jeffreyp

Anyone (except California - can't ship there) interested in splitting a/some tray(s) of bananas from agristarts? Please at least 24 plants per variety..I'll split them at cost and ship them out via priority mail. Those of you who are not familiar with agristarts, they are a company that tissue cultures various plants. They have a large selection of musa cultivars. Here's a pic of a grand naine starter tray..

http://www.worldwideplants.com/images/trays.jpg (sorry but these were beat up from sitting outside for too long, but you get the general idea what they look like)

I think this is what is available at the moment (that I'd be interested in)..


Thompsonii
Truly Tiny
African Rhino Horn
High Color Mini (super dwarf)
French Horn
Dwarf Nino
Red Iholene
Red Jewel *NEW*

send me an email at sales@worldwideplants.com

jeffreyp

Agristarts also has this super/super dwarf cavendish available...

Little Prince (Ball Seed Exclusive)

Any takers ?

Sodak

I would consider it in the spring. I would have trouble keeping them over the winter though.

jeffreyp

understood, but even still, small liner plants such as these are not difficult to grow through the winter if placed in near a window sil...just don't totally discount the idea

momoese

Correct me if I'm wrong but the idea here is to buy them now, grow them through the winter and sell them next spring/summer?

PaulOdin

I got a mixed lot of about 72 bananas from Agri-Start last March 6th, a bit before I joined this forum. Probably because I picked them up, I wasn't charged a packing or split tray fee, though I was reminded a few times that they are only allowed to sell wholesale. The total haul was 2 1000 Fingers, since that was a leftover sitting around, and a dz. or more each of Dwarf Brazilian, Pitogo, Red Iholeni, Kru and Double. Basically, I was asking for groups of 2 dz., and taking anything they had in smaller quantities "as a favor to them". All together it was a very interesting afternoon and a remarkable place to visit.
The bananas were in 1" round plugs, and a couple inches tall. After passing some to a friend, I kept the rest indoors under florescent aquarium lights for 6 weeks w/out losing any, but w/ little growth. Then they were in planters outdoors through June, where they grew to about 6", and I lost a few while on vacation for 2 weeks. At that stage they were pretty crowded, so I moved them to 3 bathtubs I'm using as outdoor planters, and the current size varies by cultivar, w/ an average stem height around 24". It is probably time to move out the 3' plants, but I haven't decided how to handle them all during the winter. Maybe I should move the 10 biggest into 3 gal. pots, and see how the rest do w/ more space.
The point of this is that these little pluggers are healthy, but take forever to grow. After 7 months some have less than a foot of stem, and I doubt if the big ones have anything that could be called a corm. Reputable growers like A&B Nurseries who do this all the time charge a 1000% mark up from what they pay Agri-Starts, but they invest 6 months in the plants and the nanner is only a small part of their expense.
My feeling is that if you buy a tray you should do it as soon as possible. It is unlikely that babanas bought now would be ready to go into the ground before next April.

Paul

jeffreyp

Well given 6-7 months of growth indoors (from now until spring) you should have decent sized plants ready to go into the ground. I'm particularly interested in the aforementioned varieties.

Gabe has expressed an interest in splitting a tray of red jewel and truly tiny.

Truly tiny is interesting because it was developed by a grower here in boynton beach and it a true non cavendish dwarf banana. The fruit is similar to brazilian.

MediaHound

I'm in
PM sent

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jeffreyp

that's good, we now have some momentum on red jewel and truly tiny..

any interest in these others?

Thompsonii
African Rhino Horn
High Color Mini (super dwarf)
French Horn
Dwarf Nino
Red Iholene

Zacarias

do agristarts only sell to nurseries?

What about for the individual consumer, what do we do? Is there other companies or ways around this?

Zman

PaulOdin

Agri-Start will sell to the public, but only in lots of 72 plants. Their web page lists some nurseries they deal with, if you want larger plants in smaller quantities. That's how I found A & B Tropicals. I keep their web page bookmarked and consider it one of the best on bananas, even if they don't up-date often enough. For instance, they would be all in favor of selling to someone who planned to split up an order among the members of a garden club, or sell plants as a fund raiser. Or start 72 banana patches in their back yard...

Paul

halo

nt

jeffreyp

It's my understanding they only sell to nursuries. They probably will sell a single tray to an individual from the public, but most likely at retail prices. About 7 yrs ago I tried buying a tray from them via mail order and they refused to deal with me as an individual and said I had to be a registered nursury to buy. They ony sell 72 count trays, i've never seen them sell individual plugs nor will they will not mix and match a tray.

PaulOdin

Maybe their policy has changed? I do not represent any 'registered retailer", and my average price/plant was $.87. When I was there I also noticed that their Availability list on line didn't entirely reflect what was in stock in small quantities. For instance, they currently list Dwarf Nino and "Thompsonii" w/ 0 available, but might have a few if you asked.

Paul

sandy0225

You might have just gotten lucky to buy them without a license, because the first time I tried to order they asked me for my nursery dealers license number. And the second time they asked me for it again. Of course, I had it both times so it didn't matter.
This will probably not make me any friends, but I think they should only sell wholesale to dealers. It's hard enough to make any money without homeowners and hobbyists buying them wholesale too. And I'm sorry if that makes anyone mad. I would split liners with other greenhouse business owners, though.
Sandy @ Northern Tropics

__________________
Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

sandy0225

You might have just gotten lucky to buy them without a license, because the first time I tried to order they asked me for my nursery dealers license number. And the second time they asked me for it again. Of course, I had it both times so it didn't matter.
This will probably not make me any friends on this forum, but I think they SHOULD only sell wholesale to dealers, or if they sell to the general public, it should be for a much higher price. It's hard enough to make any money without homeowners and hobbyists buying them wholesale too. And I'm sorry if that makes anyone here mad. I would split liners with other greenhouse business owners, though.
Sandy @ Northern Tropics

__________________
Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

PaulOdin

For me, it is strictly a hobby. I had 1 cultivar of banana when I bought those from Agri-Start. Or, it may have been a public interest thing on their part, since I am a teacher and they knew I planned to plant some of the bananas at school.
What is the purpose of your license? I might discover I agree w/ you. My first thought is that anyone who buys large lots of anything ought to be able to pay and buy wholesale. If I buy 1/2 a cow from a meat market, I want a bulk price whatever I'm doing w/ it.

Paul

MediaHound

so why dont you go in on it with us then?

__________________
Apologies in advance if I am slow to reply to your PM. I suggest posting in the forums for support if you need something urgent.

momoese

Sandy, I understand your view on this subject, and I also understand that many people these days make a living selling stuff on ebay and other online stores and auction sites. Not just Banana plants, but all kind of stuff that a consumer back in the day would have to buy from a retailer renting or leasing space. This in itself presents companies like Agristarts an option for selling more product even if the people they sell to don't have a re-sale license.

jeffreyp

None of their bananas are in the 80 cent per plant range anymore. I think they had some williams hybrid for .80 per plant a year ago but not anymore.. So Paul, that must have been some time ago.

I do have a nursury license so it's not a problem for me either way. It is a bit annoying with the folks on ebay. They waaay overcharge for the tc plants they sell and most of these outfits are not even registered with the department of agriculture - I am. All the plants I sell are corms\divisions unless explicitly stated. I benefit with agristarts because their delivery truck delivers in my area so there is no shipping charge to add to the cost of the plants (at least coming to me, shipping out from me is another story).


Again,

any takers on:

Thompsonii
African Rhino Horn
High Color Mini (super dwarf)
French Horn
Dwarf Nino
Red Iholene

??