Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Five months ago we had a rain squall that knocked down the two biggest Ae Aes in my yard. The largest one was too large to put up and I just put soil on the roots and hoped for pups. It was too late in the year and it rotted. The smaller plant was moved to another part of the yard. It took three weeks to produce two leaves and then a flower stalk. I removed the flower stalk, hoping for pups. In November the main growth rotted out and 4 of the 6 pups remained. The pups were not green enough to survive the cool weather (no pup was all white) and they all died in December. A pup in the original area grew very fast and produced one pup that looked a miniature plant and one sword shaped pup. The miniature looked very good in October but now is just about ready to die. The sword pup is now as big as its mother was five months ago. In the last four months I had at least 5 plants that could have been sold but the buyers would have lost them to the cool weather and maybe the lack of long days. Even the best plants are very difficult to move in the fall and winter.
To see the pictures of these plants (one was put up today) go to: http://togofcoralgables.com/AeAebananas.aspx

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Thanks for sharing those great pictures! I guess they are a lot of work , even in warm Miami.

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Wow!,I guess "Patience" is the key word here.Sometimes we cannot force the issues even though we want to.Great pics and thanks for sharing:bananas_b

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

I love the striped fruit!!

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Hey Jordan, thanks for sharing! I really enjoy seeing pictures of your yard, it's an awesome place to see and if anyone is lucky enough to visit, try to!

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Awesome garden Jordan!

And this confirms my suspicions that Ae aes are not cold hardy at zone 10, maybe the rating is for zone 11 and above. Perhaps an ultratropical type.

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Jordan,
I couldn;t help sneaking a peek at your Brownea album while looking at the Ae Ae album.
May I ask you about your Brownea?
I have 2, I received them as trades from a friend in South FL. One is B. macrophylla and the other is B. grandiceps.
At the moment they are doing very well, they are about a foot to 18" tall and add new growth pretty regularly.
How fast growing are they? When can I expect mine to possibly start blooming?

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

My Brownea took at least 10 years to produce a bloom, but it was worth it. Mine bloom fairly well every spring. The flower lasts about 3 days. Pinecrest Gardens has a large collection of them, but I haven't seen any of them bloom.

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

How large was your Brownea when you got it?
I am trying to gauge somewhat how long it will take my "infants" to reach, oh, say a height of maybe 10 feet tall?

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

My Brownea was an air-layer, probably less then 12 inches. But its been in the yard so long I don't even remember who gave it to me. I know I have given air-layers to nurserymen. If some one now wants one they have to put their own air-layer on the tree. There are not enough Browneas in Florida to give you much help. Your best information would come from Craig Morel at Pinecrest Gardens.

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Very nie pictures. Thank you for sharing. Potasium nitrate is epsom salt rght? Do you give it in full dosage or mix in water. If then how much per gallon.

Re: Ae Ae in cool weather
 

Justin,
thank you for sending me to Craig Morrell. I located him at Pinecrest and he emailed me back and filled me in. He used to live here in Gainesville where I live and grew some Brownea while here in a greenhouse too! He said I could expect blooms when my trees reach about 5 feet.