Andi

Hello all, I posted this question on my existing thread in banana identification because we still aren’t sure what variety this is but I haven’t had any feedback there yet.

My photo link shows my bananas from bloom (day after Thanksgiving) to now and the damage they took a couple weeks back from our record cold snap here in the Clearwater Florida area. The pstem seems fine on all my trees and they have all since put up new cigars (except the one with fruit of course) so it seem like they’ll all be fine. My question is about the banana plant with hanging fruit. Since all the leaves froze will the bunch still ripen on the peduncle? I’ve had some guesses on the type but nothing concrete. I left the male flowers if that helps identify at some point. It seems like the little bananas are in a holding pattern as far as getting bigger or longer. They are still quite small with a few purple splotches.
Thanks

https://pandi77.smugmug.com/Maybe-a-Mysore/n-9dNwQW

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sputinc7

I asked the same question of my 3640 bunch a little over a week ago... So far no answer. They are still green and the flower is still slowly opening bracts so we will see, I guess...Then if someone asks again in the future, I will help them out with an answer of what happened to mine.

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Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

Andi

I’m guessing it’s a slow time on the forum but am anxious to know of course :-) I don’t mind waiting for them to ripen and hoping they still taste good (whatever they are) even though it’s been our colder time of year. At least it will be warming from here on out in this area. We already hit 87 last week one day.

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Gabe15

They are unlikely to get any larger, though there's a chance they may still ripen, it depends on how cold they got and for long, but I wouldn't expect high quality fruit. My wager would be that if they do ripen and become peelable at least, there would only be a very small mount of relatively bland flesh, it could turn out different, but that's my guess.

The two factors working against developing the fruit properly are lack of leaves (which are solar panels of the plant and provide energy to fill the fruits with pulp), and cold, which damages the tissues and prevents fruit from developing or ripening properly. Either one of those in isolation can ruin fruit, so combined it's hard to imagine success.

But, there's no harm leaving them up and just letting them do there thing, so might as well just wait and see.

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Akula

I would peel away any dried/dead/brown outer pstem to maximize as much green pstem as possible to help with photosynthesis. It wouldn't help much granted but if the plants are in direct sun it might produce enough energy to mature a few fingers if given enough time. Probably trim the bunch to just a few bananas too.

edwmax

As Gabe said 'Wait & see' ... there is nothing to lose at this point.

But come spring time ... I would recommend chopping the plant so the energies will go to the growing pups.

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pitangadiego

Maybe, maybe not. It will depend on whether the pseudostem stays intact. Bottom line, there is not much you can do to improve the outcome, so sit back and see what comes to pass. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by being patient.

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meizzwang

Don't know the answer to your question, but this might give you a clue as to what will happen. In Northern California, I had an American Goldfinger bloom mid October, and here's what the plant looked like on March 14th the following year. The bunch I'm talking about is to the very right of the photo, it's covered in a plastic makeshift bag. This bunch was about 40% developed by the time the plant had the leaves damaged by the cold. There were still some green leaves on the plant after the winter passed, but not much:




around August, I harvested the bunch, and the first few hands were fully developed and had absolutely tasty, flavorful bananas! the rest of the hands had one or two fingers that filled in, but the rest weren't edible. A few of the fingers near the bottom of the bunch turned brown and shriveled up before the harvest.

The American goldfinger bunches that bloomed in July were about 70% mature by the time the cold damaged the leaves, and by the following summer, the bunches were harvested. Every last finger was fully developed and tasted phenomenal! Any bunch that bloomed after October 15th rotted away during the winter, although this date certainly isn't a generalization. Dwarf Brazilian and the real deal Ice Cream had bunches bloom around November and even early January, and they're doing fine so far! The American Goldfinger FHIA 1 seems to be a bit more cold sensitive compared to other cold hardy banana varieties, but I'm keeping it because it tastes damn good!

Andi

Well they are still there and looking maybe slightly fuller (we’ve had two 3 inch rain events the past few weeks) so I’m just playing the waiting game. I’m thinking they’ll be too small to do much with but I’ll be the guinea pig and report back.

On another note two pups SHOT up after this second rain event and have surpassed last years pup which I think bit the dust from the freeze. May e that’s a sign the nannas are doomed and the plant is concentrating elsewhere? On the bright side we are past winter and onto spring here more than likely. Temperatures 70-80 for the foreseeable forecast and the plants are acting like it! Here’s hoping my two matured mystery banana trees that made it (new leaves now) will get some bunches up so they’ll ripen during our warm weather although the new leaf folded over before it unfurled on one of them :-/ Thanks again all

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sputinc7

So far mine are all still green. I cannot tell for a certainty whether they are filling out or not. Time will tell. It certainly seems unlikely since the bunch was only a month old the first freeze... Had they been nearer completion maybe, but I will let them ride it out and make their own decision. I have seen pics on here from someone who has repeatedly produced a finished bunch with a PS without leaves. I don't have time to hunt down the thread.

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If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

WonderKeeper

Banana plant is herbaceous plant. Most herbaceous plant with soft green stems would do photosynthesis. It is not going to do a great job like the stem with fully leaf ,but somewhat it does making photosynthesis. Let test it out, I would remove the brown part of its leaves ,trunk. Leave the green stems, trunk expose to sun light. Next , I would remove the bell , tinny bananas . I only keep 1 or 2 good bunches . This test may not have a good outcome , if the weather still cold.

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Tytaylor77

I totally agree! I would pull off the brown areas and let the pstem get as much sun as possible! I would prune the whole bunch down to only the top 2 hands. And then i would snap off every other finger off those hands. Even after that I wouldn’t expect normal sized fruit. But maybe they will plump up a little! Good luck.

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Andi

Well I got curious as parts of the bananas on the oldest hands looked a bit yellow and when i opened one it was spoiled :-/ Ahhh well onto the next bunch! All the other plants are looking great and it's been in the 80's everyday so I expect a flag to pop up soon. So I should chop down the p-stem on the ruined bunch now and let the pups have at it now? Thanks again everyone.

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beam2050

yep cut it. aint it great mid 60s at night. I have pups coming back up.

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sputinc7

Well, you be the judge...
January 19, 3640 bunch a few days after second freeze at 26 degrees...



The next pic is from yesterday, March 20... 3 more frosts later, being protected,(and possible light frost tonight and tomorrow, too... Late March in mid Florida... Can it be real?) with no leaves since early Jan and they flowered in late November 2017... Do they look like they are filling in? They do to me. Still not dead anyway...



I only trimmed the bottom hand with the flower...

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

sputinc7

I think this got lost when the site went down shortly after posting it. I am pretty proud of it...

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

Tytaylor77

That’s amazing Steve! Congrats! They have filled! It’s pretty amazing how the plant kept filling them! Excellent work!

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WonderKeeper

I knew it will work, but not many people believe of what I said before . Congratulations . It is working good for you. Hope the sun keep on shinning and the weather getting warmer. You will get your bananas.

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HMelendez

Congrats Steven!



Woohoo!....Awesome job you are doing!....Looks like you will have your SH-3640 High Noon bunch ready soon!....Definitely SH-3640 it’s one of my best Nana growers!....

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