Bananas.org

Welcome to the Bananas.org forums.

You're currently viewing our message boards as a guest which gives you limited access to participate in discussions and access our other features such as our wiki and photo gallery. By joining our community, you'll have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload photos, and access many other special features. Registration is fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Go Back   Bananas.org > Banana Forum > Banana Identification
Register Photo Gallery Classifieds Wiki Chat Map Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Banana Identification Mystery Nanner? This is where you can get help to identify your banana plants. Upload some pics to your gallery and post a thread and let everyone know as much info that you have of the plant.


Members currently in the chatroom: 0
The most chatters online in one day was 17, 09-06-2009.
No one is currently using the chat.

Reply   Email this Page Email this Page
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 09-12-2016, 04:02 PM   #21 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

Does anyone have pictures of FHIA-3 (Sweetheart) flowers? Feel free to post them here if you do.

Some new photos of this unknown, taken 9/12/16. Bananas are still pretty small, but they seem to be filling in a little bit. Any idea what this is, or do I have to wait until they're ripe?


male flowers:


Nanners close up:


And one of the bunches:
meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Old 10-14-2016, 06:00 PM   #22 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

Still in the dark as to what cultivar this is, but my williams and namwah were the exact same size and age as this plant, and have yet to fruit. They're in the exact same environment, with the exact same watering and nutrients. This unknown cultivar has so far produced 4 inflorescences, so needless to say, whatever this is, it's something worth growing in our cooler San Francisco Bay Area California weather. This is why I'm dying to know what it is, it might be the next "california gold" but the proof will be next year if I can get to harvest them at optimal maturity and taste the fruit. I don't think we'll get ripe bananas before the first frost, but a heat wave is expected after this rain we're currently having.

Third inflorescence (pictured below) opened on Oct. 3rd, so I'm not expecting any of these to survive. It's massive compared to the first two...the first hand on this large inflorescence has 24 fingers, which is probably shabby for the tropics but outstanding for our conditions:





To recap, this color fades away as the bananas mature. This photo was taken right when the flowers opened:



First hand after the bract fell off:


close up of female flower:







The oldest bunch of bananas, which flowered July 14th, 2016. Looks like they still need some time to fill in:



And group shot of several different cultivars. The two bottom mats are the unknowns that I'm trying to ID:

Last edited by meizzwang : 10-14-2016 at 06:11 PM.
meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Old 10-15-2016, 10:40 AM   #23 (permalink)
 
venturabananas's Avatar
 
Location: Ventura, CA
Zone: 10
Name: Mark
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,845
BananaBucks : 238,174
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 1,752 Times
Was Thanked 3,968 Times in 1,713 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 39 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

My best guess is this is the TC mutant Goldfinger that is available in the US, which lacks the top-shaped male bud. (At least that's my interpretation of all the back and forth about "real" vs. "fake" Goldfinger in the US.)

As Gabe stated, it's not Rajapuri because it doesn't have persistent male bracts and flowers. That also rules out Dwarf Brazilian. But the general appearance is very similar to a Pome subgroup variety, which is also true of Goldfinger, which has a Pome (Dwarf Brazilian) parent.

I don't think it is Sweetheart (FHIA-03) for a few reasons. FHIA-03 has a strikingly green pseudostem. From your photos, this one has some reddish on it. FHIA-03 is also a really big (large diameter), robust plant. These seem too slender. FHIA-03 is big, not just in girth, but also in height. It's not a tall variety, but by the 2nd or 3rd ratoon, I'd expect it to be around 10', from what I've seen. Also, FHIA-03 has some persistent male flowers on the rachis, at least based on the reliable photos I can find and from the few plants I've seen in person.

Whatever it is, it's definitely a winner in your challenging climate!

I'd like to hear Gabe's thoughts on what this plant is now that you have posted some many great photos. Gabe?
__________________
Click for Ventura, California Forecast
venturabananas is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To venturabananas
Old 10-15-2016, 08:39 PM   #24 (permalink)
Banana Plants for Trade
 
Tytaylor77's Avatar
 
Location: East Texas
Zone: 8b
Name: Ty
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,367
BananaBucks : 47,406
Feedback: 11 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 4,612 Times
Was Thanked 3,726 Times in 1,185 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 424 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

I agree. Goldfinger is my best guess. Sweetheart is insanely large at the base. It's not FHIA 3 sweetheart. I'm excited to see what variety this really is. Gabe please share your best guess or possibilities. Would Love to hear your thoughts.
__________________
150+ Varieties!!. See profile for list. Help me add more!
Tytaylor77 is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To Tytaylor77
Said thanks:
Old 10-26-2016, 01:30 PM   #25 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

some more updates of this now properly ID'ed American Goldfinger! A fourth flower just opened today, 10/26/16 but I have very low expectations for it because it's so late in the season and it's starting to get cold. Our high temps are in the high 60's, and once this storm passes, lows are expected to be in the 40's.

Photos taken 10/26/16:

Sort of a weird position, but nice thing is this inflorescence can be reached by hand. This is the 4th bloom this year from the American Goldfinger clone, it's super productive even in marginal environments:


Don't know how many fingers are on this first hand, but the flower is pretty darn big so there's probably a lot. I can't see the fingers in person. Had to stick the camera under the bract to get this shot:



Here's the bunch that opened on Oct 3rd, 2016:


After a rainstorm with cold nights, I noticed some brown spots that looked like rot on these brand new bananas, so I knocked off a few fingers to make sure if it was rot, it wouldn't spread like a wildfire. Turns out, those spots were only on the epidermis (outside) and the fingers were totally fine, I probably should have left them alone:


But don't those necrotic brown spots look horrible?



Okay, here's another bunch...if only these had fruited a month earlier I'd be eating them now. Instead, the plan is to figure out how to keep these from freezing during the winter and harvest them in late spring when these fully fill out. Growth is very slow right now and will almost stop very soon once the high temperatures are in the mid 60's:



this is the oldest bunch, and I kept the male flowers on just for ID purposes, but now I'm too chicken you know what to cut it off because an open wound when it's cold could mean rot issues down the road:


I could probably harvest one or two from this bunch, but we want to know what they taste like when fully mature:



And overview of the matts:
meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Old 11-02-2016, 12:35 PM   #26 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

Here's the bunch of American Goldfingers that started flowering 10/26/16 (the fourth bunch!) Photos taken 11/2/16:


An uncommon perspective:looking down at the bananas instead of looking up. First hand has 28 fingers! Notice on the fingers to the right of the first hand, there are dark anthocyanins (in this case, purple-red pigments) produced. I suspect this is from cold stress:



It's been pretty cold, nights dipping on the low 50's and day temps in the low 60's. It rained almost all week last week. The last finger on the top hand to the right almost looks like a red banana!


So unsurprisingly, I saw this damage on the young, tender fingers, probably due to a combination of cold, wet conditions:


Still have some hands opening up:





And unfortunately, I have a 5th bloom on the way...was hoping this wouldn't show until next spring:



One of the keys mentioned that the original FHIA-1 has bracts that open one at a time on the male flowers. I think about 90% of the time, that has happened with the american goldfinger, but occasionally, 2 or 3 will open up simultaneously. It's especially prevalent when we have warm days followed by cool days and then it warms up again:

Last edited by meizzwang : 11-02-2016 at 01:43 PM.
meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Old 11-10-2016, 02:57 PM   #27 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

some new pics of the 4th flower that opened at the end of October. I thought this would have no chance to develop, but with this recent unexpected abnormal heatwave we're having, there just might be a shot. There is some damage on some of the "skin" of the developing bananas, but the fingers are totally fine. Photos taken 11/10/16, not sure if this is done yet, but certainly this flowering bunch has the most fingers out of all the bunches:




And for fun, an overview of several different cultivars, including the american goldfinger. The leaves will probably all turn brown once we get frost, to be continued:
meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Old 12-06-2016, 06:23 PM   #28 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

Update on the american gold finger bunches: another inflorescence has opened, bringing the count up to 5 bunches currently developing! Photos taken 12/6/16:




The red color on the flowers is much more intense this time of year, probably due to cold stress. We've had nights in the mid 30's (approx 2C) recently:




With the cold weather and threat of frost very soon, I've made some make-shift banana bags out of greenhouse plastic, but the big plants won't be covered. I also completely covered up the little AEAE at the top so now it won't get rained on and hopefully won't freeze this winter (see upper left hand corner of the pic below). so, far it's taken 36F (2.2C) just fine


Close up of a makeshift banana bag, so far no cold damage to the bunches that opened in July 2016:


A peek inside the bag. Notice the color of the bananas have a yellow tinge. I suspect this is from cold stress and not necessarily maturity. The leaves of the plants have turned slightly yellow, and new growth is pretty yellow on some P-stems:


A peek inside another bag. These are the oldest, I think these started flowering July 14 2016:


this bunch opened in October, but seems to be okay. I think these just might make it:
meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Old 12-07-2016, 12:10 PM   #29 (permalink)
 
JBijl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 112
BananaBucks : 2,915
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 579 Times
Was Thanked 206 Times in 98 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 67 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

Damm i am hoping for one and you have 5 bunches currently developing.
Thanks for share and for the real nice pics.
JBijl is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To JBijl
Said thanks:
Old 04-20-2017, 04:37 PM   #30 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

Got another american goldfinger flower that just opened today, 4/20/17. This will be #6 total that has flowered within the past year from 2 mats.

The recommendation is to have maybe 2-3 p-stems per mat, but I prefer having 3 mature and 3 back-ups, all at different stages of development because this increases the chance that at least a few of the p-stems will flower at the right time. So far, 2 of the 6 blooms flowered too late in the season (one in late oct, and the other in Dec), so those are lost, but 4 of the 6 will work out. To recap, I'm in Northern California (SF Bay Area Peninsula) where we have a very short grow season for bananas.

Anyhow, here's the 6th inflorescence. I'm not sure how full the bananas will be this time around since all the leaves got some form of crispy-ness from the cold winter months:


meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Old 04-21-2017, 11:50 AM   #31 (permalink)
 
venturabananas's Avatar
 
Location: Ventura, CA
Zone: 10
Name: Mark
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,845
BananaBucks : 238,174
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Said "Thanks" 1,752 Times
Was Thanked 3,968 Times in 1,713 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 39 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

Mike, given your climate, I think that 6 p-stem approach makes a lot of sense. If you let the mat get a lot bigger, though, I think you'd start to see the average bunch size really drop due to competition among p-stems for light, nutrients, and water.
__________________
Click for Ventura, California Forecast
venturabananas is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To venturabananas
Said thanks:

Join Bananas.org Today!

Are you a banana plant enthusiast? Then we hope you will join the community. You will gain access to post, create threads, private message, upload images, join groups and more.

Bananas.org is owned and operated by fellow banana plant enthusiasts. We strive to offer a non-commercial community to learn and share information. Receive all three issues from Volume 1 of Bananas Magazine with your membership:
   

Join Bananas.org Today! - Click Here


Sponsors

Old 04-21-2017, 11:56 AM   #32 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

It's very true, even with the 6 pstem "technique," bunch sizes seem to suffer a bit. I'd love to have just 2 p-stems total per mat, but that's like russian roulette up here....at least with FHIA-1

Interestingly, the dwarf namwah at the thai restaurant near my house fruited in the middle of winter, and when I recently looked, the fruit have really developed quite a bit! Not a single fruit died off, definitely felt jealous, haha! The leaves on the plant were fried just like my rajapuri and american goldfinger, but it seems the fruit from dwarf namwah can possibly tolerate more cold stress.
meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Said thanks:
Old 05-15-2017, 06:54 PM   #33 (permalink)
 
meizzwang's Avatar
 
Zone: 9b
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 235
BananaBucks : 68,428
Feedback: 4 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 647 Times
Was Thanked 1,031 Times in 218 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times
Default Re: Does this look like rajapuri? (flower pics)

FINALLY!!!!! After 2 days shy of 10 long months of waiting, this American Goldfinger FHIA 1 is finally mature and showing signs of ripening! The flowers first opened on July 17, 2016 and we have had an abnormally cold spring, so things were super-slow. I think these can finish in 5 months here so long as you have a warm spring/summer/fall, and get them to bloom in the early spring.

Photos taken 5/15/17, this is my first bunch ever to finish:






meizzwang is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To meizzwang
Reply   Email this Page Email this Page






Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
End Of Summer Pics. Warning: LOTS Of Pics. Bama Banana Main Banana Discussion 4 11-24-2010 05:32 PM
Finally got pics of my Ice Cream flower stumpy4700 Main Banana Discussion 29 09-01-2010 06:53 PM
Rajapuri sunfish Main Banana Discussion 10 09-27-2009 05:47 AM
Difference between "Grand nain" & "rajapuri"? Pics inside vaindioux Main Banana Discussion 4 10-22-2008 06:22 PM
Pisang Klotek flower pics momoese Main Banana Discussion 5 03-07-2007 10:07 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:29 AM.





All content © Bananas.org & the respective author.