Never give up on a banana!
 

This little fellow was pulled up in Hawaii when I was there in Oct. Left Honolulu 82 degrees flew to Charlotte, NC got off the plane in 38 degree weather and rode the entire trip in my backpack. Upon arrival back home I potted it and all the leaves died. I thought the stem still had some life in it or I would have already trashed it. My 4year old niece would tell me I needed to throw that dead plant out each time she came. So i was very shocked last week to see the new leaves coming out, now if it will just live till spring. I think it is a apple banana plant.
greg

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

It just goes to show you, these plants will surprise you from time to time.

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

I hope you didn't inadverdently bring home some Bananan Bunchytop Virus with you as well. I work with a guy who used to live in Hawaii and worked on a banana plantation and he said that BBTV was one of their worst diseases. Better keep a close eye on it and be prepared to burn it if it shows any of the signs.

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Brent brings up a good point, the plant could have bunchy top virus because it is everywhere and generally no plants are considered safe. Symptoms may not show up for a few months after the plant has been infected as well.

However (this is important), know that if your plant does have bunchy top virus, there is no risk of it spreading to other plants because the only way for it to spread is by a specific aphid which would not be on your plant if it had died down and regrown as yours has. Its a serious disease, but controllable with proper management.

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

I know my inexperience must stick out like a sour thumb but what is bunchy top virus, and what are the symptoms? If it doesnt spread without some special aphid why is it so dangerous? Thanks for putting up with my newby questions! :)

By the way, congrates on the nanner. Hope it continues to grow for you!

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Thanks Bananaman and Gabe, I thought about the disease but I knew when I got back it would be inside my house away from my other plants which I keep in my crawlspace. I hoped that the 6 months away from everything else would be enough. But thanks Gabe for letting me know about the die back. The plants looking great right now. I keep it under it under a grow light now. still have about 2 to 3 months until safe to plant outside.
thanks again
Greg

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Hopefully you're in the clear!

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Gabe,

What about the possibility of aphids or their eggs being accidentally brought back with the plant material? If someone lives in a warm area, like me in TX, for instance, and I brought a banana plant back from Hawaii, I would think that the aphids could potentially survive and breed here and spread the virus as well. I'm not saying that Greg brought back any aphids or eggs on his plant, but in theory, this could happen and we should all think about this sort of thing before bringing something back that could potentially be infected.

Just my two cents worth. Maybe I'm just in my envioronmental mindset as I have just come back into the office from flagging Texas Meadow Rue (Thalictrum texanum). We are trying to keep it from being mowed so that it can set seed. Apparently it is close to becoming endangered.

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

This is a good point, however, with proper sanitation practices it should not be a problem. Its really quite easy to just look over the plant and make sure there are no aphids. If you want to be secure, cut off all the leaves and petioles down to a bare pseudostem, spray down the plant with some soapy water and wash it off good. Whenever transporting plants to new areas, I also always cut off the roots and wash off the soil before transplanting.

Some diseases don't have to be an issue with proper responsibility on the part of whoever is moving the plants. The reason bunchy top has spread so much and is so hard to control is because generally people do not care enough to consider it, and just move the plants without regard to sanitation and inspection. And then when there are infected plants, people are generally slow to take care of the problem (if they get to it at all) and just let them sit when they should really be taken out and destroyed immediately.

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Thanks for your comments, Gabe.

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Furthering this line.

Takea a look at the Ice Cream may I have as of this morning....pretty bad looking, eh?


but look a little closer!......





A couple of new leaves are already 2 feet long.....on Feb 4!

Not too shabby. It almost makes me quit thinking about congress......almost.

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

see i told you every thing was going to be ok My Ic is sprouted too all get a pic for you all later this week

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Update on the banana that came from Hawaii, it's about 3 foot tall now and growing fast.

url=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=19690&ppuser=1276][/url]

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Wow..you have some beautiful plants! Thanks for the update and the pics. I hadn't seen this thread before now. Bananas are VERY hardy provided you don't forget to water them for excessive periods of time. My original naners came into my possession after a banana plant at a local college greenhouse 'died' and the corm was chopped up with a machete and placed in a compost heap at my former workplace. That 'dead' plant grew into 7 very much alive plants (even after being chopped, tossed and not cared for at all) and two of them became mine at the end of summer! So yeah...moral of the story is to never give up on a banana!

Re: Never give up on a banana!
 

Congrats, glad you didnt toss it. I hope you grow it to its fullest potential.

alex