xyzzy

Hi,

Does anyone know what height Rajapuri normally are when they start to produce pups?

Does anyone know whether varigated banana plants pup at the same height as non variegated?

Do Rajapuri really only grow 2.5 metres high, or is that a fib from those trying to sell them? Mine seems to grow at a very very fast rate so would be that before 1 year old (from pup), which would make it a fast flowering as velutina here! It's on it's 8th leaf and is already 1m stem.

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MediaHound

I have one now blooming, and yep, it's at about 2.5 meters.

It started putting up pups at easily half that height, yours should start very soon.

The first Rajapuri I had purchased, I had gotten from some online retailer - the plant was mislabeled (clearly) I later found out, so to be more certain that's what you have, you should post some pictures of the plant, the crown as well as an overall shot.
But from the sound of it, yours is growing fast and must have been a pup cut from another plant, and if that was the case, the chance of it being mislabeled is far less.
Anyway, hope this info helps!

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xyzzy

Thanks for that. It is in a tiny pot (small enough it is top heavy now), so I will re-pot tomorrow and perhaps it might pup then.

I haven't photographed mine yet, but I can see that if I am going to use this forum, I had better spend tomorrow photographing all my bananas!!!

Here is a picture of it's mummy though.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

MediaHound

Wow that's nice!

Variegated Rajapuri!

It could very well be!
I don't have any experience with the variegated Rajapuri, but the regular ones I think have more leaves and a tighter spiraling crown than that in my humble opinion.

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xyzzy

Hi Mediahound,

It is grown in the UK, where our light levels are very low compared to yours. That is more likely why it is more straggly, rather than the fact is is variegated.

So that may also account for why mine is going so high so quickly - our rotten lack of sunshine is probably causing it to be forced.

I guess the more forced, the less hardy it will be?? - anyone know?

I will post a photo of my own plant (pup from the plant pictured above) this evening after work.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

D'Andra

Wow! Awesome plant!

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D'.

xyzzy

Yes, but all I have is a pup off it.

Here is my pup.



All new leaves start off just plain green like below:-



Then after about 6 weeks they turn like shown below, mainly due to the green turning very very dark compared with other bananas:-



After about 4 months the areas which did not darken lose their colour almost completely, like this older leaf:-



My pup is not old enough to have any bits quite as yellow as it's mum yet.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

MediaHound

Very very nice!

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Mark Hall

XYZZY mine start to change colour after a week or so. If you don't mind me saying so your appears to be light and dark green with not so much cream.
Have you tried growing it in acid compost. I grow all my variegated bananas in it and it brings out the cream more. I also feed it with Mir-acid from miracle grow to keep the soil on the acidic side.

Attached Images

	V. Rajapuri july 07 1.JPG (526.5 KB, 17 views)
	V.Rajapuri july07 2.JPG (400.6 KB, 13 views)

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xyzzy

Hi Mark,

I don't think they are the same cultivar. In 1 month I can just see which areas of the leaves are going to darken. By 8 weeks the dark bits are very dark, but no signs of the lighter bits. It is a good 4 months before the light cream bits take their colour and the plant is not much older than that.

When it gets older, it will have a lot of older leaves with cream, just like it's mum.

My guess would be it is not the same cultivar, but it may just be that the UK is dull and murky and it hasn't seen any real sunshine yet as it is too early in the year. We have had a very wet summer with almost no sun so far. It may change colour faster when it starts to see sunshine! We might not get frosts, but our weather here gives us about as much sunshine as US zone 2!

Yes, it is growing in peat.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

Mustang

Xyzzy, your plant and Mark's plant are siblings.

I was wondering how they were getting on, now they've had time to settle in their new homes.

Mark Hall

Thats right helen they both come from peter at jungle gardens. Well mine did and I don't know of anyone else selling from the UK. I reconized the picture of mum from peters website.

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Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

xyzzy

Hi Mark and Mustang,

Yes, mine came from Peter.

Nice to meet you Mark - keep in touch.

So who is Mustang? Does Mustang work for Jungle Gardens? How did she know otherwise? Nice to meet you Mustang, whoever you are. Go on, let me know who you are - Please! I gather Mustang is called Helen, but that's all I know.

My plant has just started another new leaf. No sign of it yesterday but it is just visible today. It seems relatively wind hardy. We have had 24mph winds today and there is zero leaf damage.

It does have more cream than shows on the photo. I don't think the light was ideal when the picture was taken. It doesn't have as much cream as yours though Mark.

What other bananas do you grow in Windsor? Do you get frosts there? I have a friend in Kent who gets frosts all january, but I think Kent is colder than Windsor isn't it?

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.

Mark Hall

No helen doesn't work for jungle gardens. We are both from the UKoasis forum too. We are both keen on bananas so we speak by PMs and we have met up on one of the UKoasis road trips. Like yourself variegated bananas appeal to us too.

Mark

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Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

xyzzy

Nice to meet you both then. Let me know how your Rajapuri goes. I would be interested to know how it progresses.

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There is no such thing as can't grow it - but the determination required may lose you your partner, family and friends - but does that matter?.