first Gros Michel flower
 

The Gros Michel TC plants I got from Sdarkman almost two years ago have been growing most impressively despite the overhanging city trees (incense cedars). I was assured by Mark Steele, however, that these AAs would never bear in my non-tropical area. Then, last night I returned from a week-long trip east to find two hands growing on the larger of the plants. I know this is way too late in the year to expect these guys to mature but since I am a total newbie (these are my first two banana plants), I have no idea how to handle this blessed event. Do I just wait until the babies give up the ghost and then chop that plant down (it has 2-3 pups)? Does the plant give me any kind of indication when it is time to do that? Or do I invest heavily in electric blankets and sulfate of potassium? Thanks.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

.... pictures!!!!!

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

Only when I went out to take an additional photo did I realize there were actually 3 hands up there with a fourth forming.[IMG][/IMG]

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

BIG congrats... Ignore the naysayers, GM is a top of the line banana, taste wise...

As close as you are to being warm enough, I would do my best to keep it warm. 35 keeps it alive...It won't grow in 35 but won't die either if you keep the frost off. Mine, also from Sddarkman, made it last winter and we had several good low 30's frosts. One time the little weather station up the road from me said 32.7 degrees... Anything exposed to frost will get burnt and frost can happen below about 40. (To be safe)

I am hoping mine blooms in early March, which is USUALLY past the frost date.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

I am not terrifically worried about frost since in the 30 years we have lived here I believe there has only been a single night below 32 degrees. In general we have chill hours in the teens which means I have pulled out almost all my stone fruit and am moving more and more to tropicals. I just doubted that these bananas would ripen in the winter, and if so how I should behave toward the plant.

For example, the Janice Kadota fig next to it has probably a hundred green fruit that will never ripen. They all get pruned off at leaf drop (along with about half the branches) . I don't know what the equivalent tactic is with my Gros Michel

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

I know GM can be finicky, but with most bananas so far as I know, unless they freeze it just makes them take longer. I would give it a nice dose of MOP and pray...

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Then that's what I will do. Thanks so much.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

I agree with sputinc7. You should be able to ripen those. I would put a large clear plastic bag over the bunch to protect the fingers from frost and act as a mini greenhouse. This I am doing with 2 of my bunches now; night temps has been as low as 36°. My teo bunches are doing fine.

Also go ahead an remove the red bracs to expose the hands.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

If you use plastic bags, leave some air holes so they don't have a fungus issue... Professional covers breathe.
Personally, I wouldn't use plastic bags...
What are your typical weekly temps there in winter? Is it ever below 40? If not, I would not worry.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

According to wunderground.com, it got down to 42 here in 1952, though I personally remember a frost somewhere around 1996. Basically though I am greatly encouraged by the thought that these bananas will ripen as long as they don't get too close to freezing. I think I will skip the plastic bags which my squirrels tend to regard as an invitation to make merry. I did give the plant a dose of potassium sulfate per edwmax's protocol. I am a little limited in doing too much manipulation of the hands because this is a Gros Michel, ie everything is pretty high up.. though not as high as I feared. My next project will be getting some thick bamboo to build an x-support for the nanas. Thanks to all! Best, Ronni

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

Or some one and a half inch PVC pipe with a couple 45 degree elbows making a soft place to rest... Hate the look? Paint it green.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

Will 1-1/2" be strong enough? I have been making myself crazy looking for the 2" Jon Verdick recommends, especially since I will need 20' lengths (12' from top of bunch to ground and I will need to angle slightly for better tripod effect, no?) I am not greedy and am perfectly willing to prune at 4 hands.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

I'm currently babysitting a bunch of new fingers on one of my plants. I expect they'll be ripe bananas in June. We'll see.

It's not the strength but the flexibility of pipe that can be a problem. If you go with PVC pipe you'll want schedule 40. Check with plumbing supply shops instead of big box stores. Consider the heavy duty balck drain pipe. Also at fence construction businesses look for 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" galvanized pipe. They'll have connecting parts. It's what I use.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

Strangely, I just looked at a chart listing the tensile strengths of different widths and the 1.5" was slightly greater than the 2". I'm thinking that must be a mistake.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

Thanks so much, Richard. I will check around. The fact that you are basically in my zone and have hope for July makes me happy... except for the fact that I only planted these bananas at the request of my younger son's then girlfriend, now -- as of Monday -- wife, and she leaves for Kabul in May! My son joins her in July though. Maybe he will be carrying Gros Michel!

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

There's photos of my set up on this thread:

http://www.bananas.org/f2/bananas-my-garden-46695.html

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

One quick question before I go shopping for my supports: do those PVC connectors recommended by Jon (i.e. the single 45 degree and the two tees) need to be glued to the short pieces of pipe before being strung on the wire/rope? I feel like the weight of the bananas could just pull the construction apart but I also don't know if the PVC glue is designed to be strong in that way. Thanks!

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

PVC glue is very strong, as strong as the pipe. Personally, I would get 1 in and 1 1/2 in, slide them inside each other, drill some holes for pins so they can be resized to fit different varieties.

Re: first Gros Michel flower
 

Correct, you need to glue the pipe connectors -- standard "Christie's Red Hot Blue Glue" will do the job with PVC pipe.