Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Shame on you Theresa, you are out of control. HA HA
So far I have resisted the urge.

Sent you an e-mail.

Terry

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Hey everybody, be careful with those things - they are pretty sensitive to too much light!

I came home the other day and found my wife had "helpfully" put mine where they got at least 4 hours of direct morning sun! Both of them have some burning. Jeez! I hope they don't stay quite so delicate. I do eventually plan to put them in one of the big mats outside.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Getting burnt leaf should not be a big deal for bananas. They quickly recover and during the very active growth in the warm season, those leaves will be history. Even if all banana leaves get burnt, you should not worry as the newer leaves emerge, they get acclimatized to the new area you moved them. You can also simply chop off the top part of the trunk, and this way all your new leaves will be acclimatized. The area of the pseudostem is more than enough for bananas to photosynthesize food for maintenance and helping in the growing of leaves. The pseudostems and the corm have also a lot of stored food and nutrients to easily replace leaves. Remember that most of banana's native habitat in the tropics are prone to typhoons, hurricanes, and they have evolved to quickly recover from these very frequent natural disasters.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Keep inmind that this plant has way less chlorophyll then any other banana so it will not be able to absorb as much light, so I would think it would do best in mostly shade anyway.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Ok, trying to see if I can post my picture.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Bananas have really a big leaf area index compared to some plants. Even the sheaths underneath the pseudostem are photosynthesizing up to several layers deep. So variegation should not slow down its productivity. I have variegated citruses and bougainvilleas. They are exposed to the scorching sun without burns. White or yellow color doesn't mean there's no cholorphyll, they still have some active chloroplasts even if the color is near white. I have yet to see burnt leaf on my established variegated plants.

I have to admit though, all of my variegated citruses tastes bland and have fewer juices on them compared to their non-variegated counterparts.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Ive seen the white sections of Ae Ae (pure leucoplasts, no light absorbtion) burn like a match in full sun, this new one will need some adjusting to full sun and I gaurentee it will not grow as fast as other bananas, because even though it has lots of chlorophyll and chromophyll still, it does not have nearly as much as green bananas which can throw out leaves every 4 days or better, this plant wount be able to keep up with the big guys. It will still grow and produce but at a slower rate for sure.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Gabe,

I'm not disputing what you have observed about Ae-ae, it is interesting to note that is the case with your ae-ae's, and me not growing one. I just don't want to generalize that this is true for all variegated (white or yellow) plants, as I have grown side by side on the same tree, variegated and non-variegated counterparts and have not found any problems yet. I always respect anybody's observations in here, knowing that we have multitudes of other factors that could interact in the way we grow our plants, so what results we may have obtained could be different than others. It is however very good to know how each of our observations go, along with other factors that could come into play. I have my full respect for you and everyone else, novice or veteran, so please don't get offended even in the slightest way if sometimes I will have to disagree with some of our findings, observations, or speculations. That's what forums are for, and I promise to be more civilized here compared to the superthrive citrus forum thread at garden web. Just remind me when I go out of line. Feel free to disagree with what I sometimes say, my memories could be faulty and my comprehension shorthanded. Science is not etched in stone either, and as far as banana growing in the US, it is really more of an art than a scientific technology, we are in its infancy, faced with entirely different problems than in the tropics.

We call Manila hemp as abaca. It has tons of uses, from strong ropes, to clothes, to papers, to envelopes, to file folders.

Joe

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Im not offended at all, Im just stating what I have observed, sorry if it came off a little defensive, that was not intended. The same banana cutivar or species will react and grow very differently depending on what climate you are growing it in. I know that there are other variegated plants that grow just as well as there green counterparts, but in the case of bananas in specific, I have not seen this.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

I think it will be very interesting for us to see how we grow our Namwah "Pearls". Right now I have mine in the greenhouse with the other new plants. The greenhouse is fairly shaded right now and so far I have nothing to report on it. I watered it once when it got here and that is it. I will tell you all when it starts growing or if it burns etc. I have a picture I will load of it by my new dwarf orinoco.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Here is my dwarf namwah pearl and my dwarf orininoco just for comparison on color.

mph]http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=85&size=1[mphl]

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Ok that didnt' work like I wanted. Try try again.

mph]http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=85&size=1[mphl]

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

am still waiting on mine :(

Re: Variegated Dwarf \'namwah Pearl\'
 

Ok, that should have worked but didn\'t seem to. One more time or you can look in the gallery, lol.

[mph]http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=85&size=1[mphl]

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

I give up! Sean it will be there soon. Mine came fairly quickly!

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

should be [ img ] , where did this [ mphl ] come from?
here, let me try

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

here's my pearl,

did you notice that fruit is variegated too??
6-7' perfect for my 13' center height gh, to fruit..

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Bought one of these too.Will add it up to my gallery soon:cool:
tropicalkid

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

I just bought one too! I'll try adjusting the ph and see what happens.

Re: Variegated Dwarf 'namwah Pearl'
 

Just got mine an hour ago. It is sitting on my desk, I have them ship it to my office.

Don't massacre me for what I have to say folks. Honestly, it looks really pale green, looks more like a canna than a banana. And if it were a banana, it looked like inflicted with bacterial or viral leaf streak, or suffering from nutrient deficiency. :D :D :D

Here's hoping that it will change as it grows bigger. I am going to separate a pup from my regular Dwarf Namwah and will plant them side by side this weekend.