tanfenton

By dumb luck I happened onto a recent thread by someone mentioning that PR Giants was selling corms on eBay. Better yet, not all of the listings had ended. I had been eager to get several cultivars from Keith for a few months, since before I even joined the Org, but following my joining, our wires kept getting crossed. The chance to get Tigua, Patupi, and French Red (of which I'd never heard until I stalked Keith's original post last year)--with the help of eBay--thereby came about.

I'd say the French Red corm was pushing three pounds, with its own sword sucker about to emerge.



The Tigua and Patupi were tiny by comparison.





It should probably come as a surprise to no one that both Tigua and Patupi pushed measurable new growth in the three hours following my potting them up. The following picture was made before they jumped. Notice how the corms had already pushed new sheath in the postal mailer since Keith had cut them on Saturday.



I had to tempt Keith's wrath by temporarily housing the pups in not clean, coarse sand but coconut coir and perlite, which is plentiful here at my farm, given the nature of the other crops that I grow.



I hope that others get to experience the excellent service that Keith provides and the great care with which he prepares his plants for shipment. He is doing a great service to the community--for both hobbyists and those in the industry--in making this plant material available on the mainland.

(For full-size photos in better quality, go here: https://goo.gl/photos/wQrbiGcuZZXYbvp99 .)

Nathaniel

Going Bananas

Ive privately emailed him for
an order but never responded.
I imagine he doesnt or could not
ship those to California.

bananimal

Shipping to Cali, and especially Hawaii are big NO NOs.

PR-Giants

Thanks for your kind words and thorough post.

And a special thanks to all the members that collected data on the Tigua and Patupi.

I started with the premise bigger is better and have learnt with the help of others that both the Tigua and Patupi acclimate quicker at that size.

These very well may be special bananas for the org, we'll know soon, looking forward to any data you'll be sharing.

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Kevin2685

I got 2 corms of patupi 1 was big and 1 was small. My smaller corm took really fast and the bigger one took longer so yeah I think the smaller corms on the patupi are better. The smaller one is getting donated to the local conservatory later next week.

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Currently growing

Musa basjoo
Dwarf orinico
Variegated dwarf namwah
Aeae
Patupi
Veinte cohol
Musa lasiocarpa (golden lotus)
Musa velutina
Raja puri
Mekong giant
Double cavendish
Super dwarf cavendish
Truly tiny
Musa laterita
Ensete maurelli

edzone9

Cant wait to receive my goodie box from PR !

Ed

tanfenton

There is visible leaf on the Tigua on day two!

The corms are in a position in which they receive dappled light from mid-morning through noon; thereafter, they are in full sun until about 5 pm. I'll be moving them next week to a different bench where they will receive extended light in the late afternoon.

My patience will probably have run out after three weeks, and there will be nothing left but to plant them, but until then I'll have to content myself with tracking and documenting their progress. If the bananas are above shoulder height by the middle of December, I think we may be onto something, and at this rate, I have every expectation that they will be.

N.

tanfenton

There's considerable progress evident since this picture was made yesterday morning. I'm guessing that I'll have a first leaf completely unfurled on both Tigua and Patupi by Monday morning. French Red is slow, but it's rooting well, so there's that. If you're wondering why the pseudo-stem looks so different on the two jackrabbits, it's because I cut away the desiccated sheath from pre-harvest down to the depth of the corm, leaving only one layer separating the outside world from the new growth. This practice probably isn't common, but I find that it accelerates leaf emergence and prevents new leaves from choking as they begin layering. So far so good!

N.

PR-Giants

If this is how you normally do things then it's probably fine.

I know I wouldn't be happy with that progress after 2.5 weeks, but if you have a lot of roots then it's just a matter of time for them to takeoff. Until I've completely tested a medium, I would always remove, clean and inspect the corm a couple of times in first 4 to 10 days to assure everything is progressing normally. If things aren't going properly I'd have the opportunity to make some changes without damaging any of the new roots.

As far as stripping for success, I wouldn't recommend it. Those outer leaf sheaths gives the center shaft stability as the new leaf sheaths emerge and become rigid. The main reason for shipping it with long stems is to allow the grower multiple opportunities to shave the top to prevent any choking or binding.

This is very interesting, keep us updated.

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tanfenton

View in Not-Crappy-Org Quality!

After a longer-than-usual start-up time, the Patupi and Tigua have reached the point at which they will produce normal leaf fully acclimated to full sun. New leaf is emerging a good distance within the cigar leaf of the Patupi before it has fully opened. The French Red misses existing in Puerto Rico or a miscellaneous French protectorate. It has been scolded.

N.