harveyc

I bought a nice Ae Ae from Stokes a couple of months ago because I could no longer resist.....

It arrived looking fantastic, enough to convince me these people are expert packers! They do a good job with other bananas but do a lot of work for the $30 or so they charge for shipping an Ae Ae. My Ae Ae pseudostem was about 18" and it had 4 nice leaves. I noticed that all of the leaves had a slight pinkish edge to them and wondered at the time if that was normal or not. My Ae Ae saw its first gentle breeze when I decided to put it outside one day to get it some sun and I was devestated when its oldest leaf snapped. Yikes, that leaf cost me $50, I figured! I didn't cut it off and it is still green (nicely variegated, actually) and helping feed the plant, but it will come off eventually. I had a new leaf emerge a couple of weeks ago and another new leaf should be open by next week. It likes the sheltered life in my shop! However, I noticed that the leaf that opened up two weeks ago does not have this pinkish edge yet. Any thoughts on that? I wonder if that is a good sign or a bad sign.

I asked the person at handling my puchase at stokes about some culture conditons shortly after the purchase and she responded with the following:

I need to calibrate my pH meter and test the soil, but I was curious about the humic acid comment. I know it is used as a soil amendment, but I didn't remember ever reading about it being used to adjust pH. Anyone know much about that? Some friends have indicated the use of vinegar to adjust pH, but how do I know how much to use? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Mahalo,

wannabe a'ea'a king

__________________

Mark Hall

Harvey I was told to give mine a thick top dress of Pine needles to help keep the soil on the acid side. I must admit I haven't yet done this.

While we are on the Ae Ae subject.On another post It was mentioned the use of sulpher for the greening of the foliage. Does this mean that it makes the leaf have more green than white or does it mean that the green stands out as a stronger colour. I think our cooler weather over here means I will never get that real stunning look that you guys get over there.



Good luck with yours Harvey.

__________________
Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

valerie@flower

Hope this helps:
Soil PH is either acidic or alkaline -(salt) or neutral.
Sulphur or vinegar will lower the alkaline and lime will lower the acid.
Humic acid is just the same as compost. Peat moss near the root zone will lower the PH to the acidic side more quickly than sulphur or vinegar. Which takes months or two years depending on which one you use.

harveyc

Mark, I believe you are thinking of Jordon's (jnstropics, or something like that) comment about using potasium nitrate. He mentions that on his web site as well at http://togofcoralgables.com/AeAebananas.aspx. I believe it makes the leaves have less white. The leaves on mine look outststanding (except the one broken one, of course) ...... so far.

Valerie, I understand pH fairly well, having taken 4 university courses in soil science. As to your other comments, some forms of sulfur can be slow to acidify soil but not all. NpHuric is a material I've injected into my orchard irrigation system which has fast effects. It essentilally is a form of sulfuric acid. Mineral sulfur, on the other hand, takes years to reach its full potential. As far as vinegar, this has immediate affects. I know of a commercial nurseryman that uses it especially on his lychee since his water source is alkaline. I suppose the easiest way is to add it slowly to water and measure pH to see how much it takes to get the pH I'm shooting for. I've read some online comments that mention some pH effects, but it didn't seem significant. Stokes is a well-established nursery and recommended it, but I'm just trying to see the justification for it. My potting soil already has peat moss in it and I'm not about to dig up my plant to add more peat moss to adjust pH.

__________________

Mark Hall

Ah Thanks for explaining that Harvey. I suppose the more green the plant has the stronger it would grow. I must admit I like the ones with lots of white/cream in them. I took a soil reading today on my small AeAe and it was nearly 7 on the Ph meter so I have repotted it up into a 10ltr pot with fresh Ericaceous compost. I only thought to do it as the new leaf came through with not a lot of white on it.

__________________
Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

bananimal

Harvey,

Got to Encanto Farms website and check out Jon's (Pitangadiego) writeup on the Ae Ae. After I lost my pup's main stem from caterpillars, it popped two pups. I did what Jon said -- replant in pure peat moss with a little pearlite added and it's coming back nicely. Also used a new clay orchid pot for good breathability and drainage. Block drainage holes with plastic screening.

Dan

harveyc

Dan, thanks, but NO THANKS! LOL When I met Jon a couple of months ago he told me that the Ae Ae is the only banana he has every killed! I think I'll transplant mine into sand. Just joking.

I have no intention of repotting my Ae Ae. It is in a peat and compost potting mix and doing well. But, I don't want to increase the pH level of my soil by using water that is about 6.9 and have quesitons on use of vinegar that others have used for other plants. Also, I an curious about the pink edge on the leaves that grew when Stokes had it. Do the leaves of your Ae Ae have this pink edge? What's that about?

__________________

Steve L

Harvey,

I've grown Ae Ae for 4 years and all of mine whether they are 2 feet tall or 12 feet tall have the pink edge. And that applies to the ones from Stokes or directly from Hawaii, of which I have both.

Steve

jason

Hi I would not use vinegar personally,but their is a safe way to lower your p.h of water,It is food grade citric acid it is in powder form and is used for many things including making hard candy,,I have used it for most of my tropicals when watering I lower my waters p.h to 6.0-6.5,,,and in return do not have to feed as often or as much,but so far I can only find it in 50 pound bags and cost almost $100 for a bag,but of course the bag will last for ever ,it does not take much of the powder to lower my p.h in a 5 galloon bucket,,,hope some of this helped!Take care-Jason.

harveyc

Thanks Steve and Jason!

__________________