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aemaris
07-15-2007, 06:04 PM
Hi all! Thanks for all the good info here! I chose a mysore for my first banana and got it from Stoke's tropicals. It arrived last week looking healthy and gorgeous with three nice leaves, about 20" long. Two little pups at the base.

About 15 years ago I was told I was allergic to bananas and avoided them. Lately, I was retested and told I could try them again. I find they don't bother me as long as they are well ripened. I prefer the sweet little bananas I get in mexican markets. yum! Or fried and served with sour cream.

But, that's not why I got started growing bananas...I needed something to shade my bromeliads from the intense afternoon sun we get on the hillside here. Anything higher than 16 feet or so will block our view, so hopefully the mysore species will look good, stay short enough, and give me tasty little bananas eventually!

For the bromeliad shade, I previously tried avocado and citrus trees, but they didn't like getting their leaves wet or the blazing sun. (Bromeliads like to be moist and under a canopy) Palm trees were expensive and not my favorite, so now I turn to bananas! I hope the musa mysore works. So far it looks happy with the bromeliads, but I need another few feet of growth before they get any shade from it. Any advice appreciated!

I have been to brazil and admired the banana farms there, and seen the gizzilions of different varieties. Being a newby, chosing one was overwhelming, so I did a lot of reading, and hopefully chose a good one. I am also enjoying all the other plant pics members have posted--tropicals and carniverous--wow! cheers, Ann

MediaHound
07-16-2007, 01:12 AM
Be careful using them to shade delicate plants as they do get to a point where they die off and reveal a sunspot below where they were. You might end up frying your bromeliads.

In my experience, Mysore is a slower grower and does not produce as many pups as other kinds. I would even venture to say they produce a below average amount. That and they have a wide spread, and not an extremely wide leaf... not the best for shade. Too bad your not local, I would invite you over and show you what I mean, compare them side by side with others for you.

We can make some suggestions if you would like to try some other kinds. Besides, you probably want to get a dense canopy quickly if it's to be a reliable sunscreen, so you'll probably need more acquisitions to reach that point.

Anyway, welcome aboard! Thanks for joining! Hope you enjoy!

the flying dutchman
07-16-2007, 08:38 AM
A very welcome

Ron

aemaris
07-16-2007, 03:19 PM
thanks for the welcomes! sure, if you would suggest a better banana for shade, i will try it! thank you! I had trouble finding clear pics of the mysore on the internet. I need something that doesn't get taller than about 16 feet max because of blocking our bay view and the neighbor's. i would like something edible. On the hillside here, we do get strong winds. Two winters ago we had a freeze and a hailstorm that left its marks. It is amazing how plants can recover. i plan to cover the banana if we get another winter like that.

Moving the bromeliads around as the banana plants die back is no problem. i move their pots around anyway to protect them as the seasons change, or to see them better as they flower. (i'm one of those people that moves my furniture around a lot too!) I didn't think I could grow bromeliads outside here, but people from the SF bromeliad club insisted I could, and, so far so good. In two years, there's been no untimely deaths, just a lot of sunburns. They will be happy to get a little more relief from the sun once i get the bananas going. can't wait!

In the area, I have so far found three houses with banana growing. All three look like the same species (I'll post pics later). sort of the "classic" banana plant look. Very tall, green leaves, small pitiful looking few bananas, neglected. Huge smooth whitish stems/trunks (max diam ~ 10"). brazilian? too big for my place.

cheers, Ann

MediaHound
07-17-2007, 12:53 AM
Might want to look into Rajapuri (http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Rajapuri), Goldfinger (http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Goldfinger), Williams (http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Williams_Hybrid), and quite a few others.

Bananaman88
07-18-2007, 07:45 PM
Welcome to the group, Ann! I'm still fairly new here too. Great site!