JodoGarden

Found some free bananas on a Craigslist post, so how could I resist? The lady giving them away had quite a few mats of various kinds to be dug up. It was very difficult to chip away at the mats, but I tried to get different varieties. She said that there were some Blue Java, finger type and "regular"... so we'll see. I will take pics tomorrow of some of the leaves. I ended up with about 14 plants of various sizes.

Here are some concerns:

Number one: I saw some large snails on some roots. I tried to leave them behind, I'm going to have to inspect the roots thoroughly to make sure there are none. I don't have any snail problems now, so I want to try to keep them out. Will it be possible to find them? I'm assuming they will be well hidden and different sizes.

Number two: All of the plants were growing along a canal just above the water line. The roots seemed to be in muck at some points. I'm wondering how concerned I should be about plants harboring fungus or bacteria and if these bananas can adjust to my much drier, well-draining soil without too much of a problem.

... any thoughts?

I will post pics tomorrow.

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edzone9

Congrats & Good Luck , If It was me , after i digem up, ill dip the Corm & Roots in bleach solution to kill any nasty stuff that they may have .

JodoGarden

You don't find that the bleach harms the roots at all? Maybe just a really weak solution? I didn't get that many roots with each plant, don't want to fry what little roots they have. Of course introducing snails and bacteria is probably even worse.

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Abnshrek

Surprised it wasn't suggested to dip in bleach solution rinse then soak in super-thrive.. :^)

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

JodoGarden

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brod

Yes 10 points for a golden opportunity.
If it were me I would cut most of the p-stem off, trim all the roots off and get a potato peeler to scrape back the corm till it is white.
Then check for corm a borors and soak in insecticide .

2woodensticks

that is what i would do..start with fresh corm,unless you plan to split and put in containers...snail eggs can be easy and hard to find so be careful..sounds like a great find all the same ..congrats

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got to love em..{neotropical rattlesnake..cascabell}

JodoGarden

I planted some of them today. I went with the bleach dip. I did inspect the roots as well as I could. Most of the plants had very little roots on them b/c they were taken from large mats that were basically just a complex of corms. Thanks for the suggestions on how to process them. I might pot some of them up, the smaller ones anyway. I'm going to create another thread for help with identification of the leaves. Here are some pics of the plants:

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edzone9

Very light bleach solution, like TABLE SPOON , in a 5 Gal bucket .
Then Rinse & add 5 Drops Of Super thrive to 5 Gal Of water ,let soak for 15-20 Min, to prevent transplant shock

P.sAb Thanks for reminding me the Super thrive
I bought back from the Dead a Ponderosa lemon tree that i was getting ready to remove it.
Im glad i didnt , looks very healthy .

Thats alot of Pups..

JodoGarden

That's basically what I did, but no Super Thrive. I've never used that, I'm more used to fish emulsion to reduce shock. I'm sure these plants are going to be shocked no matter what. I had to cut leaves on the larger ones to transport them and really couldn't dig very many roots. I might end up having to cut the entire p-stem down to the corm... but I decided to see if they would take without doing that. I have about 4 of them that had 6 foot p-stems... so I wanted to try to keep them going if I could.

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edzone9

They will do great !

JodoGarden

I'm sort of concerned that the larger ones will leaf out and not be able to provide enough water to sustain them. Hopefully they root up fast enough. Should I keep cutting off the leaves as they emerge to promote root growth? It's been a lot warmer here, around 80 everyday.

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edzone9

I dont know whit the cutting of the leaves, Maybe some Expert Member can guide you.

But i can tell you, that one i 1st moved to florida, my next door nieghbor gave me afew Orionoco pups, i planted most of them .

I had no idea of banana life then ( 1 year ago ) ,out of all the pups that where given to me , 1 seemed sick,so i tossed the entire plant 4ft tall into the tall folage back of my house .

last month i was clearing some growth in my back yard, amazing there where 2 Huge PUPS that emerged from the Corm of the Banana tree that i tossed close to 1 year ago !.

I pulled them out of the ground , planted one in my aunts home in Kissemmee & the other i gave to my Cuzin.

Its amazing how Vigorus these plants are ..

JodoGarden

That's true, they are def vigorous. But why does it seem like they are so willing to grow on neglect lol? I've fished a few good things out of my compost heap that ended up growing better than the plants I had in the ground, so I know what you mean.

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GreenFin

That's a pretty sweet avatar pic, JodoGarden! Looks like maybe a dwarf cavendish fruiting at about 5'?

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Set out runnin', but I'll take my time; a friend of bananas is a friend of mine.

www.GreenFinGardens.com

JodoGarden

Thanks! Not sure what type that is b/c it was taken at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales FL (two weeks ago). I thought maybe it was a dwarf or super dwarf Cavendish type. I have a dwarf Cavendish that is probably 2 feet taller than that one, so I don't know.

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venturabananas

Guys like Nick and Keith who grow bananas for a living, and Gabe who grows them for research, are the experts you need. I'm pretty sure Nick has said that he cuts off all but the cigar leaf from pups he's planting. I'm sure it depends on how hot it is, whether the plant is in full full sun versus shade, but it makes sense that it is going to be hard for a plant with few or no functional roots to get enough water to all the leaves. I've read that any roots on bare rooted pups die if they are not planted within hours, and that seems to be true from my limited personal experience. So your new plants may be starting with no functional roots at all.

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Rmplmnz

Jodo, you are just south of Tampa..if you ever make it up this way I have 20 or so named varieties (although I have one or two that has been miss-labeled a time or two ..lol)..that have all fruited...and I am certain (as certain as banana growers get) of the sourcing.

I share whatever pups I have available with members that visit our garden.

Thinning the Mattes

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That truck was full full............
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edzone9

Huge Boat load of Bananas Man !
Enjoy !

JodoGarden

Thanks Rmplmnz... that is a very generous offer! Nice looking matts there... good growing!

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