Late August bloom and help I D
 

Hello all ,,left the lake house at 8-14 2019, two weeks later when returning I found these,,

Im in zone 7a / 7b, western Kentucky by Kentucky lake,,

questions are,, I know its probably way too late for them to develop and ripen?,, have maybe two moths at the very most,, anything to do to speed them up?

And maybe a ID if possible ?






four days later





p stem is about 7 -8 ft tall.

there is at least 4 hands showing so far,, have not been there for four days now,, will up date with more pics when I get back over there

thank you for any advice,, this is my first fruit,, been growing for three years now

any other info you might need, just let me know,, thanks again

I have applied about a cup or less of just potassium to the soil,,

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

bananagradulations :08:

foliar feeding will speed them up. contact tytalor or edwmax. one should tell what to do.

plus bagging the bunch with a white kitchen garbage bag will help and flood lamps for the early frosts will help. best luck of the world

clamp it around the p-stem toward the top shining up. the p-stem shouldn't need heat until it freezes. flood lamp not a light bulb. not to close the bag

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

Looks like a BIG bunch is forming. So this indicates the plant has been well fertilized this season. ... But I think you only have time to force mature may be 3 or 4 hands. You have to be the judge. You might be able to fatten the first 2 hands in 45 days. So the question is time????



Your plants looks like it may be an Orinoco. The colors seem a little darker than usual and finger are straight & pointy (but do appear to be triangular), so may not.


I agree with the foliar spraying. You can use Miracle Grow ( mix per package direction for outdoor plant) and spray about every 4 or 5 days. ... Or Potassium Nitrate (aka: Stomp Remover); NPK 13-0-46. Make sure the Stump Remover is 100% KNo3 and no additives. ... Mix at 82 grams per gal of water (3.79 L) for a mix strength of .3%N; 1% K. Then spray about every 4 or 5 days. ... My sprays are much stronger but I'm spraying at 8 to 10 intervals. ... Start spraying as soon as you can.


Back to the bunch. cut the bud off when the male flower start forming then trim the fingers off back to the hands you want to keep.



Oh ... the white garbage bag forms a mini- greenhouse over the bunch on cool days until freezing temps move in.



Good luck.

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

thank you very much ,,will do the best I can. I only get over there on the weekends,, I do have a neighbor water them when needed when i'm gone.
yes these plants have been well fertilized.

can I use the granular pot ash dissolved in water to spray them? but of course I would not know how much to dissolve in a gallon of water..

I don't quite know what you mean , when the male flower opens,, I guess I will know when I see it.

Thanks again

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

up date 9-1-19
some better close ups for a better id



when I got over there this week end, found that the all the fingers had fallen off of last petals that have opened up on the bloom, and the two that opened up when I was there all fell off also within 12 hours or so. and the last fingers that did stay are very small, you can kind of see them on the lower left pic (above)



Sooo,, I did cut the bloom off Monday morning,, seems that all were going to fall off,,( I hope this was not a screw up,, still not knowing what the male flower forming looks like). so I have like four hands remaining on the stem

I did find some potassium nitrate (stump remover) Mixed at 82 grams per galloon and sprayed the entire plant..

Thank You in advance for any further advise, and thanks again for the previous advice.

I guess only time will tell . and if I messed up I will know what not to do the next time.

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

I agree with edwmax :nanadrink:

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

The fingers that were falling off were the males. Be sure to spray the bunch too.

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

Whew!!! I was hoping you would say that,, Thanks again,

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

Then I found this on one of my other plants , sept 1 2019

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

hopefully you get to try them!!!!!!:woohoonaner::woohoonaner::woohoonaner::nanadrink::051 9:

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

will do,, and thanks very much again. You the man!!!

is this spraying only for fruiting plants? or can it be used during normal plant growing season?

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

It can be used thought out the growing season. But, don't forget to apply regular fertilize around the base of the plant to build the roots and corm. ... Foliar spray basically is absorbed into the plant where it is needed. It has some migration with the plant sap which is normally upward.

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

Congrats I do hope you get to try them, their is always a risk when the bloom late in the season.

Good luck
Darla

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

sept 8


this one seems to be longer and skinnier than the other one,, but,, I didn't get to see the other one at his stage,

it already had two hands out when I first seen it

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

First bunch is 100% tall Orinoco. (Bluggoe subgroup) ABB

Second bunch looks to be Orinoco also.

Looking awesome! Foliage feeding helps! After that big male bud drops down about 12” from the last hand snap it off. It will also help speed the fill time by a little.

Orinoco is very forgiving! If they aren’t 100% ripe by first frost harvest the bunch the night before and use ethylene gas to force ripen them! When underfilled the faster you ripen them the better! I will cut off a hand or 2 and put in a paper bag with 3-4 apples. Or if I want the whole bunch ripe fast, i wrap a trash bag up and around the bunch. Toss in 6-7 apples and tie it up top. Usually takes a week or so.

If you don’t use ethylene gas the underripe fruit will rot before the ripe! Or dry up. Faster the better! And of course you can eat them as plantains also! Out of all the plantains I have tasted, bluggoe types are still my favorite! I love the “potato” like taste they have cooked!

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

Thank You All,, Very Much!!!!

will do the best I can,,

I have learned so much from you all and this site , and still learning. Thanks Again!!!

Part of my problem is that I only get over there on the week ends, and I not able to get there this week end, will be the 20th before I get over there again,, will get some updated pics then,


hopefully my neighbor is keeping then watered being that we have had a late heat wave come through here the last two weeks, (hottest of the summer) days in the mid 90's. supposed to be back down to the 80's next week,, may be helping me also???

I also have another question,, If you don't mind,,, will this variety survive if I just cut them off at the ground and cover them with straw and all the leaves to insulate them from freezing? I know the mothers won't being that they have fruited.

I also have about ten other plants in the back yard , should be the same variety, that are getting very big,, would save me a lot of work if keeping them in the ground will work

zone 7a-7b,, most winters it does not get real cold,, maybe the lowest of 10 degrees F , but not often,,

But!!! just never can tell about " Old Man Winter"

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

up date pic of the august bloom, pic was on 9-22-19



seems like they might be getting fatter

another pic



Thanks again for every ones help

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

sept bloom up date, 9-22-19









I think the male blooms have already started falling off.

I doubt if these will have time to mature.

these plants have several good sized pups around them, I know the mother plant is done,, but can these plants be cut off and covered and kept in the ground over the winter? are they hardy enough to come back?

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

Darn ... is this right???? ... 21 days for the August bunch. The bottle nose is gone, so the bunch could be harvested now if they were to be shipped. ... Leave them on as long as you can until you see some color change to yellow. You can cut back or stop on the foliar spray now.


My Orinoco bunch with the top 2 fingers showing some yellow, ALL the fingers ripened in 3 days after cutting the bunch. ... Let the fingers get a bit of brown on the skin and have a slight soft feel to eat. My Orinoco was still firm in the center but like heavy smooth cream in the mouth with a slight apple like taste. ... Dam good ice cream Banana splits or nana slices in a fruit salad.


Thanks for the picture!

Re: Late August bloom and help I D
 

the way the weather is going here, I figure we should have about another 30 days. Its supposed to be back in the 90's next week,, and I'm leaving the country for a week on oct 31st, so I'm guess ill have to take them in before that

what is the lowest night time temps they can stand? I guess just as long as it don't frost?