Zac in NC

Well I can see from some of the handles that I knwo some of you lready from other boards. Well My name is Zac and I am a self proclaimed plant nerd. I have only 3 banana species in the ground right now, but I will have a few more in a few days. I am growing in central NC in the Triad, if you are in the know. I am in a z7b ish climate. I also grow palms and I love to travel to Mexico, just to go look at plants. Got another trip in the works for this upcoming July, and I have promised Gabe that I will make an effort to take more banana pics this time, as the last 2 trips were lacking in that department. I used to be one of the younger members, but now we have people younger than I am. I am a Botany major in college, but I have taken a break for a while, and I am 21 years old. Well that is some about me if you haven't ever talked with me before.

Zac

MediaHound

Hey Zac,
Thanks for the intro post. Make yourself at home.
Glad you found us, spread the word!

__________________
Apologies in advance if I am slow to reply to your PM. I suggest posting in the forums for support if you need something urgent.

bigdog

Het Zac! Glad you found this board. What species are you currently growing? I know about taking a break from school: I took a 13 year break . Don't stay out from school for too long...you'll find it extremely difficult to go back if you do.

Zac in NC

Frank As of Saturday, I have increased my collection by a bit. As of now I have the following plants, with the last 3 I recieved as a trade with Gabe this past Saturday:
Musa basjoo
M 'Little Prince'
M Rojo/Zebrina
M itenerans
M rubinea
M Saba
M Rajapuri

I have seeds started of sikkimensis, thompsonii, ornata Purple Flower, Burmese Blue, Velutina, balbsiana, and Cheesmanii.

Zac

bigdog

Excellent! I don't even bother with musa zebrina, because it isn't even the slightest bit cold-hardy and doesn't store very well at all under the house. It sure is a beautiful banana though.

The musa ornata 'Purple flower' - is that the same as musa 'Royal Purple'? The latter is an exceptionally cold-hardy variety from what I've heard , both from Tom M. and Gary H. I got a pup from Tom at the SPS Savannah meeting, so we'll see if it can survive a Knoxville winter.

Of the ones you mentioned, the other ones I don't have are 'Little Prince' and 'Saba'.

Sure hope it warms up soon. Bananas are just sitting there, sulking. Should be in the low 80s this weekend though. These overnight lows in the 40s just aren't helping anything to grow.

Zac in NC

Yeah I found out that rojo/zebrina doesn't store worth a damn. I think I may just go out and remove it becaue it looks like caca and it is only about 3 inches tall. To the compost heap it goes. The seeds I all got from Joe K from New Jersey which he got from rarepalmseeds.com. I hope it warms up here too. These 40s and 50s at night are getting old. Also, toting in and out my Amorphophallus titanum is getting to be a pain inthe butt.

Zac