Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I was working in southwest Miami very close to Going Bananas and decided to stop by. I could only stay for short time but was able to purchase a Musa Rose and take photographs of 14 Musa cultivars.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Where's the real deal Blue Java ?

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

So are you saying that the Emperor has no clothes?

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

One of my favorite places to visit in the Miami area , cant wait to go back.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

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Someone should get a blue java from Going Bananas and drop it off at Agri-start

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I think they already tried that.. :^)

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Well bring the REAL DEAL this time

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No thanks.. I trust our folks that expressed their regret of having tried it, but it might taste better growing on top of clay.. :^)

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Hoping to get settled on a couple of acres to grow food for sale and for me. (Up north my tiny upstart herb/dried flower farm was moderately successful until the deer found my stash. They don't do rosemary, thyme, lavender or other strong tasting herbs but the rest is fair game it seems. I am no fan of Bambi.)

I'm not seeking exotic; I want dependable non Dole/Chiquita types that make people go "hmmm...neat" when they see them, need no protection in zone 9a, produce huge litters, have a decent fruit shelf life and are so yummy that I have presales from when the flag leaf shows. Yeah, I'm dreaming...gardeners do that.

I don't think IC/Blue Java meets my needs/desires unless I can capture the "gotta try the real thing" crowd and sell those precious fingers for $5 each. However, I do find the quest for this magical nanner very amusing.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I'm a fan of Bambi, tastes like Veal.. :^)

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I have offered them to send them a real one, but they have not called back yet....

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I think they know which banana tastes better, and don't want to disappoint the customers by selling them a Blue Java.. :^)

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

:08:
:bananas_g:bananas_g:banana_az
:ha:
Oh boy...

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Only had "mutton" deer which is delicious but doesn't taste a bit like veal. Is there such a thing as legal Bambi? ;)

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

If I find some PT Barnum fruit buyers, you can send me a couple. ;)

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Going Bananas sells various items including fresh fruit. I ate Goldfinger and Praying Hands they were delicious.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Thank you!

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Very cool ....

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Do you know how many acres are planted?

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I didn't ask him here's a rough estimate of his property using google maps 640' x 350' = 224000 sq ft = 5.142 acres.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I raised a lot of food--more than my family could eat on about 1/16 of an acre--that included, besides veggies, apricots (blech), figs (double blech), bush cherries (made a kick butt cordial and super jam), raspberries (blech), blackberries (traded my jam top dollar handmade soaps and such) and grapes. 5 acres would scare me--2.5 to 3 is my absolute limit.

Thanks for the pictures! Keep them coming!

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Thanks for sharing. I picked up a Rose from Don at the Mounts show over the weekend. I've been to their place too but it looks like you got a better tour :)

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

When I first toured Don & Katie's place in 1994 they said 5 acres..so good estimation:-). I remember when they purchased going Bananas from Bill Lessard.

Lessard had traveled the globe accumulating over 100 different species planted on 5 acres in Homestead, Fl.

This article references the sale; but only mentions 35 banana varieties:
Miami Food and Drink Examiner: Going Bananas grows bananas.
Going Bananas grows bananas - Miami Food and Drink | Examiner.com


Article excerpt:

Learning from Lessard

The Chafins bought their property in 1994. Also that year they purchased most of the banana stock – some 35 varieties – from William O. Lessard, a nearby grower who was retiring. Lessard had been growing bananas in a converted squash field he purchased in 1968.

Lessard and his wife, Suzie, were among the first vendors to participate in the Coral Gables Farmers Market, which began in 1991. That’s where I met them. My yard still has banana trees I bought from them.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

I don't know much about this plant but looks really skinny and weak to me. I understand your winds. Just curious if anyone else thought so as well. Maybe it's lacking something. Good luck.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Great Thread, Thanks

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

It is a relatively small plant, but it is not technically a dwarf, which is defined by leaf length to width ratios, petiole length to blade length ratios, etc. It's a beautiful plant, but a terrible fruit producer for me. Tiny fruit that often fail to develop properly. That's partly attributable to my climate, but even under tropical conditions, the fruit are very small.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Thanks Mark I appreciate your input, I learn something new everyday.

I did my homework before buying this plant and wanted it because it's a fast grower, (AA) and it's a small plant 6-8'.
I have other banana plants that produce large bunches, for me a large bunch is only 20 to 25 pounds which may not sound like much but I harvest 8 to 12 bunches per year not including a handful that are damaged by cold weather. Next year if I'm lucky my FHIA-3 will produce for the first time. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to eat and share with family and friends the bananas that I grow.

The reason why I mentioned that it's a "dwarf plant" is because the description in this book, Farmers’ Handbook on Introduced and Local Banana Cultivars in the Philippines. There are two members Gabe15 and pitangadiego that describe the fruit as sweet and good. You mention "leaf length to width ratios, petiole length to blade length ratios" what is the formula used to identify banana plants as dwarfs?


This is the what I have found and I thought I shared it with everyone.


ROSE
DESCRIPTION:
The slender pseudostem displays a soft reddish color and grows rapidly. The small fruit are very sweet and delicate. Resistant to fusarium wilt. (001) (002) (010) (030) Very fast growing. Pups profusely. Some reddish color in Pseudostem. Doesn't seem to be nearly as cold sensitive as redder varieties (such as Dwarf Jamaican Red and Kru). Leaves are very erect. Sensitvie to pup removal: adjacent plants will show some brown in their leaves for a while. Fruits are very small, but very thin-skinned and quite aromatic and surprisngly, very tasty. Profuse pupping make this a possibility for use as a screening plant. Roots are very tough. (910)

TYPE: DESSERT
GENETICS: AA (006) (028)
HEIGHT: 6-8' (001) >(002) (010) (030) (910)
DISEASE: Fusarium resistant.
HIGHLIGHTS: Excellent landscape/ornamental quality.
Information by Encanto Farms Nursery




Cv. Rose is a table cultivar. It is a dwarf plant that produces small but sweet fruits.
Agronomic Characters
Plant height (cm) - 243
Pseudostem girth (cm) - 38
Days to flowering - 181
Days to harvest - 303
Days from flowering to harvest - 122
Bunch weight (kg) - 5
Number of hands per bunch - 8
Number of fruits per bunch - 106
Fruit weight (g) - 33
Fruit length (mm) - 88
Fruit width (mm) - 25
Fruit thickness (mm) - 25
Fruit shape - straight in the distal part
Mature fruit peel color - yellow
Flesh weight (g) - 25
Pulp color at maturity - yellow
Flesh texture - firm
Edible portion (%) - 74
Predominant taste - sweet
Pulp TSS (Brix) - 24

Cv. Rose is a short cultivar, with short maturity period. It produces low yield with small fruits with intermediate sweetness of the pulp.

This cultivar is moderately resistant to BBTD and resistant to Fusarium wilt. It is however susceptible to root-knot nematode
Farmers’ Handbook on Introduced and Local Banana Cultivars in the Philippines

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Hi Ed. I'm not trying to discourage you from growing this cultivar, as I suspect it will do better in your tropical-like summer conditions. Just letting folks know what my personal experiences have been. After my initial excitement about its appearance and relatively quick time to bloom, the fruit part of the equation has been a disappointment for me with Rose. Of the 4-5 blooms I've had so far, all but one has had the fruit rot before they ever came near to ripening -- and that was not during winter. I haven't had that happen a single time on any other cultivar I'm growing. The one bunch that ripened never really filled, with an average fruit only weighing 10-15 grams. Mine looked like the least filled ones in the photo below from Encanto Farms (Jon, AKA Pitangadiego). Note that even in the Philippine study you quote, when these fruit do fill, they still only weigh around 30 grams -- about an ounce. The fruit from the one bunch that ripened were OK, not particularly good or bad, but I suspect they'd be better had they filled properly.



I haven't had the same experience as Jon with tolerance to cooler temperatures. Rose does just as poorly with cool weather as Dwarf Red in my yard. Could be a microclimate thing.

The comment about dwarfism in bananas was a technical point. Rose is a small plant, but that's not how dwarfism is defined. A leaf ratio (blade length : blade width) of less than 2.5 is generally considered a dwarf. More accurately, it is defined relative to the characteristics of the standard size cultivar it was a sport of. BTW, Rose can get taller than you might suspect. Mine are now flowering at 9', and with those long, erect leaves, the tops of the leaves are pretty darn high.

Good luck with your Rose. Keep us posted when it flowers, etc.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

Beautiful pictures, good job.

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Mark I don't doubt you and I want to make sure everyone here understand this. In the first paragraph of my last post I'm bragging about how much fruit I produce, implying that it's OK if Rose does not produce fruit for me because I have other plants that do. The information I shared was intended to let readers know that if it does produce fruit they will be very tiny. I like this plant because it's different and exotic, thanks for the info on dwarf banana plants and sharing your experience.

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

awesome pics thanks for sharing Ed

Re: Musa Rose and Going Bananas
 

:goteam::goteam::goteam:+1:goteam::goteam::goteam: