endeitz

Having seen some of the "cold hardy-ish" descriptions of the Dwarf Brazilian on these forums, I am keen to try one. However, I haven't found any from the several vendors mentioned on these forums. Does anyone know of a current source for a D. Brazilian?

Cheers,

Ed.

NANAMAN

Here's some links:
http://www.going-bananas.com/catalog.htm
http://www.wellspringgardens.org/ser...=Banana+Plants

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Gabe15

Have you tried Going Bananas? (www.going-bananas.com). They have a very wide selection and are very high quality and reliable.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

D_&_T

Ed

where do you live?


Dan & Tara

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endeitz

Hello,

Thanks to all for your quick replies.

NANAMAN -- Thanks for the links. I don't know how I missed the D. Brazilians on going-bananas.org the first time. Temporary insanity I guess.

Gabe -- I appreciate the vendor info. Wellspring gardens is about $10 cheaper all told than going-bananas.org, but I am less sure of their (wellspring gardens) relative reputation, so I will have to ponder my choices.

D & T -- I am in Central Texas, and have updated my profile to reflect this.

Cheers,

Ed.

Rmplmnz

Not familiar with Wellspring...but make sure you are looking at comparable plants.....i.e. Sword Suckers vs. Tissue Cultures..

Good Luck

Chris

endeitz

I read on another thread, as discussion between JoeReal and JeffreyP regarding the relative merits of pups (by pups, do they typically mean sword suckers?) versus tissue culture. JoeReal was convinced that pups grow and fruit more quickly, while JeffreyP indicated that under "grower" conditions, TC plants did just as well.

Does anyone else have an opinion on this?

Cheers,

Ed.

p.s. The thread is here. The relevant discussion initates at #10, but then picks up at #30. kgbenson concurs with jeffreyp at #35, but many other posters disagree.

modenacart

I have a TC orinoco that I planted in the ground in about May of this year and it was about 12 inches tall. Now the peusdostem is about 5.5 feet tall and the leaves are pushing about 8+ feet. It seemed to do really well, better than some pups I have planted this year.

Rmplmnz

The point is comparability of product for the price and not an attestation of TC's over sword suckers...sword suckers are more expensive..for most of us slackers..lol...we do not do everything we should and rely on the conditions..under less than ideal conditions sword suckers grow quicker..if you are fastidious and create the best envirnonment..then go ahead....and get a TC.

endeitz

Rmplmnz -- Thanks very much for the advice. I will get the scoop before sending the loot!

Cheers,

Ed.

endeitz

Just as a followup: I contacted Donovan at www.wellspringgardens.org. He replied promptly that the Dwarf Brazilians were in fact tissue cultured.

Ed.

modenacart

Donovan is very easy to deal with. I had a problem with one of the plants I ordered from him and he offered to replace it shipping included.

modenacart

I hate to beat a dead horse but when a reputable banana nursery has something to say about their experience, its hard not to listen. I am sure Jeffery grows hundreds of pants and probably knows a thing or two about bananas. I too like sword suckers when I buy plants just because I am an idiot and tend to kill plants, and its harder to kill the sword sucker when you are acclimating the plant, but the TCs are at a very good price and do grow very well when taken care of.

NANAMAN

I prefer growing TCs for one main reason, so that I don't introduce pathogens,virus,disease, or pests into my banana mats. All of my original starts were TCs and have performed very well. The only swords I have, are plants that I couldn't get as a TC (usually rare). I have purchased from wellspring gardens, and going bananas, and am satisfied with both. Going bananas TCs are bigger than most others, and also more expensive.

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endeitz

The only drawback I could see to going-bananas.com was that they did not take PayPal or credit card. I shudder at having to snail-mail a payment and wait for the check to clear (or have to go get a money-order). I am admittedly lazy about that kind of thing. I want instant gratification! =)

Anyway, I ended up ordering from wellspring.

Ed.

harveyc

I know what you mean about the mail thing. However, I just received 4 plants from them yesterday, mostly ones that I could not get elsewhere (SH-3640, etc.) and their TC plants (all that they can send to California) are much bigger than Wellspring, though they are also more expensive. They did a great job with packaging and all of the leaves were in great shape to my amazement. For this time of year, I think it is better to get the larger plants.

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JoeReal

The only problem I have with TC plants is that they are often mislabeled. You'd only know 3 to 5 years later. Even reputable nurseries with human employees do make mistakes, and it is so easy to make when plants are small and in tiny pots.

As far as diseases go, we are at the same risk if we get from the same source. I am confident that diseased plants here in California wouldn't last another season so they are eliminated right away after the winter, TC or pup. Most likely, if the sources are in Florida, Hawaii or out of the country and other tropical areas, I would be wary about diseases if I were to plant the bananas inside greenhouses where they wouldn't be subjected to selection pressure via the cold winters.

I have successfully separated and grown a pup that is only one inch tall and likewise have cared for and grown TC plants that are still inside a test tube growing in agar media.

endeitz

JoeReal -- You make good points as usual. As to mis-identification, I will have to post a picture next fall so you guys can verify that it is a D. Brazilian. =)

Speaking of 1" pups, I had a nice Basjoo in the ground at my old place that had several pups (they came up about 8" from the main stem, would this make them water suckers?) that were about 1-2" tall. This was about May, and we had just sold our home and the buyers did not want me to take the mother plant when we moved (almost a dealbreaker for me, but my wife overruled my zeal). So I dug up these tiny suckers, potted them up, and put them in a shady place at the new house.

After a few weeks, two appeared to die (shriveled back to the surface), and one put out a couple of new leaves (that one is now 3' tall). Strangely enough, after two more weeks, the two that I thought had died pushed up some greenery from the apparently dead tissue, and are now about 1' tall each. So I guess the lesson I got was, never give up hope. Then again, maybe Basjoo are much easier to grow than others (I don't have much experience with bananas yet.)

Cheers,

Ed.

modenacart

I had a cavendish I chopped down when it was about three feet tall because it didn't seem to be growing right. After a couple of months it started to grow a new plant from the middle of where I cut it down. Its growing really slow though. The pups have grow much faster.

Rmplmnz

I am the last person to get information on TC plants from..but as far as buying corms from Going Bananas and being concerned about introducing problems in to your garden....I have no concerns...having visited Going Bananas on many occasions and through numerous conversation with Don Chafin I have concluded that he is incredibly thorough about sanitizing plants...check out the videos (requires "Real Player" on the following link:

http://tfphotos.ifas.ufl.edu/VFLrealfiles.htm

Go to Don’s video:

Banana corm cleaning techniques - Don Chafin................................(04:51 mins)