View Full Version : Big, beautiful, and baffling
Nancy
06-29-2008, 09:40 PM
I bought a banana tagged "Orinoco," but clearly it is not Orinoco. My question is about the tall plants in the back, closest to the house. Just for a sense of scale, the bottom of the window is a little more than five feet above ground level. I am posting pictures of the full-grown tree, its flower, and its fruit to my gallery. (Gee, I hope I'm doing this correctly. If not, just set me straight.) I'd be happy to post more pictures if there's something in particular you'd like to see.
Thanks for any identification help you can offer!
Nancy
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=10814&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=10814)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=10816&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=10816)
Gabe15
06-29-2008, 09:57 PM
Thats definitely a perfect example of 'Orinoco', no doubt about that. What led you to believe its not 'Orinoco'?
Nancy
06-29-2008, 10:13 PM
Well, I *assumed* it was Orinoco until an employee at Just Fruits and Exotics (where they really seem to know their bananas) told me that this was much too tall to be Orinoco. She told me to bring pictures of the fruit, which I did the next time I visited, and she told me she still couldn't identify it. I'm a banana novice, so who was I to argue?
Nancy
Gabe15
06-29-2008, 11:01 PM
Maybe she is used to 'Dwarf Orinoco' which is a much shorter plant. Your plant looks normal for the "regular", sometimes called ' Tall Orinoco', or more commonly just 'Orinoco'.
Dean W.
06-29-2008, 11:04 PM
Nancy, that's a nice mat you got there. They look very happy. :ukkibannana:
stumpy4700
06-29-2008, 11:48 PM
Congrats on a beautiful bunch!!!!!!!!!
mskitty38583
06-30-2008, 09:39 AM
nice lookin nanas!! love the flower on the oronicos. congrats
island cassie
06-30-2008, 10:42 AM
Great looking plants and they look just like my tall orinoco.
Cassie
Nancy
06-30-2008, 02:48 PM
Thanks a lot to everyone. It's good to know for sure these are Orinoco. They do seem to be very happy plants. The pictures I posted are from a couple of years ago; last year they looked even better. This year the squirrels are devouring them, unfortunately. The bananas on the other side of my house are doing pretty well, though: the Ice Cream bananas are substantially above the roofline, so the squirrels can't get to them so easily, and for some reason the squirrels have no interest in my Raja Puri (which it busy producing its third hand today).
Nancy
Dean W.
06-30-2008, 02:53 PM
Nancy, what are they eating? The leaves? The fruit?
Nancy
06-30-2008, 03:13 PM
Squirrels are eating the rolled-up leaves, which is incredibly damaging. Usually they end up severing at least half of the leaf (often much more), and whatever remains sometimes has trouble unrolling properly because the chomping binds the leaf layers together. When I can reach the leaves, I try to unroll them by hand so that the next leaf has room to emerge, but I can only reach so high. The squirrels scale my walls and leap from the house onto the mature leaves... it's very discouraging. Scot (Chironex) suggests that I try spraying nicotine sulphate or capcaicin; maybe that will help.
Nancy
Dean W.
06-30-2008, 03:20 PM
Those tree rats! LOL!!! I hope the pepper spray works for you. The nicotine sulphate sounds like it could be dangerous. NICOTINE SULFATE, SOLID (http://www.cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/1181) :jump:
Nancy
06-30-2008, 03:34 PM
The nicotine sulphate sounds like it could be dangerous. NICOTINE SULFATE, SOLID (http://www.cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/1181) :jump:
Indeed -- thanks for the warning! Pepper spray it is......
Nancy
stumpy4700
06-30-2008, 04:07 PM
you could always try a taser!!!!!!!!!!!!
mskitty38583
06-30-2008, 05:09 PM
go get a psyco cat from the pound.....they like a moveable buffet. the cat would be cheaper then a taser. however, i would love to see that one tangle with a taser.
stumpy4700
06-30-2008, 05:10 PM
The taser has a great effect!!!!! psyco kitty,I need one of those for moles!!!!!!
mskitty38583
06-30-2008, 05:12 PM
there are plenty at the local shelters that need homes... they are now spayed or neutered so the kitty population dosent get out of hand.
Bananaman88
07-01-2008, 06:28 AM
Nancy,
All of your plants look awesome...thanks for sharing! How tall does your 'Raja Puri' top out at?
Nancy
07-01-2008, 09:13 AM
My Raja Puri isn't much over six feet, so its flower is now hanging down less than four feet off the ground. I'm used to flowers way over my head, so this looks a little odd to me.
Nancy
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2020, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.