View Full Version : Finally, another flag...
Randy4ut
09-02-2008, 07:13 AM
From something besides my velutina. Looked out this morning and saw this and was pumped. Just had to post it and thank SteveL. I have this one potted up and another couple in the ground, which have yet to send up a flag....
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2889.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2888.jpg
THANKS AGAIN, SteveL, and I hope you are out of harm's way!!!
austinl01
09-02-2008, 01:57 PM
Ahh, nice! It promises to be a very beautiful bloom. I can't wait to see more pics as the flower progresses.
Chironex
09-02-2008, 02:10 PM
Man, how are you getting these to bloom in such small pots and from such young plants? I have bloom envy I guess....anyway, glad to see them blooming for you.
CookieCows
09-02-2008, 02:18 PM
Especially exciting with summer wrapping up soon!
Congrats!!
Deb
bigdog
09-02-2008, 06:45 PM
Very nice, Randy! Glad to see some of your hard work paying off. That's a beauty, I really need to get one of those one of these days. Somehow I've made it this long without one, which is strange.
Scot, the secret is...not really a secret, lol. Excellent potting soil to start with, full sun, fertilizer on a regular basis, and lots of water. Am I close, Randy?
:woohoonaner:
Randy4ut
09-02-2008, 07:43 PM
Very nice, Randy! Glad to see some of your hard work paying off. That's a beauty, I really need to get one of those one of these days. Somehow I've made it this long without one, which is strange.
Scot, the secret is...not really a secret, lol. Excellent potting soil to start with, full sun, fertilizer on a regular basis, and lots of water. Am I close, Randy?
:woohoonaner:
Sounds about right, BigDog. The pot is a 14" pot and the pstem with the bloom is right at 3' to the bloom. Oddly enough, I have only fertlized this one once this late spring with a time release fert with minors and a little muriate of potash... I think the biggest factor besides the soil is the amount of water that I give my plants. I water often, but the soil, even in my beds is very fast draining... Hey, I am still learning, especially with potted plants...
austinl01
09-02-2008, 08:35 PM
Randy, maybe the plant was stressed in the pot and produced a flower because of that. What do you guys think?
Randy4ut
09-03-2008, 12:09 AM
Got me, Austin, but I am glad it did whatever the reason...
MediaHound
09-03-2008, 07:38 AM
Awesome, you will enjoy! They split apart in an interesting way when ripe so watch them carefully. Here's an old pic of mine:
http://www.bananas.org/../gallery/watermark.php?file=195&size=1&filefix=.jpg
Musa Velutina - Bananas Wiki (http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Velutina)
Steve L
09-03-2008, 08:28 AM
Randy, good job. Hope you like it.
mskitty38583
09-03-2008, 10:22 AM
:woohoonaner:. congrats randy!!!:goteam::goteam:
buzzwinder
09-03-2008, 11:37 AM
Congratulations Randy, :bananas_b
Dean W.
09-03-2008, 01:02 PM
Way to go, Randy! :woohoonaner:
Randy4ut
09-03-2008, 02:59 PM
Awesome, you will enjoy! They split apart in an interesting way when ripe so watch them carefully. Here's an old pic of mine:
http://www.bananas.org/../gallery/watermark.php?file=195&size=1&filefix=.jpg
Musa Velutina - Bananas Wiki (http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Velutina)
Jarred,
The 'Thai Gold' split like my velutina when ripe? I did not realize they would split when ripe... Thanks...
Chironex
09-03-2008, 05:57 PM
I have never seen one that has split when ripe, so thanks for the pic's.
Bananaman88
09-04-2008, 07:29 AM
Jarred,
The 'Thai Gold' split like my velutina when ripe? I did not realize they would split when ripe... Thanks...
I could be wrong, but I think Jarred may have seen the pic/avatar of Austin's and thought you were speaking of velutina, rather than 'Thai Gold'.
Steve L
09-04-2008, 08:03 AM
I've never noticed the fruit splitting on my Thai Gold.
Chironex
09-04-2008, 01:30 PM
Sounds about right, BigDog. The pot is a 14" pot and the pstem with the bloom is right at 3' to the bloom. Oddly enough, I have only fertlized this one once this late spring with a time release fert with minors and a little muriate of potash... I think the biggest factor besides the soil is the amount of water that I give my plants. I water often, but the soil, even in my beds is very fast draining... Hey, I am still learning, especially with potted plants...
It sounds like I am doing everything correctly then, using good, fast-draining soil about 60/40 mixed with Amend and N'Rich plus some gypsum, regular fertilizer (Banana Fuel from Wellspring 15-5-30) and regular watering via drip system. Might just be the high heat and low humidity here. Although we do have a sprinkler system in the yard that raises the micro environment humidity quite a bit at night. I am fairly confident that I'll see at least one blossom before winter. Everything is growing and putting out new leaf growth every week.
Randy4ut
09-05-2008, 07:18 AM
Today makes the third day and when I got home from work, I went out and found this...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2890.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2891.jpg
Well, after talking to a few folks that gave me some advice, I went and removed some male flowers from my velutina and started trying to pollinate my 'Thai Gold'. Not really sure if I did it right, and wanted some of you experienced cross pollinators to tell me if I did it right. Here are a couple of closer shots of the flowers that I pollinated, or at least tried to...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2893.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2895.jpg
Does that look about right? How much pollen do I need to get on there? Any input would be GREATLY appreciated, BigDog, GATrops!!!
These are the first set of flowers that have opened, so I think I will be able to try it again, and again, and again...
Will keep everyone posted... Wish me luck!!!
austinl01
09-05-2008, 08:46 AM
Randy, it looks right to me. I pollinated my musella lasiocarpa last year when it had multiple flowers. I just pulled off some male flowers and then brushed them against the female flowers that had just opened. I don't think much pollen is needed at all. It turns out all the flowers I pollinated grew fat and had seeds!
bigdog
09-05-2008, 09:16 AM
A+ job, Randy! You should know within a few weeks whether or not you have seeds forming. The bananas will start to swell up. If not successful, they won't grow at all, and probably fall off after a month or 2. They can take a LONG time to ripen (many months), so just be prepared for that. I don't know about siamensis in particular though. I do know that Hayes in Anniston said that his in-ground siamensis came back vigorously this spring! Keep us updated on the progress of the bananas.
Frank
RobG7aChattTN
09-05-2008, 06:10 PM
They say not much pollen is needed, but I'd put on as much as you have on hand. There should be exactly one pollen grain for each seed and although there are a lot of individual grains for each little bit of pollen dust, just think how many seeds are in a tiny velutina fruit. I say dust away...and expect fairly good results. Now the hard part should be the germinatioin.
Randy4ut
09-06-2008, 06:40 AM
I went out again this morning and another set of flowers were starting to open up. Well, needless to say, I got some velutina pollen and treated them also. I did notice something that I wanted to point out. When the flowers first open up the stigma on the 'Thai Gold' is a pinkish color, as you can probably see in the pics that I took of the flowers after I had added the pollen yesterday. Well the ones that I pollinated yesterday, have turned almost completely white. What is up with that? Anyone want to venture a guess? Just something that caught my eye this morning...
Bananaman88
09-06-2008, 11:08 AM
My guess would be that the stigma is maturing. I don't think they stay viable for too long so it's probably changing colors from pink (very fresh), to white (getting older/drier), to probably brown next, meaning the stigma is mature/dead and has done its thing.
Mark Hall
09-06-2008, 03:18 PM
Randy , Have you thought about taking pollen from the Thai and putting it on your Velutina? It may work:waving:
austinl01
09-06-2008, 04:08 PM
My guess would be that the stigma is maturing. I don't think they stay viable for too long so it's probably changing colors from pink (very fresh), to white (getting older/drier), to probably brown next, meaning the stigma is mature/dead and has done its thing.
I would support Bananaman's hypothesis.
Randy4ut
09-06-2008, 08:29 PM
Randy , Have you thought about taking pollen from the Thai and putting it on your Velutina? It may work:waving:
Hey Mark,
I am planning on giving it a go when the 'Thai' puts out its male flowers. The problem with this scenerio is the velutina has hermaphroditic
flowers. I will have to make sure I remove all the male stamens and after I pollinate the stigma, I will have to cover it somehow to make sure it doesn't get any pollen from another velutina flower. Will require alot more work, but I think we might give it a go and see what happens... I will post what we try and the results on this thread, so check back...
Randy
Randy4ut
09-10-2008, 07:01 AM
Here is a quick update on the 'Thai Gold' bloom after 8 days... I was able to pollinate, I think and hope, all the female flowers. Not sure if the ones that are opening up are male flowers or not. They sure look different from the first ones that opened. Input would be appreciated...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2896.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2897.jpg
Here is a closer look at the flowers that are now opening. Male flowers???
HELP a novice here, PLEASE!!!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2898.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2899.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2900.jpg
Hopefully, someone will take a look at this and be able to tell me whether I am correct or not. If not, I may post a separate thread to try and show the difference between the flowers, but I hate to start another thread when it can all be included in one thread, but I need guidance!!!
island cassie
09-10-2008, 07:08 AM
Great pictures!
Cassie
Mark Hall
09-10-2008, 10:09 AM
Randy, I can't help you with your Male/Female ID. But that is turning in to a beautiful flower.
Excellent Pictures
dablo93
09-10-2008, 10:33 AM
wow beautiful!
I almost cant wait untill my siamensis will flower!:2223:
Thanks for posting the pics and updating them. I'm fairly new to trying to actually get a bloom and they're worth a thousand words!
Randy4ut
09-10-2008, 08:36 PM
Well, we started crossing the other way this evening... A friend of mine came over and we found a velutina bloom that only opened a few days ago. We removed all the male flowers, took the Thai's male flowers and pollinated the pistil on the velutina. Afterwards, we covered the flowers with a coffee filter and used a rubber band to hold it in place for a couple of days. We are not sure if the flower of the velutina had already been pollinated or not, so we found another velutina bloom, carefully cut back the next bract that was not open yet and removed the stamens on the flowers inside. Since the flowers were not fully developed yet, we covered them the same way as before with a coffee filter and I will go out in a day or two and pollinate them and then recover the flowers. We know these flowers had not been pollinated yet as no pollen had been formed on them as of yet... Wish us luck!!!
Oh, yeah, almost forgot, I have a laterita with a flag leaf that just came up today, so more to play with!!! This one is actually in the ground, so that may pose a problem...
Dean W.
09-11-2008, 12:10 PM
Good luck, Randy! You might just come up with a new type of banana.
Randy4ut
09-17-2008, 08:01 AM
Just thought I would update this thread in case someone was following it. I took some pics of the bananas forming that I crossed with my Musa velutina.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2905.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2906.jpg
Crossing the 'Thai Gold' back to the female velutina has proven to be a challenge. We have only been able to successfully cross it back on one occasion and we are not sure if the velutina was already pollinated or not, so this may not prove to be a success. The other two attempts failed as once the bracts were peeled back and the male fowers removed, we pollinated the female and covered it with a coffee filter. After a day, I uncovered them and on both occasions, the flowers and their bases, fell off. We will be trying again later today and see what we can do.
In the meantime, my laterita that is planted out and will not survive my winter threw up a flag and is about to open its flower! We will be attempting to crossing it with both the velutina and Thai Gold. Hopefully it will take and somehow I will be able to get it to produce fruit, but not sure because it is so late in the season. Here is a couple of pics of the laterita bloom...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2909.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2907.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2908.jpg
austinl01
09-17-2008, 09:35 AM
Let me be the first to congratulate you on your new laterita bloom! The entire plant looks spectacular, but the bloom...wow! I hope you will have great success crossing this one with the velutina and Thai Gold. Keep all of us posted. We love seeing your pictures!
Randy4ut
09-22-2008, 08:43 PM
Just thought I would update this thread in case someone was following it. I took some pics of the bananas forming that I crossed with my Musa velutina.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2905.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2906.jpg
Crossing the 'Thai Gold' back to the female velutina has proven to be a challenge. We have only been able to successfully cross it back on one occasion and we are not sure if the velutina was already pollinated or not, so this may not prove to be a success. The other two attempts failed as once the bracts were peeled back and the male fowers removed, we pollinated the female and covered it with a coffee filter. After a day, I uncovered them and on both occasions, the flowers and their bases, fell off. We will be trying again later today and see what we can do.
In the meantime, my laterita that is planted out and will not survive my winter threw up a flag and is about to open its flower! We will be attempting to crossing it with both the velutina and Thai Gold. Hopefully it will take and somehow I will be able to get it to produce fruit, but not sure because it is so late in the season. Here is a couple of pics of the laterita bloom...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2909.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2907.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2908.jpg
HEY ALL!!!
Just wanted to update this thread with newer pics of my laterita bloom and tiny nanners forming... I am crossing it with my velutina. I wanted to try a few hands of it using my 'Thai Gold', but it seems the pollen has run out on it... All the flowers I am getting now on the T. Gold, do not have any pollen in them... Anyway, here is a couple of pics of the laterita. What a difference in size the blooms are when planted in ground versus in a pot!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2915.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2916.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2917.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/randy4ut/100_2918.jpg
austinl01
09-22-2008, 09:38 PM
That flower is a beauty, Randy! Keep it growing well into fall.
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