Saba vs. Kandrian
 

I have been wanting to grow Saba to it's potential since the 90's, but have not had the opportunity or the climate. I made a visit to Going Bananas in Homestead, Florida this week and had a nice chat with Don. He said he has always wanted to grow Saba next to Kandrian to see which one was taller. He thought Kandrian would be the winner. I will be planting both in similar conditions and seeing which does best in the environment i can provide. The native soil is near 100% Hallandale sand. I will heavily amend with the same compost and manure on both plants. They will be about 10' apart and have similar light. I will post updates. :)


This is a tissue culture Saba from Going Bananas. It is about 1-2' This is the location it will be planted using wood compost and cow manure (exactly like the Kandrian was planted)



Here is the Kandrian, also from Going Bananas. It has a head-start and is 4-5'. It is also a tissue culture.




Both

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

In order to get the most accurate results, you should plan to really judge them closely when they are on at least their 2nd, or ideally 3rd bunch. Normally the shoots are increasing in size up to the third cycle where they generally top off if well cared for. If you judge them on their first fruiting cycle, it's not really a fair direct comparison as a number of factors will influence the size of plants on their first fruiting.

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

I've never seen this Kandrian variety. Will it take to 9b in northern California?
Very interested

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

Jeffaro, I have not seen many people growing the Kandrian variety. It was collected from Papua New Guinea in the late 1980s. I think it would be worth a try in your area. The field testing in south florida shows that it's height at fruiting is 14.8 feet. Compared to Saba at 12.8 feet.

I first saw Kandrian growing at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami. I was blown away by how big it was.

http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/...1/120.full.pdf

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

Thanks for posting the attachment. 12.8 feet seems way too short for a Saba? Both are impressive plants!

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

I thought the same thing. The ones i've seen appeared closer to 15-20'

Here is the Saba planted

Massive Plants
 

Back in the day we had 25 foot Saba plants, we had to scale back as it is so much work.....

There was an interesting thread on "Huge Banana" plants some time back, following are links to a couple of the posts:

http://www.bananas.org/f2/if-youve-s...tml#post237190

http://www.bananas.org/f2/if-youve-s...tml#post237565

Re: Massive Plants
 

That thread was my inspiration. Absolutely beautiful Saba you had! I hope to challenge it. Maybe the shrimp shells were the secret ingredient.

Re: Massive Plants
 

Awesome, thanks!!

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

I grew Kandrian commercially a few years ago. It is tall and does make some large bunches. A friend of mine has Saba and Kandrian on the same farm. I believe Kandrian is a bit taller.

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

I grow them both. They are neck and neck with respect to height. Growing conditions seem to be the main variable. The Saba is a more impressive plant to me, because the overall form and leaf size is larger. Also the Saba has a thicker pseudostem. Kandrians have the general appearance of a supersized Orinoco, although the fruit is totally different. Additionally, Kandrians fruit way less frequently. They are tall for sure but kind of flimsy.

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

It's been about 3 months since the Saba was planted. The Kandrian had a huge head start and has really taken off! Saba has really started to grow fast in the last month!



Kandrian pseudostem is about 10' tall and almost 12" at the base







Saba at about 3-4' or pseudostem

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

Any final impressions?

Re: Saba vs. Kandrian
 

Wow! Awesome!