Coug99

In July I had my Gran Nain flower. It was my first banana ever to flower and today I went out to water and fertilize my other bananas and found that my Blue Java ice cream was putting out a flag leaf along with my Double Mahoi. I am so excited, i will bring them in for winter and hope the flowers survive until next spring. I will try to get some pictures later today.



Chris

Coug99

Alright Here are a few pictures of my bananas that have or are now flowering.
Blue Java in the first picture then Double Mahoi, then my Gran Nain. I never thought I would get three to flower at one time in Washington state.

Chris

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blownz281

Pretty cool. How long have you had them in pots?

Coug99

They have been in the same pots for four years now, got them when they were smaller TC plants.

Chris

Sekhmet

That's awesome. Congrats! You have the touch and give me hope. :-)

Coug99

Thanks it took several years of hard work and it was all worth it. Having a windstorm right now and four of my larger bananas went over even one that was staked down with 18" of rebar in the ground.

Chris

chris_zx2

How do you store them for winter?

__________________
--Chris
So far:
Dwarf Cavendish -- Basjoo -- Bunch of Truly Tiny

Coug99

I bring the pots into a sunroom during the winter that has a 10' tall ceiling. It is not really totally cold proof but it has a heater and I keep the room at 52F. This year I am going to buy some of the 1" thick foam insulation boards and put them all around the windows and sliding door and turn the heat up to 60F, so I don't lose any of the baby bananas or the flowers. The ceiling is also all glass so it will still get some light. I will only water a few times all winter long. This will be an experimental winter to see if I can get the forming bananas/forming flowers to stay alive until it gets warmer.

Chris

chris_zx2

I'd love to see a picture of that room with all your plants in it! Have you considered a hps bulb or something similar as a heat source and extra lighting?

__________________
--Chris
So far:
Dwarf Cavendish -- Basjoo -- Bunch of Truly Tiny

Coug99

I am trying to find my picture from last year you couldn't even see through it it look like a jungle. I try not to have to much light in there because I can't keep it warm enough, without costing a fortune, to keep it hot enough to keep a good growth rate. The ceiling and walls are all glass and it faces south so it gets a good amount of natural sunlight. I guess I try to keep them in a mild state dormancy. It's funny in spring when they start to grow again the first couple of leafs are much smaller then normal.

Chris

chris_zx2

Funny you mention that, I just moved my DC away from my grow light where it was popping out a leaf every 2-3 days to a location with less light and not only did the first leaf take 10+ days but it seems to be much smaller. It's also in a cooler room (air conditioning) so I wonder if it's the light, the temp or both?

__________________
--Chris
So far:
Dwarf Cavendish -- Basjoo -- Bunch of Truly Tiny

Coug99

Well my banana growing year just keeps getting better! I was watering the bananas on the side of my house and noticed that now my Orinoco is starting to flower. So that makes a total of 4 bananas flowering, 4 different species. Gran Nain, Double Mahoi, Ice Cream/Namwah, Orinoco. Here are some pictures of the 4 in that listed order.



Thanks,
Chris

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Coug99

Well I brought the bananas in a couple weeks ago and mostly everything is going good. Some of the bananas on the gran nain have started to mold so I am just going to cut the flower off at that point and let the others grow. I think there is about 60 bananas above that so that is good enough for me. I thought the flower on the orinoco would stop coming out but when i checked it out today it is hanging down about 18" from where it was. The Double mahoi flower is opening up but some of the bananas are actually still down in the psuedostem, can't be perfect. Here is a few updated pictures.

Chris

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Mark Dragt

I am a little jealous of the luck you have had this year. Your plants look really good.

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Mark's Banana Forest Paradise