Zalin124

I bought this Dwarf Namwa as a starter plant last April and dry stored it in the garage the second week of November last year at 5’ tall. I set it out in the middle of April and it bloomed the second week of August at 6’6”. There’s around 90 bananas and typically our first frost is around the first to second week of November. Are there any tricks to speed up the process in questionable zones like mine when I have a later summer bloom with a longer cycle banana? I’ve been told cutting the bottom hands help fill the top ones faster and cutting off the inflorescence when it’s about a foot or two below the female flowers. I also have a dwarf Brazilian blooming too, but I’m almost certain it has flowered too late in hopes of harvesting anything. If anyone is interested in seeing a picture of the flower I can send them an iCloud link. For some reason I haven’t figured out how to successfully upload pictures. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0kA0...kATn5Ww#Dallas

https://share.icloud.com/photos/00rS...gLtujOQ#Dallas

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0DCn...Lv-Zqtw#Dallas

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0zA-...sGPyIGw#Dallas

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https://flic.kr/p/2mRCU9s

Backyard Banana Joe

Wow! Congrats! They look really good!


Foliar spray helps, and adequate water and fert (Which I am sure they are already getting ) Sunlight, ect, can't hurt. I think your namwa will mature, but fingers crossed with the Brazilian. I think Brazilian take longer to ripen.


As to the cutting the bloom, that can't hurt either. I know TyTaylor77 thins out the bananas some.


Commercial growers cut all but one banana off the last hand, and cut the bloom. Keep us updated!

Zalin124

Thanks for the reply! I will take your advice and others before you. I’m wondering when to cut the bottom hands off? When the las hand forms or at the same time the flower bell gets cut? First time dealing with and edible one, so I wanted to do it the right way the first time!I fertilize every two weeks with 46-0-0 and Mop 0-0-62 and cow manure as a top dressing seems to work good, however I have never used foliage spray. What do you use? Btw, this is my dwarf Brazilian in the back yard. This one didn’t dry store as well as my Dwarf Namwa. I have other Dwarf Brazilians that are in way better shape and taller, but aren’t flowering.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0q-4...N2OwEM58RW7_9A

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0d_9...oOjCT5fpVVG0iw

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Backyard Banana Joe

Nice fert schedule! Still looking for a God bulk source of urea and MOP.


I haven't really tried foliar spraying but heard it helps. Here is a thread on it: Foliar Spray Mixes for Bananas


Unless you think you don't have enough time to mature the bunch, I wouldn't thin bananas at all. But with the Brazilian, I would thin a hand or two. Let about six-10 inches of stem before cutting the bell.


You shouldn't take my word for it though. I don't want to accidentally mess you up! Lol that would be horrible!

Zalin124

I buy my fertilizer from mbferts.com and that was recommended by Ty last year. Seems to work fine and the prices are great. They have water soluble mop and seems to work good with my drip line, however I also use granular too and I buy that from “the seed plant” off of eBay. Yea, I’ll just be patient for a couple of weeks and see how the dwarf Namwa goes. Last Friday it was just the inflorescence and yesterday all the hands are showing and one of the bracts of the male flowers are appearing. I guess that pretty fast but I have nothing to compare to. Lol. I’ll check out that article and see if that’s another route I could use in the ripening process. We’ve had nothing but tropical weather all season, so I’m sure that has helped a lot.

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Akula

Your plant thinks that it has four to five months of good weather ahead of it and produced the bunch based on nutrients consumed during the season and that expected maturity time. The plant thinks its in Thailand and not Georgia therefore I suggest pruning 1/4 - 1/2 of the banana hands off. In the SEC, a Namwa needs 4 months to fill out which is dependent on the number, size, and quality of the leaves and favorable weather. I typically prune the banana hands off in proportion to the amount of months I have left in my season which concludes November 1st i.e. August bunches 25%, September bunches 50%. Any favorable weather after November 1st is considered a bonus.

Good luck!

Zalin124

Ok! Thanks for replying. When do you think is a good time to prune the hands? Male flower has just appeared. Is it safe to prune now or just wait a little bit?

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Akula

I suggest letting the bud run a bit. I typically like to have minimum 6" to 1' of space between the last expected harvestable banana hand and the cut. The rachis can turn black and rot back a bit but usually not more than 3-4 inches. More space/lenghth is safer than less space.

PS. I suggest dropping the nitrogen from your fertilizer application and continue with whatever potassium product you are using going forward. N is not necessary at this point except for the Follower but their should be enough loaded in the soil for him at this point. There is a risk that excedss N can damage the bananas i.e. burn them up. This has never happened to me but I remember TyTaylor cautioning about this risk.

Zalin124

Good deal. I cut the nitrogen as soon as I saw the pre flag leaf and have still been increasing the potash. I guess when the time comes I’ll prune the bottom three since there are six hands total and also being in a cooler zone. Yea, I’ll wait and cut the bud when I has a good separation from the bottom hands like you were saying. Should I pick the bottom hands at the same time I cut the bud or pick the bottom hands before cutting the bud? All of this is new to me.

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Akula

I do it at the same time and also remove the remaining match stick flower stems from the end of the bananas for aesthetics.

Zalin124

Alright, well I’ll do it that way then! Thanks for the help! I’ll keep everyone updated.

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Zalin124

Here are some updated pictures of my Dwarf Pisang Awak that bloomed in August. Hoping to cut the bunch this weekend. Temperatures are gonna be on the lower side for the remainder of the year. Usually cools off a good bit around Thanksgiving and the frost sets in. Anyone on here have experience on ripening methods when they don’t have full ripening time on the plant?

Thanks,

Zach

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0Akv...ysJWDiG__ONCkg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0tKh...zo9u7IidUctDdQ

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0X4l...Ydhy4CViNa5Xlg

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0LND...TMR49LPwfElkUA

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Zalin124

Here is a picture of it at the End of August.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0Yxu...kByiXeA#Dallas

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Backyard Banana Joe

Congrats!

Akula

Congratulations!

You might try putting a clear plastic trash bag around the bunch to create a mini-greenhouse effect. Depending on your local conditions it might buy you another two weeks to about a month on the plant. Its not a game changer but every bit counts!

I do this with my bunches late fall when the night temps drop below 65F and day temps are not higher than about 80F. I keep the bottom and the top partially open so that it can breathe a bit. If condensation develops inside the bag it may be too hot during the day or try opening the bag a bit to increase air circulation.

I just cut and hang my bunches in the laundry room using an old leather belt. It might take a month of hanging but your bananas will turn yellow.

Zalin124

Thanks bud! That’s a great idea! My conditions aren’t too favorable for wed-fri.another weird front is coming in. Lows 34 for two days and 37 fri morning. I usually subtract a degree or so from that and it’s more accurate . After that it’s Low’s in the 50’s and highs in the low 70’s through the 25th! I used a frost blanket about one week ago when we had a weird cold front come through before the hurricane.

I covered the bunch and had some minor leaf/ frost damage. Didn’t effect the bunch when it was covered up. I’m debating whether I should push my luck and let it ride until Dec! Like you said every bit counts! I mean all my pups and plants are still pushing leaves, so everything hasn’t stopped growing yet. I do have another dwarf Namwa bunch that’s less far along that I may experiment with.

Have you ever had a bunch mature in the winter after losing it’s leaves from frost? I’m sure you probably don’t get hardly any frost down there. Maybe with that other Dwarf Mamwa bunch I could wrap it or something. I’ll show you a picture of what that one looks like now.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0X5N...oDs7PgFGg#Home

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Zalin124

Here’s the forecast. Looks like it’s changed again. Like you said a while back. Anything past Nov 1st is a bonus!!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0cID...KvoxGCxHinb6cA

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0Bk8...b67MNO7iLxJ57Q

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0vL7...InpEfPnDbaGz7A

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Akula

Yeah, that looks pretty cold but if its only for a couple hours I think you can get them through it. I suggest using the frost cloth over the entire plant if its big enough and also bag the bunch in a plastic garbage bag. You can get significant leaf damage if its a clear night even if its not quite freezing. The frost cloth will prevent this damage. Namwa's are pretty tough!

I've never got a bunch through the entire Winter and into the following Spring. It gets too cold here. We get an overnight freeze eventually (one or two). I have gotten bunches and plants through the first freeze which usually occurs in November or early December. The second freeze is what gets them. I try to get them through the first freeze (frost cloth over plant plus bagging the bunch) and harvest before the second freeze typically.

Good luck!

Zalin124

Well maybe I’ll be able to dodge a bullet then. Looks like the lowest temps are between 5-7am 36 degrees or so. Oh, and I have a huge frost blanket that I’ve never used! Maybe I’ll bag it and cover the whole plant. The temps don’t look nearly as bad as the first frost we had. Man if I could make it til the beginning of December that would be great!

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maesy

How have your namwahs turned out?

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