2 Mystery Bananas
 

Hi

I have two banana's that need identification

The first one I bought for 10 dollars and it has 4 pseudostems. I have absolutely no idea what it is. Do you have any suggestions?






The second one my Mom bought and the person she bought it from said it was either a Musa Ice Cream or Musa Cuban Red. I've looked at some pictures of both and I don't think it looks like either. Do you have any idea?





I know bananas are hard to identify at this stage in life.
Thank you

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

They are almost too small to tell.
Give them some time .
But you got a bargain on the plants.:woohoonaner:

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

The two mystery bananas are now blooming. :woohoonaner: I was really surprised to see the buds. I did not expect any fruit until next year. Hopefully they will make it through the winter and I will get some fruit. If you need more pictures let me know.

Mystery Banana 1

It is fruiting at about 8'





Mystery Banana 2

It is fruiting at about 8'

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

Keep the photos coming, and DO NOT cut off the male bud below the bunch when the fruit is done forming, it is very helpful for a proper ID.

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

Here are some more photos from this morning. :0519:

Banana 1







Banana 2

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

First one looks really cool. I like how the bracts curl back and stay on while the following hands open up.

Congratulations!

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

wow, in 7 months they got that big ad are now fruiting?
Dang that was fast.

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

I can see what you say there dark dude.

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

Yeah, I was shocked to see the flower buds especially on number 2. It was only a foot tall when I planted it in the spring. I was not expecting any fruit until next year (if they made it through the winter)

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

One is with, and the other without wine stains.

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

The first one is looking like a Popo'ulu type, probably 'Huamoa'.

The second is looking like a Pome type, such as 'Brazilian'.

Keep posting photos of each to confirm/refine these IDs.

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

My sister works at a horse stable, so we get unlimited compost. I think that is part of why they grew so fast. :woohoonaner:

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

Here are some new photos. They are from 11-29. I haven't had internet since then so I am finally getting them posted.

Mystery Banana 1







Mystery Banana 2









Thanks

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

I agree with Gabe!.....Mystery Nana 1 is definitely the Hua Moa Nana Variety!.....




:2723::bananarow::2723:

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

Same. Gabe is correct. Hua Moa for sure. Second is a tall Brazillian or something very similar. Both bloom in the same year for me easy. It’s filling that is the problem!

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

What do you mean by filling??? Is that the fruit maturing?

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

I was told filling is the number of hands in a bunch and how close together they are - in other words a well filled bunch will have many hands, one right after another touching or almost touch each other rather than having big spaces between them.
But I have a question - when the hands have spaces between the fingers - does this happen?
From what TyTaylor said, he has trouble filling - what does one do when the bunch is what I call scraggly (we have had some like that).

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

My term “filling” I’m talking about the fruit (maturing/getting fatter). Now this in turn does cause the whole bunch to fill the gaps. Never thought of it is way! Haha.

But my problem is they flower prior to winter then the first freeze gets them. I can keep some pstems down to 25-30 but leaves and fruit get destroyed very fast!

How can you solve this?
Either move south! Or try to schedule your cycles around you. Once you know about how long a variety takes to complete a cycle (including winter) (about 300-350 days for me) you can select a pup for fruiting around May/June vs Feb/March.

Very important! Remember to give them time to grow at least 5-6 leaves before they fruit! A little late and more leaves is much better than a little early and 0 leaves!! It’s all about timing! It took me a good 3 years to get my numbers right.

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

Wow! I can see this taking more than a little experimenting! We have 1,2', 3' and 4' pups right now on what you suggest may be a dwarf cavendish. Would it make sense to dig each one when it reaches 4'? (That should get us to May or close to it - and would, hopefully teach us a thing or two?)
Our Lowes (store one) has been so badly treated it has no pups right now - and is at 60 degrees min. in a pot. (Max temp is 65 or warm day like today, 70 but they are rare)- Maybe I should put it on a heat mat? (we keep those at 80)

Re: 2 Mystery Bananas
 

The bananas from mystery banana 1 have started ripening. I cut the bunch down yesterday and have it hanging to ripen.