captgene

Great site
Glad I found it. I am very much into my fruit plants. Few question .Does anyone know what kind of banana I am growing????

When should I harvet them. it flowered around Nov 15th 2007. I am thinking I shopuld pick them within 1 ot 2 weeks. However they still arent round and plump. Please advise

If pictures arent attac hed please view my galley.
thanks

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	banana 1.jpg (235.5 KB, 38 views)
	banana 3.jpg (307.2 KB, 24 views)

southlatropical

Welcome! Maybe it is Musa Hua Moa?? I've never seen one up close but yours appears to have short fat fruit similar to Hua Moa. There are others here that would know better than I.

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captgene

Just to let everyone know. At one time the bananas on the hands where all attached to each other. Most have now separated but there are still one tha are attached to each other I cant remember what they were when I planted them 10 months ago.

maybe praying hands ????

Gabe15

Welcome!

Looks like 'Hua Moa' to me, its a Polynesian cooking variety. It's definitely not 'Praying Hands', sometimes the fingers will be fused on different varieties, I've seen it happen with 'Hua Moa' before.

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chong

I think that it's a Hua Moa, also. But if the fruit pulp is more salmon colored than on the yellow side, it could also be the Hawaiian version of potentially the same variety, Popoulu.

Personally, I'd wait until one of the fruits turn yellow before I'd pick them. You'll get the full flavor and assured that the fruits have filled out as much as they can. Since the weather is going towards warm, you won't have to worry about very cold weather spoiling your fruits.

Congratulations!

mskitty38583

welcome and congrats! nice looking nanas.

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captgene

Thanks for reply. The name Hua Moa sounds about right if I remember when I purchased it.

What does a Hua Moa taste like ?????? This plant fruited only after 8 month. I have had other kind of bananas that took 18 month. My lanua(screen enclosure) is full of banana behind my pool. But I am running out of room . I am only allowed to plant one banana outside my screen since my assocation is worried about them spreading. . Do you believe that "spreading" I tried to educate them but got nowhere .If you look at my picture I am now letting 2 sibling grow instead of just one. Do you think they will both fruit if i feed them ??????

Now trying to find I large avocado tree to plant behind my screen.

thanks

captgene

Found my answer to Hoa Mua .I guess I will try to cook them once they are ripe

This Hawaiian cultivar gets its name from the Polynesian word which means "Chicken Egg." The short 4" fruits are blunt and melon-like in shape. Tart tasting. Usually baked with cinnamon and brown sugar. Tree grows to 10'. Not for export

southlatropical

Wow 8 months to fruit! If you find yourself with too many let me know. I have lots of stuff I could trade you for a pup if you find yourself with more than the HOA will allow.

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captgene

what do you have to trade???? I have a pup from my HUA Moa ???? Here is pic I am just now sure how to ship it

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banana pup.jpg (340.3 KB, 17 views)

southlatropical

Sent you a PM

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tlturbo

I had a Hua Moa fruit about 2 months ago and it looked identical.
I left mine on the tree until they started to turn yellow, then I cut the whole bunch down. I ate them as they turned yellow.

They are indeed a Salmon orange color inside and I left them get quite ripe and they have turned into one of my favorites. I DID NOT try to cook them. I found that the riper they got, the better they tasted. My suggestion is to let one get yellow and try it. Then let another one get more ripe until you find the flavor you like. It took about 2 weeks for all of them to ripen which was good as it spread them out. One thing I did notice was that the very core where the seeds would be was tough and I cut it out.

I think you will really like them.

And I always let my clumps grow about 5-6 trunks from fruiting size to about a foot tall and they all fruit fine - just fertilize and water them.

Terry

captgene

thanks Terry. I will follow your suggestion. Do you remember how many day it was from flower to harvest . My planted flowered around Nov 15th. it now going on 3 1/2 months .So they should be ripe soon. I have had other banana and let them ripen on the tree but the started to split open and got rotten very fast.

So i have it right you cut off a few yellow bananas at a time from the whole bunch . If i was to cut the complete bunch off ,after few turn yellow what is best way to ripen them over time. I dont want them to rot .Even being winter I do live in fla where its 80 to 83 during the day now GB
I am thinking hanging them in my garage & upside down. Do i need to cover then with plastic bage first??? This is only my second harvest so kkind of new. I now have 10 differnt banana growing but running out of room LOL

tlturbo

I write the date when I see the first bananas under the flower petals on the last leaf stem with a black marker. Almost ALL of my varieties start yellowing at about 4 months. I didn't have any trouble with these splitting.

What I do is when they start yellowing, I cut the whole stalk of bananas off (I always cut the bud off after the last banana forms to relieve the weight from the trunk). Then I just lay the whole thing down on the porch table, in the garage, etc. When I see a few bananas on a given hand (like you buy in the store) I cut that whole hand off but you can probaby cut all the hands off when you cut it down and stack them in a cardboard box in the garage. I have never done anything special after cutting them off the tree except cutting the hands off the stalk . As they ripen, I eat or give away.

I did notice that the yellowing process seemed longer on the Hua Moa but then it was Winter time. They started getting a faint yellow look but really didn't turn yellow for another 2 weeks. From Nov 15th, you should start to see yellowing in a few weeks I would think. Just watch for them to start turning a little lighter.

Let me know what you think of them. I really liked this variety. I'm going to move one of my pups to start another grove they were so good.

Terry

bananimal

captgene,

Agree it is the Hua Moa. If you are thinking of trying them fried green, tostones -- or when very ripe, maduros, you won't be disappointed. The reason I picked the Hua when I started my collection was I wanted to have a cooking banana along with all the other dessert ones. Also the HM is rated as producing one of the best tasting fruit in the world for tostones. So is the Saba. Got him too. Still waiting for first flowering.

You mentioned covering with plastic - don't do it. Do what Terry said. If you want to speed up the ripening of the first yellow ones put them in a paper bag with an apple. Close the bag and leave on the kitchen counter. Check every 2 days.

By the way, saw your profile. I fish for snook and bull sharks with a 100 lb test rig around the bridges in Ft Pierce, Jensen and Stuart. Post us some pics of your catches in the Tiki Hut forum sometime.

Dan