronounced, but I can see them in the picture...

frankielove
05-24-2014, 09:38 PM
I didn't notice the markings at first. Now that I look closer, I can see them. They are faint though. I have it in bright shade. The sun has been really strong here the past few days and I don't want it to get scorched. Here's a closer look at the stem and leaves.

<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=56097&ppuser=18687><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=56097&size=1 border=0></a><a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=56098&ppuser=18687><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=56098&size=1 border=0></a>

siege2050
05-24-2014, 11:46 PM
Yeah, mine got super scorched, so I put it back in the shade, that's why no leaves have the marks now lol, I had to cut the old ones off. Very strange because my Musa sikkimensis don't scorch at all, and they are wild Bananas.

frankielove
05-25-2014, 11:15 AM
Thanks everyone! I contacted the supplier and I heard back. I am a little surprised they took the time to respond. So nice! It's a Super Dwarf Cavendish, so I'm really pleased. I'm thinking about getting another one. Or would that be silly since they pup so well?

Duckfood
05-25-2014, 07:04 PM
Thanks everyone! I contacted the supplier and I heard back. I am a little surprised they took the time to respond. So nice! It's a Super Dwarf Cavendish, so I'm really pleased. I'm thinking about getting another one. Or would that be silly since they pup so well?

Frankie, it is quite obvious that you have only been a member of the .org for a short period of time... Bananas always grow best in groups of two or more... Preferably 15 or more...

Please, go back to the store and adopt another!!!

frankielove
05-25-2014, 10:30 PM
Duckfood, you're so right! Why even try to resist? I guess I know what I'm doing Tuesday!

siege2050
05-25-2014, 11:29 PM
Bananas are addictive, I started with a Musa Basjoo, and now I have like 10 different kinds lol

frankielove
05-26-2014, 08:34 AM
I can see that. I never do anything halfway. I can see many more plants in my future as well. I might have to give away some of my old indoor plants to make room this fall!

from the sea
06-04-2014, 02:58 AM
mine fruited at about 5 feet tall and tasted like a really good half size dole banana good luck:)

Iunepeace
06-04-2014, 02:51 PM
How long did yours take to Fruit FTS?

from the sea
06-04-2014, 09:16 PM
9 and 11 months, two small plants bought on the same day. They seemed to grow soooooo slow. cool plants though

frankielove
06-05-2014, 07:39 AM
Where I live, it's gonna take a while for fruit.... I knew that going in though. I bought a second plant from the same place and it's going through a bit of shock now. The leaves are rather droopy, so I'm keeping it out of the sun.

The plant in the picture opened a new leaf. The new leaf had the dark markings, but they faded quickly. Interesting little plants.

Iunepeace
06-05-2014, 08:00 AM
9 and 11 months, two small plants bought on the same day. They seemed to grow soooooo slow. cool plants though

9 months is the given growing time in the tropics, not bad for someone up in Florida. How cold do your winters get? I'm a bit east of you in The Bahamas so technically the tropics and I'm hoping I can shave a few weeks off the growing time in Florida.

I'm also curious about how fast they put out new leaves :D

(SDC seem to grow slower than other varieties to me too, maybe eye tricks)

frankielove
06-05-2014, 10:14 AM
I need to move, I think.

from the sea
06-05-2014, 06:00 PM
9 months is the given growing time in the tropics, not bad for someone up in Florida. How cold do your winters get? I'm a bit east of you in The Bahamas so technically the tropics and I'm hoping I can shave a few weeks off the growing time in Florida.

I'm also curious about how fast they put out new leaves :D

(SDC seem to grow slower than other varieties to me too, maybe eye tricks)


62 deg a few nights mostly in the mid 70's I'm in the Florida Keys coldest i can remember is 40 a few years back
they send out a new leaf every 6-9 days hoping to speed it up this year

Pancrazio
06-05-2014, 06:58 PM
and avoid direct sunlight outdoors,


I must disagree. Give them all the light that you can. Banana love direct sunlight in my experience, as long as they have a plenty of water, of course.

Iunepeace
06-05-2014, 07:58 PM
Thanks for the feedback Stephen, your temps sound pretty similar to ours. Since you're in the Keys do you have sandy soil?

That leaf average is pretty much what I used to get before I went away to college; is that just normal growing or with supplement feeding? I'd be curious to learn how you plan to increase that speed :D

from the sea
06-05-2014, 08:28 PM
that speed was without fertilizer just a little compost and sea weed, i'm adding light monthly fertilizer to the mix this time, the soil is sandy and rocky i add a lot of mulch, compost, seaweed and top soil

frankielove
06-05-2014, 10:46 PM
Pancrazio, yeah that's what I thought too. It wouldn't be the first time that a nursery tag was wrong. I have one in the sun and the other morning sun for now as it has some droopy leaves after the shock of transplanting. They were root bound in tiny pots when I bought them.

Iunepeace
06-07-2014, 02:15 PM
that speed was without fertilizer just a little compost and sea weed, i'm adding light monthly fertilizer to the mix this time, the soil is sandy and rocky i add a lot of mulch, compost, seaweed and top soil

Sounds good, what N-P-K ratio are you planning to use?

siege2050
06-08-2014, 03:25 AM
I think they need to be hardened off before going in full sun, if they were kept indoors. Mine scorched off every leaf, and I am gradually moving into full sun. I will say they grow a lot slower than other types I have tried. I am starting to suspect my Dwarf Cavendish is actually a SDC, it just makes weird rosettes of leaves.

from the sea
06-08-2014, 05:52 AM
Sounds good, what N-P-K ratio are you planning to use?

6-8-15