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75north · 09-02-2021, 07:04 PM

Hey all, I'm excited to say that my Gros Michel has sent up a flag leaf, earlier than I was anticipating!

All the sudden I've got delusions of grandeur after previously resigning myself to never being able to taste homegrown GM fruit!

To be fair, I'm sure someone has fruited it in Central Florida, but I've looked and looked on the forum and can't find any examples, so I figure I'd share my experience!

I got it as a tissue culture plant from sddarkman619 in April of 2020:

I grew it in pots all last year. Knowing this variety's legendary sensitivity to cold, I kept it in the garage over winter. This is what it looked like on a rare-ish 75 degree day at the end of December:

I planted it in the ground February 25th, literally the first day the 10 day weather report showed it wasn't going to get below 50 degrees again. It had limped through winter without getting enough sun, so it was kinda pathetic looking at this point.

I've heard Gros Michels can get to 15' or more, and mine is only about 8', but it seems to match the descriptions of the type. Here is a pic from July of the early morning sun catching those wide open bright red petiole margins just right:

And here it is with the flag leaf today, September 2nd:

I know it's still going to be a fight to get fruit off of it before it gets cold again. We've probably got right at 3 months left before it gets too consistently cold for banana growing. I've heard GM types ripen relatively fast, though, thankfully. Does anyone have experience with the cycle time of this type?

Also, if you have any tips for fertilizers/best practices/etc. for really pushing a plant once it has fruited, definitely let me know! Thanks!

09-02-2021, 07:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
75north Location: Winter Park, FL Find me on the map! Zone: 9b Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 187 BananaBucks : 14,681 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 204 Times Was Thanked 278 Times in 100 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Gros Michel fruiting in Central Florida Hey all, I'm excited to say that my Gros Michel has sent up a flag leaf, earlier than I was anticipating! All the sudden I've got delusions of grandeur after previously resigning myself to never being able to taste homegrown GM fruit! To be fair, I'm sure someone has fruited it in Central Florida, but I've looked and looked on the forum and can't find any examples, so I figure I'd share my experience! I got it as a tissue culture plant from sddarkman619 in April of 2020: I grew it in pots all last year. Knowing this variety's legendary sensitivity to cold, I kept it in the garage over winter. This is what it looked like on a rare-ish 75 degree day at the end of December: I planted it in the ground February 25th, literally the first day the 10 day weather report showed it wasn't going to get below 50 degrees again. It had limped through winter without getting enough sun, so it was kinda pathetic looking at this point. I've heard Gros Michels can get to 15' or more, and mine is only about 8', but it seems to match the descriptions of the type. Here is a pic from July of the early morning sun catching those wide open bright red petiole margins just right: And here it is with the flag leaf today, September 2nd: I know it's still going to be a fight to get fruit off of it before it gets cold again. We've probably got right at 3 months left before it gets too consistently cold for banana growing. I've heard GM types ripen relatively fast, though, thankfully. Does anyone have experience with the cycle time of this type? Also, if you have any tips for fertilizers/best practices/etc. for really pushing a plant once it has fruited, definitely let me know! Thanks!