jnstropic

Last May we harvested a very nice stalk of bananas and now the pup from that plant is blooming. I may harvest two crops in one year. March and April were on the cool side and the Ae Ae grew slowly. When the hot weather and rain started the Ae Ae started to grow faster then I have ever seen. The Potassium Nitrate that I used made the leaves have a higher % of green and in tern made the plant more robust. Now I'm not sure which was the factor that made the bananas grow so very fast.

http://bp2.blogger.com/_UwGkeJ84ueM/...+Ae+banana.jpg

http://togofcoralgables.com/AeAebananas.aspx

Bananaman88

Whichever made them grow fast had the end result....awesome looking plants!! You're seems to be doing well in full sun. The one's we used to grow in St. Louis were also in full sun and we hardly ever saw any burning of the leaves. Of course, there is a huge difference in the intensity of the sun from Florida to St. Louie as well.

Hope your project is going well.

Kylie2x

Hey!
That has got to be one of the most beautiful plants...and your photo's are always awsome..
I don't have an answer but I do have a couple of questions... Is the Potassium Nitrate or % used different than the past? The weather was a little strange this yr but it always warms and then it rains.. For us here in Tx we got more Spring rain than we have in over 10 yrs. Was your rainfall higher than normal? We haven't had the long string of 105*~106* days that we have become the norm..Are your temps different this yr. I know when you look back at history we have always had cycles of drought(= grasshoppers.)and then the small cycle of more prosperous yrs..
Whatever your Ae Ae looks awsome!

Greenie

whichever produced the more vigorous growth has surely done a Fantastic job!.Those elements when added to your knowledge and experience of the Ae Ae has to be the perfect combination!

Kylie2x

Hey!!!
When you posted this question I can't help but believe you had a belief/opinion...I hold the information you so gracously share in very high reguard... I would love to know what you think!
Kylie

harveyc

Data supporting claims of global warming show much more gradual changes than what would have any noticable impact on the performance of any particular banana from one year to the next. Our summer in California has been cooler than last year yet I am not about to say that the lower amount of sunburning I've seen is due to global cooling.

Harvey
Ae Ae - less

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jnstropic

Kylie, my world is getting warmer for the last 15 years. It started with a ginger plant that a few collectors had in south Florida. They grew it nicely but never got it to flower. Then one of my friends bloomed the plant. A year or two later he gave me a piece of that ginger. I flowered it in two years and it has flowered ever since. The ginger is now a staple in new landscapes. A little before that I had a group of nobile type Dendrobiums (orchids) that thrived and flowered. This type were notably difficult to bloom in our area because it was too hot, except for this new strain. But as we got warmer winters all but one of the plants died.
After hurricane Andrew 15 years, I built a new greenhouse. The roof was made of plastic panels and the side was screen. Every December 15th I had the same panels for the sides which stayed on until March 15th. In the winter I used propane to keep it warm, only for 4 to 6 nights. The panels on the side were opened every morning. It was better to be a little cool rather then cooked in the suns heat. Then about 9 years ago I started using well water on the floor and never again needed propane. Now for the last 3 year years I have not even closed my greenhouse.

In my Coral Gables Daily Photo blog and my TOG site I have posted things that have happened in my garden this year that has never happened before. I know my world has warmed and has been for the last 20 years,

Fifty years ago I planted a breadfruit tree. The first try lasted 2 years and the second try lasted 3 years. The 3 year one grew to twelve feet or more tall. They didn't freeze but the many hours below the low 40's weakened the plant and the roots were hit with fungus and died. Well today I planted a breadfruit. It's not a regular one but a grafted one that produces a superior fruit.

harveyc

Well, it's obvious you have a warming trend there. We seem to have some years that are warmer and others that are less so.

You've mentioned several times that you use potassium nitrate to fertilize your 'Ae Ae'. How much do you put on at a time? Do you only use it if the leaves have a lot of white or the plant seems to be growing slowly? Do you ever see signs of burning or other effects from using too much? Do you ever use any additional fertilizers?

Thanks,

Harvey

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jnstropic

Harvey, I use all sorts of fertilizer on my Ae Ae bananas. My favorite is palm fertilizer from AFEC in Homestead Florida. But when I want to give the banana a boast I will scatter a hand full of potassium nitrate (salt peter) and a hand full of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) around the drip line. You can spray the two using about a table spoon of each in a gallon of water with a few drops of soap. Check out the spray on something else a few days before you spray the Ae Ae. You don't want to burn it with an overload.

harveyc

Thanks, Jordon.

I Googled AFEC and found their site but they don't describe their products. However, I did find on another site that "New Improved Palm Special #9836" that is 8-2-12-4 sulfur-coated slow-release fertilizer available which also contains manganese, boron, copper, zinc and iron. Is this what you are referring to?

Although you advised me a while back that my odds for success in growing 'Ae Ae' in the Sacramento Valley were not very good, a friend shipped one to me as a surprise yesterday and I am going to give it a shot to the best of my abilities. I will keep it potted for now and bring it into my heated shop this winter and this may end up being the motivation for getting the greenhouse I've wanted. I have also toyed with the idea of putting a hoop house over (and beyond) my swimming pool if I deicide to heat it in the winter.

Brent ("Bananaman88") did share with me some tips on how it was successfully grown in Saint Louis (outdoors May-Oct).

I have read how you want your pups to be large before cold weather. I don't really know how cold you get during the winter, however. Do you think a potted pup brought inside can do okay? You can look at my sword pup at My new 'Ae Ae' pup.

Thanks again,

Harvey

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Kylie2x

I know our enviroment has changed . I am able to over winter plants that have always been annauals without protection...Do you think the more plants you have in a concentrated area will increase the temps enough to be measureable??? Even in my yard.. there seem to be little micro-climates that change with the different concentractions of vegetation..

jnstropic

Harvey you have a hard road ahead with that Ae Ae. The 4 pups that I harvested were taken in June and July. All had some root action. I saw no real growth for 4 to 5 weeks and once it started it was fast. For the first weeks I just checked if the plant was firm, softness would be a major problem. This is usually a sign of fungus and I have never been able to cure it. I don't fertilize my banana until it starts to grow vigorously. This week I will pot up a little pup that I know would die if left alone. The pictures will be uploaded to: http://togofcoralgables.com/MyAeAesBrother.aspx

harveyc

Thank you very much, Jordon for the advice here and in the private message you sent me. I'll get to work on addressing those recommendations in the morning!

Thanks again,

Harvey

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