Raja Puri blooming
 

I've been so busy that I didn't even notice this bloom until today. It's huge! I had no idea that the flower could be so big. The ones that I see around town are much smaller. If anyone knows how long until the fruit matures, please let me know. It will be getting colder soon, and all my bananas are in the ground. I so hope that the cluster will hang on through the winter. It doesn't get much below 40 here.

My husband was cutting off dead or dying leaves, and I came over to see what he was doing when I saw it. I made him pose for the picture next to it for scale.







A couple of my ornamentals are blooming too:

Re: Raja Puri blooming
 

OOh purdy!

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My congratulations! A fine garden, beautiful flowers, best regards!

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Congrats Clare. I hope that by next year my Rajapuri looks half a good as yours and produces fruit. Looks like yours will have a big bunch. Is this the first edible that you will get fruit from? Did your Sweetheart end up producing any edible fruit?

My neighbors' bananas overwinter with fruit just fine. It'll probably take this bunch longer to ripen than if it had been produced in early summer. Several months at least, I'm guessing.

I hadn't tasted rajapuri fruit until a couple weeks ago. The one I had was delicious and tasted very much like dwarf Brazilian.

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It's 4 months till first ripe fruit, more or less.

Most of mine will be ready to eat around late December.

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I've had bunches ripen anywhere from 5 to 9 months.

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Congrats!!

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Thanks, all, for your comments and for the info. on maturity. I hope it's earlier than later! LOL!

Thanks, Mark. Yes, this is the first edible bunch that I will have. I just checked my records, and I bought it and planted it in September of '09. So it's been just over a year to fruit. I'm surprised that you remember that my Sweetheart bloomed. Good memory! No, I never did get fruit from that. Gabe was right that it was just a stress bloom before dying back, but several pups came up in its place. Thanks for the info. about the taste!

Here are some pictures to show what a difference a year can make. As you can see, I've done very little pup removal. I don't really like removing the pups, but I guess I will have to eventually.

This is the Rajapuri in September 2009 (in front):



This is the Rajapuri in September 2010:



Here is Ice Cream in September 2009 (front):



And Ice Cream in September 2010:

Re: Raja Puri blooming
 

Thats great news! Raji Puri is a good one (IMO)
It stays short, harvest is always good, and does OK in the cold for me. You will def enjoy the fruits!

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Congrats Clare ! I have to say form the plain yard you started with in a year it has become a beautiful tropical garden every one's enjoying those pictures:) thanks and good luck !

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Nice job...awesome yard conversion!!!

I am sure Doctor Steve will also appreciate the great pictures:

http://www.bananas.org/f2/pisang-raj...tml#post137104

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Very nice!

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Thanks, everyone, for your comments. It took a lot to even get this area ready for planting. When we bought the house at the end of 2008, there was ivy, plumbago, a bougainvillea, and lots of weeds on it, and there were rocks and cement and bricks buried below it. Here's a picture of it in August, 2008:



These were some of the rocks that I had to dig up in June, 2009, to get ready to start planting:



Here is how it looks now:

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Here's a few updates on the Raja Puri:





Red Iholena is sending up a flower bud. This worries me a bit because I think this is one of the most cold senstitive ones that I have. I hope it makes it through the winter. It's taller than the Raja Puri and more exposed to the elements.



Has anyone else had Red Iholena flower yet?

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Congratulation ! You've done a great job with your yard.

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That is one impressive oaisis you have there.

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congrats!

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WOW! Amazing what a difference there is in the before and after pics.
Can I ask what fertilizer you use Clare?

Dar

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Congratulations Clare!! :jalapenonaner:

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Clare - Wow! Unbelievable growth you have there, and nice yard! Where do you live? I'm still just atarting with bananas, and I can see that they grow pretty fast, but wow, that looks great!

Re: Raja Puri blooming
 

Thanks, everyone, for the nice comments.

Dar, I use Miracle Gro Continuous Feed slow release pellets on the ones on the hill, which is 10-10-10. I use that on just about everything, and it is supposed to be good for three months. On my bananas in the backyard, I use only chicken manure. My chickens are in that area, and I don't want to chance that they will eat the fertilizer pellets. I really haven't fertilizered as often or as well as I should be doing, but my understanding is that the Raja Puri is fairly forgiving of neglected conditions.

Thanks, Kevin. I'm in Camarillo, which is in Ventura County, in California. I've only been growing bananas for about a year and a half now.



Here's some updated photos:

Raja Puri Mat and flower:





Ice Cream Mat:



Red Iholene Mat and flower:





Goldfinger Mat:

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plenty people had plants that were supposed to be iholena type to flower. the rain and or cold weather made the plants rot/topple. your red iholena looks interesting..especially the bloom. could you keep us updated on your red iholena?? i would like to see the bunch as it grows.

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Hey Clare ,
I have 2 raja puris in fruit since August,and there growth is at a stand still at the moment,as temps are falling into the 30's at night,I have mine covered with straw bales around there trunks and Xmas lights wrapped around the fruit and leaves,and all covered with greenhouse plastic.
Don't know if I can keep them a hard freeze or not.
Your landscaping really looks great,gives me the feel of being in Bali!!!
Hopefully we can be eating bananas at the same time!!!!

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Thanks, Ron_mcb. I wonder at what temperature I should start to take measures for protection. I will get some support right away. We've been in a drought for years now so I don't think there will be much rain, and temps get down into the 40's at night here and high 30's briefly. I'll keep you posted.

Hi Don! It's good to talk to you again. That is so great that you have two Raja Puri's in fruit right now. My fingers are crossed for you that they continue to do well and survive your winter. I wonder if one of those propane heaters would work on the coldest nights? Keep in touch on this thread and let us know how it goes.

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:waving: Clare those are so beautiful and lush! I am so proud for you that you are having such great luck with flowering and fruit so quickly. Don't forget about updated pictures of your variegates! :)

~JaNan

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wow clare.. its chilly here now..and i cant wait for spring..LOL
my bananas are all dug now..hope they winter well for me(inside)..
your puriraja.. wow!!! i dont have any..but i know i will be adding it to
my collection for next yr.. LOL
this is addictive isnt it.. LOL
how tall did yours get clare? how old are the biggest ones?
i use "banana fuel" for general fertilizer..and couple times a week
a dose of homemade rabbit manure tea.. they seem to like it..
:)
thanks to all for your pics and insights!!!

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Here's an update on the Red Iholena pup. Also, one of my ones that I have lost the tag for is starting to flower. I hope someone will help me with identification of that one, maybe as the flower starts to develop more. This unknown one could be my Cardaba or Double Mahoi or a Cavendish, I think. I gave a pup of this one to Scott; so when I find out what it is, I'll let him know too.

Red Iholena flower bud:



New flower starting to form on unknown banana:



Unknown banana is on the right:



Closer pic of unknown banana:

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Unless those chickens are a lot taller than any I've met, it can't be Cardaba -- too short. Could be dwarf Cavendish or Double Mahoi, based on height.

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Thanks, Mark. That's good to know. That banana to the left of it is also a lost tag one. Maybe that one is the Cardaba since it is so much taller. I guess we'll wait and see what that one looks like when it flowers. Thanks for the identification help:-)

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Some more updated pictures on Raja Puri, Red Iholena, and now Ice Cream is sending up a bud. It's weird because this Ice Cream only has one or two pups whereas my other nonflowering Ice Cream is much more developed, taller, and has many more pups (see picture of the larger one above).

Raja Puri:





Red Iholena:




Ice Cream flag leaf:

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awesome!

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Does anyone recognize which banana this is?




Also, the flower bud is growing right through the banana next to it, and I was wondering if someone can tell me if I should cut off one of the main top three leaves of the banana next to it in order to make room for the flower bud and subsequent bananas. Thanks.

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Hi Clare,

If you cut off leaves, plant food production is reduced. The fruit will be reduced probably in size.

The "Red Iholena" in your pictures looks like a White Iholena.

I hope they grow well and are productive. :jalapenonaner:

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Thanks, Caloosamusa. Okay. I won't cut off the leaf on the other banana then. Hopefully the flower and bananas won't be impeded by the banana next to it. This must happen in nature all the time, I would think.

Please tell me why the Iholena looks like a white Iholena and not a red one. It's totally possible that it was mislabeled at the nursery. The leaves do have a bronze color on the back. Here are some more Iholena pictures. Thanks for your help with identification.

Iholena:





Here is my purple ornata blooming today:

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I got my White Iholena from a labeling mishap. My Red Iholenas are much taller and have a much redder pseudostem and the undersides of the leaves are intensly Red, much more so than the White Iholena. :jalapenonaner:

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Ah, okay. Good to know. I will change the name on mine. Thanks for the help.

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Hello Clare.
Looks like you too have lots of fruiting/flowering bananas even with our cold summer. They all look great!

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Thanks, JaNan and Nannerfunboi. I'm sorry I missed your posts earlier and didn't see them until now.

JaNan, the variegates are doing really well, and I just took some pictures earlier this week and will post them very soon. I've been working so much lately (which is good since it comes in waves) that I haven't had time to post or read a lot, but there will be lulls again in my workload probably soon. I hope you, your variegates, and your chickens are doing really well;-)

Nannerfunboi, it is very chilly here today and will get colder. I imagine growth will soon slow way down and maybe even stop. I don't envy you having to dig yours up. I get severe shooting back pains just digging a pup up. If I had to dig them up every year, I probably just wouldn't grow them. So my hat is off to you. I'm sure your bananas will do just fine over the winter. My friend Don in Kansas has been digging them and storing them for years, and he has great success. I think the tallest banana is around ten feet to the top of the p-stem, but I don't think the Brazilians that Scott sent me have reached their full potential yet. I think my oldest ones were purchased somewhere around September, 2009. Your rabbit manure tea sounds awesome! Thanks for your comments:-)

Thanks, Andrew, and congrats on all your success. That is totally awesome. Why do you think we are having them all start to flower now though? Maybe they just got a slow start this season? My fingers are crossed for the both of us to get mature fruit in the spring!

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Here are a few more updated pictures on Ice Cream, Iholena, and my unknown banana. Scott in Florida, if you see this, the last one is the one that I sent you a pup of with the others.

Ice Cream:




Iholena:



Unknown banana:

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great pics , those nannas are coming along nice, and the unknown , look at the bananas showing and the bud hasn't even dropped much !

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More updated pictures! I found a second flower on the Raja Puri! Is that crazy? We've had some colder temps at night in the high 30's that make me nervous.

New Raja Puri flower and mat showing the two blooms:




Updated fruit on Raja Puri:



Iholena -- this one isn't 15' as Iholenas are supposed to be so maybe it is a Dwarf Iholena. I'd love to here more opinions about this one if anyone has one.



Mark helped me to identify this one as a Dwarf Cavendish:

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This is White Iholena bloomed at 10'

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Thanks, Tony. That's a beauty. I was trying to figure out the height of mine compared to my six-foot-tall fence, and it looks only about seven feet. So I'm guessing that maybe it's a dwarf Iholena? Thanks for posting your pic and that info.

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I thought I would post some updated pictures of my bananas that are blooming. It got down to 33 here one night, which was a record. The leaves on my Iholena don't look very good, but the fruit is unaffected so far.

Iholena with flash:



Raja Puri flower 1 and flower 2:




Ice Cream:



Dwarf Cavendish: