Simply Bananas

in July of 2009 I opined that I thought a leaf with a distinct red midrib signaled a flag.
Here is the last leaf prior to a flag leaf on my Ice Cream in 2009:


While observing my dwarf namwahs today I noticed this red midrib:



The pstem is the right diameter for a bloom. The next leaf is emerging, but its too early to tell if it is a flag. I'll know more next week.

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2woodensticks

great info...keep it up...thanks

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crazy banana

Interesting. Good luck, I hope it is going to bloom/fruit for you soon.

amantedelenguaje

Thanks for the info. I've read other sources that concur with your statement. I am hoping for bananas soon. I find myself watching my banana for signs that it is going to flower. Now I have another signal to help me know when my plant is going to produce fruit.

By-the-way, is the leaf with the unusual red mid-rib shorter than the other leaves? Could you tell the leaf had the red midrib while the leaf emerged, or did you have to wait until it unfurled?

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venturabananas

Depends on the variety. For the ones that have bloomed for me, there was a reddish midrib on the "signal leaf" on some with lots of B (balbisiana) in the genome (e.g., Orinoco, Namwah (probably the same as your "Ice Cream")); but those with less B in the genome haven't had the red midrib (e.g., Goldfinger, Rajapuri, Dwarf Brazilian). And the Pisang Awak ("Namwah") varieties sometimes had red midribs on leaves that are not the signal leaf.

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momoese

Stop Photoshopping in that red midrib!

I haven't noticed that on my plants. Will be interesting to see what comes next!