Not Rajapuri?
 

Hey Folks,

The first banana plant i ever bought was advertised as Rajapuri by Armstrong. Being naive, i kept clinging to the idea that it really was what they claimed it was.

I posted pics when I first joined, and most people said, "uh...that doesn't really look like rajapuri". Admittedly, it seemed a bit tall, but Armstrong wouldn't get this wrong...?

My first bunch of bananas showed up at 8'. The second at around 9'. The third bunch at 10'. Then i saw this post, which really made me doubt my rajapuri: http://www.bananas.org/f12/bracts-fa...tay-21544.html

Now i'm wondering what the heck i have here. Opinions anyone?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

Can you post some photos of the petiole? Is it open, half open, closed?
Does not look like Raja Puri to me. I have seen banana plants at my local Armstrongs but they never had a variety label. I once asked about their supplier and the manager said that they get them from a local supplier. There is only one supplier here in San Diego who I would trust and as far as I know he does not sell to Armstrongs.

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

I'll post some better pics when i get home, but here's an old one I put up when it was still small. They're not open nor completely closed, but definitely closer to closed than open (<==perfectly confusing sentence)

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

I purchased a RP from Armstrong Nursery in Long Beach. Not sure if it is a RP. The tag said RP but I don't believe there was any name on the container. No fruit yet maybe this year. The back of the tag says La Verne Nursery Inc.



I have another banana plant recently identified as RP growing in the back of my yard.

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

Thanks Lau. If memory serves, I believe mine came from LaVerne Nursery as well (via the Westchester Armstrong).

Here's some better pics of the petioles:

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

It's definitely not Rajapuri, which is much shorter and retains all the bracts and floral relicts. Can't say what is it without more photos of the plant, and it might not be obvious even then. Do you have pictures of the ripe fruit from any of the previous bunches?

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

Unfortunately, i neglected to take pics of the first/only bunch that i've gotten from this plant.

I'll post more pics of the entire mat when i get home tonight.

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

Couple of more pics...these of the mat. Hope these help.

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

I checked out La Verne Nursery and they sell Cardaba, Dwarf Cavendish, Goldfinger, Ice Cream, Mysore, Lady Finger, and Rajapuri. Could this be Musa Lady Finger? Check out the Banana Wiki. :goteam:

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

It is probably what La Verne calls Lady Finger, which is probably some Pome subgroup variety, possibly even the one they grow in Australia as Lady Finger.

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

Thanks for all the sleuth work, folks!

I'll take a closer look after work today. I don't recall seeing the "single plane" growth described in the wiki, but I can't really be sure.

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

Well, the bunch finally started to yellow on me, so I harvested. Ended up with 10 hands, 126 bananas.

Tastewise, my palate isn't nearly as refined as others here, but I'd have to say these are similar to the Hawaiian Apple/Brazilian we eat while on vacation. They don't seem to hit a good sweet/tart balance until they're fairly spotted

Here's some pics of the ripest hand:

Re: Not Rajapuri?
 

Yep, looks like a Pome variety -- just not a dwarf like Rajapuri.