holadebob

Well, I bought an acre of tropical plants including some 500 banana plants (tallos here in Panama) and am trying to learn what I have.

What I have in the local language is Guineos patriotas,(Local native bananas fingers about 6-8" very thick skin and ripe when the skin is green), guineos manzanas (apple bananas), guineos primitivos (really short native bananas with very thin skin)Plantanos chinas (short stubby plantains- very sweet when ripe), and Plantanos largos (Long (about 12-14") Plantains-I think it is the kind of "normal"plantain you see in supermarkets). I may have other kinds, but haven't seen the fruit yet.
My question is - can I learn to identify these plants by leaves, stem, flower? It seems as if the plantains have darker leaves and seem to be wider, but after looking at so many it becomes a bit of a blur. Can someone enlighten me on a good source for learning how to identify the species?

I have another question if I can bug you folks more -- Each plant has at least 4 and up to 8 niños (new plants at the base). The beginning of our six month dry season starts in December - should I eliminate all but a couple of the niños before the dry season?

Although they haven't been irrigated in the past during dry season, they survive and hang on, probably because of the high humidity here. (?) After the almost finished upgrade of our community water system, I may be able to irrigate this year.

We're a retired couple that have lived here in Panama for almost ten years, and finally moved into the hills in the country and found this 1/3 hectare, and it is really enjoyable. My neighbors grow mostly rice and corn, and a few banana plants here and there but are ignored except when it's time to cut the bunch down. I started out growing cacao, but found out that they like the partial shade of banana plants, so I planted one between each cacao and they both seem really happy. I have been chopping up the residue from the banana plants for compost. Lots of residue, lots of compost.

Have a good day.

Thank you very much,
Bob

browndrake

Bob,

Welcome to the forum. There are many knowledgeable people here, that will likely be able to answer all of you questions. I am new to bananas this year so I am long on questions and short on answers. I do know that several here are pretty good at identification. It makes it easier to have photos of the flowers and fruits, in addition to just the plants.

good luck and have fun

aaron

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Richard

Hey, welcome to the forum!



Bob, those bananas may have "naturalized" in Panama but there are no bananas native to the Americas. The first banana plants brought to the western hemisphere arrived in the Caribbean around 1530.

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Abnshrek

Welcome.. Sounds like your set on banana's... lol

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

CValentine

Bob!!

You have come to the right place!!

All the answers to your questions are here in the threads!!

Cutting out the 4-8 'ninos'(pups) would be up to you, If I had that many - I would share with my neighbors & friends!
How tall are the pups? Any pictures?

Thanks & Welcome Bob!! ~Cheryl

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momoese

Living the dream! Welcome.

stumpy4700

Welcome

sbl

I am not an expert, but I believe most commercial banana operations keep the mother, a daughter (about 1/2 size) and a grand daughter (about 1/4 size)--they remove the remaining pups.

cherokee_greg

welcome

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http://gardenjot.com/garden/view/1980/Gregs-Banana-Farm

holadebob

Thanks for the welcome! Seems like I am now finally among banana lovers...

Cheryl, that is something that really bugs me and I wish I could save them - the reason is is that they won't survive the dry season without a decent root base. If I could drive over to the other side to the Atlantic side, I could plant them with no problem as they get rain all year. I wish I could somehow use them. I have a few neighbors that will take a few, so all won't be lost. I'll take some fotos tomorrow and see if I can get them up.

.. and thanks, sbl, for that - that makes sense and that is what I'll do in December. I'm going to fertilize them good tomorrow, hill them up with soil and compost before the dry season starts December, and see what a difference that makes this year.

Richard, you are right of course, but the history here typically exists in the stories from the old folks, and those guineos primitivos are the orginal....

Take care
Bob

Eric

Welcome aboard, Bob ! I'm kind of new here, myself, but I've been told that if you have a plant with 3 leaves, it can usually be identified in the "Banana Identification" section. Of course, one with a flower is a lot easier to ID. Think Sbl's right about pups (ninos). I have four 14' Blue Javas & that's all the pups I like to leave on mine. Great to have pups but I think too many kind of drain the mother plant.
Anyway, this place is packed with info & experts! Hope ya have a great time here!

IndianaSue

Bob,
Welcome! You are growing two of my favorites,Cacao and bananas!! You will find the answers you need here!! The folks are great!~
Enjoy!
Sue

LilRaverBoi

Welcome to the site! You've come to the right place for info on bananas. As far as ID's go, some plants are identifiable with good pictures of leaves, petioles and stems, but others are more obscure and need pictures of flowers/fruit for correct/accurate identifications. Just post some pics in the Banana Identification forum and hopefully one of the experts will be able to tell you what you have. ENJOY THE SITE!

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r3tic

Welcome to the org. There is tons of information here it's just a matter of finding what you need. Feel free to ask questions, everyone is very helpful. Try this link...
A new DVD about growing bananas is available

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holadebob

Thank you for all the great references! I've begun the quest of going through all the info, see you next year.
I walked through the plants today and have just begun to realize how much I need to do to get things under control. Lots of thinning out.
I think when I get my homework done as well as some of the work I'll be back with a bunch of questions.
Thanks so much - it really feels good to know folks that know bananas.
Bob