amantedelenguaje

I've got a 2.5-year-old indoor Dwarf Cavendish pushing a flower in the middle of the winter. It's kind of odd because I had another 2-year-old Dwarf Cavendish push a flower at this exact same time last year. I wonder if the onset of winter combined with the movement of the plant from outdoors to indoors may have an influence on the time that the flower appears. My research indicates that bananas flower whenever they feel like it, but it is interesting that the timing of the 2012 and 2013 blooms are almost identical to the day.

I hope I can get the fruit to hang on until spring/summer, when I can return the plant outdoors.

__________________

Nicolas Naranja

The plant started the flowering process months ago. My mind may be failing me, but I think flowering is determined 4-6 months prior to actually seeing the flower. Somewhere during this time the number of hands is set.

__________________
Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

amantedelenguaje

My DC is progressing nicely. I've had to run the indoor lights because its been overcast for about a week.

__________________

scottu

I think I would leave those lights and maybe more on about 20 hours a day! Very cool and keep us updated with pics please.

__________________
Viva La Banana

sal

How tall is your DC when it started flowering?

Mine, the tallest is about a foot.

__________________

amantedelenguaje

The current pseudostem height is 3.5 feet. However, this is not its real flowering height. I chopped the pseudostem in half in late summer 2012 and again in late summer 2013. My reason is that I must prepare to bring the plant indoors for the winter. The plant usually has 4-6 feet of pseudostem and stands well over 8 ft. tall with the flower pot and vertical height of the leaves before I sever it. I cannot bring a nine-foot monster into a room with 8-ft ceilings, so I chop it in late summer to give the plant time to recover and grow some new foliage before winter storage.

I try to be careful. If I feel the plant is about to flower, I don't chop off as much. It's a gamble, but I don't have much choice.

__________________

amantedelenguaje

The bud is still trying to emerge. It seems like it is taking an eternity. The inflorescence is rather large considering that the plant grows in zone 7, has been moved from pot to pot, chopped in half twice, has a confined growing space, and is sitting in the middle of a bedroom. Hope I can get some fruit this time.

__________________

amantedelenguaje

All Choked Up :-(

So I was hoping that my banana was not choking, but I can no longer deny it. I decided to do some surgery to try and liberate the inflorescence. I had to sacrifice two leaves in the process, and the remaining leaves have weakened petioles. I have tied them up to help them withstand the stress. We'll see what happens.

__________________

amantedelenguaje

Well, the bananas are still hanging on. I hope I can get these to ripen eventually. Right now I am 0-2 when it comes to my success in getting ripe bananas from a banana inflorescence. The plant still has 4 pitiful leaves. The pup has started growing steadily, so I hope it will help provide energy to the corm. We will see.

__________________

Funkthulhu

I could only hope that I am so lucky. It may be the only way I'll ever see a flower in my climate.

__________________
"Ph'nglui musaglw'nanna Funkthulhu R'Omahaea wgah'basjoo fhtagn"
"In his house at Omaha, dread Funkthulhu plants bananas."

amantedelenguaje

The fruit are still hanging on. You cannot tell it from the photo, but they have gotten a little longer. They are growing very slowly.

__________________

amantedelenguaje

It's been another two weeks, and the fruit is still hanging on. The fruits are 2.5 to 3.5 inches long. They are plumping up, albeit very slowly. There are only 3 leaves left on the plant though. The low humidity is frying them.

__________________

JCA433

Your bananas are about the size of my Goldfinger bananas now. I think they will fill out and mature.