Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Hi! I would like to know which kind is the best way to grow bananas. Using either a pup/sword pup or tissue culture. I have read so many conflicting ideas about which is best. Some have said pups and others say tissue culture. Now I do know that pups grow up from the mother plant. The tissue culture is taking a corm and cutting it up into pieces and getting it to grow roots. Obviously tc will eventually turn into a proper tree! It’s also been said that tc are supposedly disease resistant but very slow to grow. Sword pups are the best on the other side of that argument. Personally I have decided to stick with pups. What do you think?:volleyballnaner:

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Ive grown both. My tissue culture plants grew from 2 inches high last december, to 13ft of pstem in just one growing season. Of course im in Florida, and pushed them hard on fertilizer and water. I have 3 pups that were about 2 feet tall when I received them from another forum member in mid May, They are all about 8ft of pstem now. I think the main thing with TC plants, is they are slow in the beginning, and require gradual acclimation to the outdoors, however pups can sit around doing nothing for a month or more after being seperated from the mother corm. It all depends, but both methods are result in good plants if properly cared for. Just my .02

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

OK I thought I had a freak with about 7' of pstem! What was the monster that got to 13 feet??

This basically being my rookie season I'm by far not an authority but in my yard and with all the wrong things that I do the tissue cultures have grown the best. Pups I've bought and ones I've separated just haven't grown as fast. It's probably something I'm doing but I'm learning. The only issue I see with tissue cultures is not knowing what you're actually buying. Lou Ferrigno was supposed to be a Blue Java but I think it's a Namwah. Still it's a plant like I never thought I could grow so I'm satisfied and it's producing very healthy pups for me.

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

13/10 = 1.3
6/4= 1.5

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Didn't take that into account. Lou's not so shabby I guess. Here's to a warm winter in the SC Lowcountry

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Hi! Thanks for the reply! Wow! It grew that much from just a small 2” plant? Unbelievable! Very impressive! Great info on tc! Here I was getting ready to get rid of my small tc bananas! Guess I don’t have to now!:woohoonaner::nanadrink:

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Yours is very impressive as well! Yeah I heard that happens a lot with Ice creams turning out to be Namwas! I think that happened to me to! Granted it’s very small and didn’t cost much! :ha: Thank you also for the reply!

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Tissue cultures grow fine but my experience is they are never what they are advertised to be. I think agristarts is selling nurseries a whole bunch of wrong banana plants. Then it gets even worse when the retailers send whatever they have on hand and don't care. You are almost guaranteed to get the wrong plant. Ill never buy another Tc plant, total waste of time.

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Wow I'm jealous of you guys! :ha:
All my TC's haven't grown much at all most are maybe 2ft at the most and I got them all in March!
My biggest one has been my Dwarf Namwa and that's about 4ft - granted it is a dwarf!

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

I can’t believe that! That just sucks! How can a company do that to a customer?

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

I am too! My tc plants I think are only about 1’ to 2’ tall. I got them all the way back in Feb! So don’t feel so bad! You beat me out! :ha:

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Maybe the plants we got were grown with microscopic pieces of corm :ha::ha:

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

:ha::ha::bananas_b

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

I have 10 TC ordered as blue java from wellspring gardens. They are of course namwah.. most are 12' tall or taller pstem height as of this month. My pups from Akula are a blue java, and a Raja Puri, and a mystery plant.
My namwah plants throw off more pups than can keep up with!

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Funnily enough that happened to me too! However, I only bought 1 tc blue java from wellspring gardens! I’m disappointed to know that there’s no chance as it grows that it will turn to be an ice cream! By the way it’s only a little over 1 foot!

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

I received my plants last december. Grew them under lights in 1 gal pots until mid feb. Then i moved them outside in dappled shade/sun until they went in the ground in early april, and of march. That was the first 6 plants. The second round of TC i ordered and they arrived in march. I attemped to put them right in the ground, and most nearly died within a few weeks. I dug them up and potted under the shady area, and by mid summer they went in the ground.. all are at least 8 ft now. I did fertilize them weekly.. i used banana fuel when they were in pots, and 13/13/13 when they went in the ground. Every other week i would add a tablesoon of potassium sulphate to the 1/2C of 13/13/13.

Here they are Apr 8, a few weeks after going into the ground.


Here they are 2 months later on June 25


And here they are Sept 4 The bananas in the foreground are the pups I received from Akula. They are planted on a retaining wall, that drops 2 feet down to the namwah patch below. For perspective, the 4x4 post section visible is 8ft.

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

very well done @smeash Very well done indeed

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

Im certainly no expert, but I followed the advice given by a few members here, and prepared my beds really well with manure and mushroom compost. I then topped that with a layer of pine straw, and about a foot of woodchips. The plants seem super happy.. had some storm setback a few weeks ago, but all survived and are putting out new leaves now. Even my blue java, which fell over, has started new growth after being put back vertical, and tied for support. I did lose 2/3 of the leaves on most of my plants, so the big ones may only have a few leaves when they flower.. bummed about that, but stoked that they survived at all. On a side note, I have several namwah, and a viente cohol further down my yard that were submerged in salt water for sevel days during hurricane sally.. They didnt bat an eye, but the salt killed my papaya trees.. bananas are pretty tough!!

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

OMG! I can’t believe it! Just incredible! Very impressive! Does everybody’s banana plants do that? Is it just b/c you live in Florida? I am truly amazed! Congratulations! :birthdaynana: Thanks!

Re: Which is better pup or tissue culture?
 

I believe all the TC's I got from the crappy Florida Hill crap nursery are incorrect, but so far the TC's from Wellspring gardens are correct (dwarf namwa).

The majority of them grew very well in the past year, the only 1 that is still small is a 2 ft. Hua Moa and the supposed gold finger is only 3 ft. after a year. rest got to 6 ft plus crown heights.