Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Hello all!

I live in Palm Beach County 10 a and have about an acre that we’ve been adding lots of fruit trees too. Over the past week or so I can’t stop thinking about a Variegated Aeae I saw and I’m thinking about buying one. That being said I really am on the fence because I know bananas need full sun but full sun in S Fl is much different from most other places haha.

I already have a blue java, a dwarf Orinoco, and a few other noids I got from a neighbor. That being said I’m overall still fairly new to bananas (none have fruited yet) and gardening in general. I tend to get fixated on things and I am very indecisive so I wanted to bluntly ask….

Is it worth buying a Variegated Aeae in South Fl 10a?

The one I’m looking into at the moment is 4’, $450, and is about an hour drive from where I live so not too far but I believe it is in ground still. My friend said that getting a potted one would be better as there will be more shock for a banana getting dug out and planted somewhere else vs being acclimated to a pot then put in the ground. That being said the only potted aeae with similar size a and price is all the way on homestead which is a 2 1/2 hour drive which I don’t think I can/want to do for a banana tree.

While researching online I see most people saying they’re difficult to grow but then I ask/hear people that grow them here locally in 10A and they said they were easy to grow. So I don’t know if their fragility and difficulty level is based on where that person grows them.

Anyways, again just asking the hive mind of banana lovers before I go either way Thanks all!

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

AeAe has a reputation as difficult to grow but where you live it will be much easier because it's very warm and the banana will not suffer setbacks from chills. Some people do find them easy to grow but mostly in warm climates. You still need to make sure your planting spot is well drained and amended with compost or bagged premium soil. Bagged composted manure would help. The AeAe can sunburn on the white areas so dappled shade or protection from afternoon sun can help. If you are dead set on an AeAe beware of those selling supposed "Aeae" but the plant is really a "Florida". The two plants are very hard to tell apart as they are almost identical and even the best growers have trouble figuring out which is which. In another post I mentioned this. The "Florida" plant is still a very nice banana but people here like to know exactly what they actually are buying and this identification situation just muddies the already muddied banana I.D. world, especially when someone believes they know what they have and then pass it on as that plant.

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

By the way "Best Day" is a trusted seller of properly identified bananas and now has the AeAe for less than you are considering paying and they are potted and larger size.

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Thanks so much for the insight! I figured that it would probably be a bit easier that other places to grow down here because of the heat. I do have tall pines on out property that dapple the sun for part of the day. Might be a good spot for it. We have a normal coffee plant on the other side of our house and that is getting sunburned so I don’t think it will fare well in that spot.

The person I was going to buy from was very transparent and willing to show me the mother plant and such but who knows in this crazy world and with them being so similar. I believe I read that the Florida has seeds, is that correct? I feel like that would be harder to eat/cook with so I still might go with the aeae.

That being said, long term I think it would do better in the ground with its requirements vs a pot right? Or is it better to pot it as it’s sensitive?

I greatly appreciate your recommendation! I have reached out to him about it but since I’m new to this forum I wasn’t exactly sure who's trustworthy here yet (though he seems to have a long track record of being very reliable in his past posts now that I look at them).

I will reach out to him and see if we can set something up. I’ve never had a plant shipped before so I’m not exactly sure how all that works. Thanks again! :)

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Both AeAe and Florida as well as some other edible bananas can have seeds but under most circumstances they do not. If there is another suitable pollen donor banana, blooming nearby at the same time as your banana is blooming you may get seed. The AeAe is considered better for cooking but when ripe can be used for dessert out of hand. The Florida is more a dessert banana.
Bananas will fruit better and produce more fruit, in ground,. but can be fruited in larger pots. Since these two bananas cost a lot maybe in a pot is a good way to start so you have more control over conditions. When you get babies then pot one of those up for a backup then plant the original one in ground.
Shipping a plant is easy and probably millions are shipped every day in the U.S.
I have very rarely had any problems with shipping.

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Best Day only has a 2ft for $300 so I am weighing my options price wise :)

What size pot would you recommend? Should I eventually up pot it or should I give it a pig pot to start?

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

The variegated bananas you are looking at will be sensitive to too much moisture and can rot, so using a smaller pot until roots fill that pot and then potting up to a little larger one, until roots fill that pot, helps to allow the plant to use that excess moisture before needing more. I assume you are in an area where you get daily showers for a short while. That will add even more moisture. The key to protecting a moisture sensitive plant is to let the plant dry out slightly before it gets more moisture and to use a VERY well draining soil. You could use lots of PERLITE, not vermiculite even though some may be good too. You can use other drainage promoting elements in the mix too such as bark or really coarse horticultural sand. One very knowledgeable grower here uses all very coarse sand with amazing results but remember that is a very big sand grain with tons of air space in the sand. The sand I am talking about is almost a small gravel rather than sand. Native sand where I live is way too small grain size and so stays wet. I've have had good success with a potting mix that water will not stand on top of the mix as it soaks in. My mix will let a large container of water pour right through the pot in seconds.

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Oh interesting! I’ve always been told they like a lot of water (not waterlogged or drowning though obvs). Is it more sensitive because it’s an aeae, because it’s variegated, or both?

I heard back from the seller and it actually looks like it’s in a pot already, it was hard to see it in the picture so I think it will have an established root system. Still not sure if I want to do a pot or ground but what do you think about putting it in a 1ft large raised bed? Or putting it on a mound? Or is a pot realistically the best way to go?

We don’t flood but we are in the rainy season like you mentioned and it can get a bit wet some days. We will for sure use a soil mix like you suggested regardless which will help a lot though. It sounds very similar to the mix we use for dragonfruit interestingly. Paver sand is what we used for coarse sand.

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Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Bananas in general like a lot of water especially in a hot sunny climate. A method I use, with bananas, is to get familiar with how they hold their leaves when well watered. Different types of bananas hold their leaves differently. That can be leaves more upright, in general, or more horizontal or droopy, in general. Once you observe and familiarize yourself with that you will know when the leaves begin to droop slightly, from their normal, which means they want water. They will go back up to their regular growing positions in a little while when they pull that water up into the leaves. You will soon get familiar with their needs and watering will become second nature and give you a very good idea of when to water before the leaves droop. Of course more vigorous bananas need more water. AeAe has a lot of white in the leaves which does not provide nutrition for the plant so generally it does not need as much water as the all green leaved bananas need. Also AeAe seems to just be naturally rot prone, so as mentioned before excellent drainage and allowing them to dry out some will help.
The reason I suggested a pot is because a pot allows better moisture control and a better chance at success. No one likes to pay $200.00 for a plant just to lose it. We want you to be successful and enjoy your banana hobby. If your growing skills are reasonable it will grow faster in ground and will get larger in the same time frame. If you meant a 1 foot "tall" raised bed then excellent. You are on the right track.
I will warn you off of "paver sand". It is too fine to drain well and so stays wet. You want horticultural sand or a screened sand with the largest grains you can find. The idea with the large grained sand is to allow lots of air into the mix. You need air, air, and more air in that mix. If you do use paver sand then keep it to a small portion of the mix.
One more thing. Keep a close eye on the plant and note how often it pushes a new leaf. If you notice a slow down that can not be attributed to some known cause then act fast to find out what that may be. Rot on AeAe can progress fast and if you give it a little liquid fertilizer and really do not get a response then in my experience it has rot. I hope others chime in here even if they dispute my advice. I am not a Florida grower and so others may tell you something different and that is Ok with me. I have a ton of experience but still make mistakes.

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

This is all great advice! I greatly appreciate your thorough replies. I’ve learned so much already!

Yes I meant a 1’ tall and 6’ wide hexagon shape raised metal garden bed. I think should have enough room to grow and make pups. What do you think? My other bananas that have sent up pups they were pretty close to the trunk.

To clarify, by coarse sand do you mean like the tiny pebbles like this? It’s less the usual beach/play sand and more very small multicolored pebbles. Does that look right? ��

I’m buying it tomorrow and I think I’ll heed your advice and start it in a pot until I have 1 or 2 pups as backups then will eventually plant it in the ground in the raised bed. Might keep it in a pot until next spring so it doesn’t drown in the rain before its established in the summer and wont have to be unprotected during our mild “winter”. Does that sound like a good plan? I assume it would be fine in a pot for that long. What size pot do you recommend for a 4’ plant?

Thanks so much for all your help!

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Yes that bed size is great and yes that coarse silica sand is great. You might check around south Florida for Agricultural supply companies. Florida has a giant horticultural industry with just about any grow need you can think of so you might be able to find the coarse sand in bulk for much cheaper.

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Great! We will look around. In terms of pots, would a 20+ gallon Terracotta pot work? Or is plastic better for drainage? Or does it not really matter and the soil is most important?

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

Terracotta would be better for air and drainage as those pots breath through the wall and will dry out faster (maybe too fast). If you try to remove the plant from the pot as a entire root ball they might tend to stick in the pot a little as opposed to plastic. Also if you are in a windy area they will be heavier and so when the plant gets bigger they will help with keeping it from falling over and breaking leaves. Plastic would be fine though as long as you use the well draining soil and are attentive about the moisture levels.

Re: Unsure of buying Aeae in S Fl, looking for advice
 

While terracotta looks awesome as they age a plastic landscape container will be more efficient in your Florida environment.

If you plan to keep your plant in a container get one with handles so you may move it.
Repot the plant and refresh the soilless mix as it fills each container that it is grown in until the final container size is used. Do not overpot the plant...

You may skip all the potting and put inground in a well amended area.

Grow the plant just as you would your other banana plants, there is really nothing special about an aeae other than cool weather sensitivity.