With Joe Real’s help and a lot of reading my bananas look like this. I can hardly wait until they are ripe.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/karpes/Bananayard6-23-07003.jpg

Congratulations!

hey karpes, it says you live in south louisiana.. what parish? im in metairie and am trying to grow citrus (i have a blood orange,satsuma, and kumquat) i have seen in other forums that you have grown citrus. i know this is way off the topic but i was wondering when your satsumas are ready for harvest and about when they start flowering? thanks!

Nice Job !! Did you ever get your greenhouse built? - Millet

Congratulations! What variety do you have? What did you do to get it to bloom so early?

Beau
I have trees with ages from 2-5 years in ground and some potted. The Hamlins seem to flower early but most flower in late February to mid March. The earliest fruiter is the one Armstrong and it can be picked in late September or early October. The Owaris in my opinion are best picked a week or so after the first frost but normally I am checking taste in early November. Hamlin’s in December, Ponkans in mid December and Miewas as soon as they turn orange. The Washington Navels are still too young to produce good fruit. Most of these trees came from Saxon Bencel , just south of you in Belle Chasse. They have really good quality trees.
I live in New Iberia.

Millet
I have been gathering materials for the greenhouse. I have the heaters , thermostats . Pipe ,doors ,EMT pipe etc. I also test bent some 2” EMT that turned out very well. My plans are to start building in September with a 16x24 foot air inflated poly.
I am currently building two hydroponics systems that I will lay out over the footprint of the greenhouse before I build. That way I can change the width or length of the greenhouse for the best fit.
By the way, I took your advice and planted two Grand Nain banana trees and they are doing well.
Karl

Karl, I see you live in New Iberia, the home of Tabasco Hot Sauce. I have been to New Iberia several times, and enjoyed myself every time. New Iberia is a nice place to live.

Benny I have grown Mysore bananas. Mysore must be known by at least 6 or 7 different names, I like its name "Pisang Ceylon", only because it sounds so tropical. Mysore is a tall growing banana reaching 16-18 feet in height. It is a very popular Lady Finger type of banana. The fruit is small, but very good tasting. Stokes Tropical's says it is the most popular banana grown in India, and is hardy in zones 8-10. What I liked about Mysore is the bottoms of the leaves are pinkish and the banana is quite wind resistant. - Millet

thanks karpes!
-beau

Thanks Millet.
That's quiet a help.
Here's an update of my Calif Gold. Pic taken 7 24 07

wow, its a beauty!
-beau

Gees, I had hoped that the variety question would not come up, but here is the story behind these bananas
My wife purchased it at a garage sale years ago and it has produced fruit before but not like this. She always insisted that I cut it down to the ground each spring, but after some reading I realized that this was wrong. She is a very good gardener but wrong just this one time.
The two biggest mistakes that I have made with this banana is cutting it to the ground and not fertilizing. What a difference fertilizer makes and bananas are fertilizer hogs.
The variety was never established but from my research, it is more than likely an Orinoco.
It will grow to 13-15 feet and push out a new leaf every week. Joe thinks that it is an Orinoco and I think so also because it does do very well in cold weather. I would like your opinion on the variety if you disagree.

The almost sharp triangular young fruits, the height and the cold hardiness would best be described by the regular (or tall) Orinoco. Definitely it is not any of the lady finger type bananas like Misi Luki, Mysore.

Karl, I really do not know if your banana is an Orinoco, or if its not. Although the fruit is angular, the fruit do not look like Orinoco fruit to me, but the fullness of a banana fruit's shape has a lot to do with how happy the banana was at flowering. Orinoco bananas come to quite a sharp point without much of a tail. Orinoco is a tall banana usually growing to 21 feet tall. Again the height attained is dependent on fertilizer given, climate during growth, sun and so on. However, your not far from New Orleans, where the variety Orinoco is the common street and garden banana which can be seen all over the city, so when your in New Orleans, you can easily check it out. On the other hand, as your wife purchased the plant at a garage sale, it certainly may be an Orinoco, because that variety is commonly grown more or less all along the gulf coast. Anyway, enjoy your bananas. - Millet

Humberto knocked her down. I can’t believe it since the winds were not that strong here. The pseudostem doubled over a 5-foot chain link fence. I cut off the stalk of bananas and have them hanging in a dark room. I applied a lot of fertilizer this year and they reached a height of about 19 feet. The bananas were good size so I don’t feel to bummed out about it and I do have another bunch approaching maturity.
One thing that I did notice about the dwarf Orinoco and Brazilian is that they do have a much thicker pseudostem and with the shorter height should make for a more wind resistant plant. Maybe the thicker pseudostem will also helps with cold resistance.
Is there anything I should do with the stalk other than keeping them in a cool dark room?
Karl