john_ny

As I mentioned, on the first page of the other old Gros Michel thread, these were my first bananas.

Quote:

"There seems to be a new-found interest in Gros Michel. I find this very interesting, as these were my first bananas, many years ago.

Background: I had a business, importing aquarium fish. I kept them in little concrete pools, in a greenhouse. Sometimes, when I was in a warm place, I would catch my own. Once, while sitting on a stream bank, in Panama, waiting to get some fish in my trap, I noticed many little palm seedlings, and thought it would be nice to grow some of them between the pools, in the greenhouse, so I brought some back. I then started planting other tropical plants, also. After a while, some customers asked me if the plants were for sale.

My wife is an RN, Operating Room Supervisor. The then Chief of Surgery, at her hospital, and his wife, had a vacation home in Saint Lucia, and invited us down there. I knew that this would be a good place to get tropical plant cuttings, and seeds. I knew nothing about bananas, but thought it would be interesting to bring some back. At that time the island was very closely tied to the U.K. Almost everything they used came from there, (a bottle of catsup, on a restaurant table, had a label that read, "H. J. Heinz & Co., London") and most everything produced on the island, was shipped to the U. K. When I inquired, of the locals, about the bananas, one said he could get me some, and I started to get my education. I was informed that these bananas were Gros Michel, not what we got, in the States. I was told that the British preferred a slightly smaller banana than Americans. I really couldn't notice any difference in taste or appearance. I brought a couple of corms, about the size of bowling balls, back with me.

They grew well, and I learned some more things.
1. They get big. I had brought a couple of them home, and had them in front of a glass patio door, in a finished basement. In short order, they were pushing the tiles out of the suspended ceiling.
2. They get sunburned. I took some to a charity fund raiser flea market, held in a shopping center parking lot. Full sun, with no protection. In a few hours the leaves turned white."

Keep in mind that this was circa 1972. I didn't know how big they got, or how cold sensitive they were. I have, since, had many different bananas, but no more GMs.

A couple of years ago, I had taken the basjoos that I had overwintered, dry, inside, and uncovered the outside ones on April 5. A few weeks later, I brought other plants (Mandevilla, Allamanda, Gingers, Anthuriums, etc.) outside, At the end of Apil/beginning of May, I got some more plants from Florida. Included among these, were some cold-sensitive nanners, like Siam Ruby, and Margarita. Then we got a night, about May 10-15 where we got into the upper 40s F. Everything was all right, except for the Siam Rubies and Margaritas. They were quite heavily damaged.

My thoughts, now, are that I probably would not want a very cold-sensitive banana, that I could only leave out for 3 or 4 months, and then might be too big to get inside. (I could only get about 10 feet total, even in the greenhouse.) I can keep my potted basjoos outside for 7+ months.

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John