Hamakua

They look good on the counter there

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Currently Growing:
Blue Java, FHIA 01, Gros Michelle, Dwarf Orinoco, Maoli Ele Ele, Maoli Manini, Maoli Dwarf Kaualau, Putalinga Kula, Iholena Lele, Iholena Ula Ula, Iholena Iholena, Iholena Kapua, Unknown purple leafed Iholena, Tuu Ghia, Tagomor, Luba, Kokor, Vunumami, Hapai

meizzwang

TASTE REPORT

Okay, this won't be in depth because I forgot the details (it's been a while), but here's the big picture: my family and I ate every last one, and even the tiny ones were outstanding! My wife said she likes this banana better than the American Goldfinger (FHIA-1), which is pretty crazy. In my opinion, the flavor of the Rajapuri I sampled isn't as rich and complex as American Goldfinger FHIA-1, but the slightly dense texture, sweetness, and slight acidity makes it high quality.

There's mixed reports on the quality of rajapuri fruit, and if you eat it right when it turns solid yellow, it's about as good as a poorly grown commercial variety. Give it a few days after the fingers have turned solid yellow and that's when the flavor is on hit! Every variety has a peak ripeness, so it's important to figure out when that is for best results.

Downsides of Rajapuri:
1) the reports of this variety choking is true, I had one that choked recently.
2)In Northern California, fruit that form late in the season (past October 15) will likely rot under normal winter conditions.
3) Grows VERY slow compared to other cultivars, didn't get the first fruit until approx. 3 years from planting.
4) Easy to over-water and over-fertilize due to slower growth.
5) PITA when it comes to managing pups, seems like when you cut them down, 10 more show up!
6) Yields seem smaller than other varieties, but we'll see, I still need more experience with this variety.

Upsides to Rajapuri:
1) In Northern California, early spring blooms can produce mature bananas! In contrast, american goldfinger FHIA-1 under the same exact conditions and timing, had all the fingers rot away.
2) relatively higher cold tolerance. this may be due to the fact that it's slower growing?
3) It's a true dwarf. Expect 6-8 feet tall.
4) When many other varieties have their leaves turn brown due to prolonged cold, near freezing temps, many leaves of rajapuri remain green.
5) When grown slow and steady with lots of organic matter, fruit quality is excellent.
6) post harvest, the bunch ripened in goups, so it extended the shelf-life to about 2.5 weeks. Even if they get a little over-ripe, they still taste great!

HMelendez

Mike,



Awesome taste report on the Rajapuri!....

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Akula

I've noticed mine are susceptible to over-fertilization too. My namwa plants take about everything I throw on them without a problem but raja puri develops the bends and umbrella hook on new leaves if over fertilized.

venturabananas

The biggest upside of Rajapuri is that it is the shortest really good tasting banana, if you have taste buds like mine and like that "Hawaiian apple" (Pome) flavor. Grown well, under good conditions, it is virtually indistinguishable in flavor, texture, etc., from Dwarf Brazilian, Brazilian, and other Pome bananas.

The downside is mentioned above: it seems fairly finicky compared to it's Pome subgroup relatives, being sensitive to poor conditions and really prone to micronutrient deficiencies when pushed with fertilizer and slow to fruit and mature fruit.

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Tytaylor77

I agree with the taste reports. I like the taste! It’s like you take a Brazilian and add a little extra sweetness and tropical flavor. I can easily taste why people say they taste like pineapples! If you like Brazilian you will love them!

I had 4 this year go from pup to flower in 7 months! Very fast! Filling is another issue! Even with pruning they still fill very slow! Just like my other pome types! I would think in zones 7-9 it could be planted early summer and protected (in ground) with say clear plastic and a 60w bulb. If the pstem makes it through winter you would get a bloom perfectly timed! And it’s best feature is how short it is! So easy to cover or deal with overall!

One thing i notice is they have lots of small fingers. Pruning is a must on Raja Puri. Unless you like tiny pencil sized nanners. Overall i really love this variety in my area!

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meizzwang

We had temps near the 80's for about a week in early February, and this caused a lot of the bananas to push out flowers! Right now, there's a total of 10 bunches from 5 different varieties. It's hard to say how many of those bunches will fail though, we'll see. Rajapuri is now pushing out the biggest inflorescence in the collection so far. Our weather is borderline for growing bananas; however, this unusually dry and mild winter has proven to be a boon for them. In the past few days, it's now getting back to near freezing, so we'll see if these make it. Photos taken 2/9/18:



Most of the leaves on rajapuri are unscathed, but FHIA-1 american goldfinger, grown in the same exact environment, has a lot of brown leaves. That brown leaf to the right of the photo is from American Goldfinger:

meizzwang

Here's that same rajapuri inflorescence 4 months later! It survived! The bunch is right in the middle of a walkway, and I'm getting some evil eyes from the family, but they'll be thanking me once these are ripe. I've accidently hit my head on this bunch so many times walking up the stairs and it freakin hurts, but it's still worth it

Photos taken 6/6/18:








also, all 10 of the bunches mentioned in the previous post survived! A few fingers rotted out and were plucked, but at least the whole thing didn't rot away like last year!

Akula

Great looking bunch! Congratulations!

venturabananas

That's a nice, big, bunch of Rajapuri.

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beam2050

whats worse than getting hit in the head with a banana. getting hit in the head by a bunch of bananas.

awesome pics. good looking bananas and plant.

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

HMelendez

Congrats Mike!.......




WOW!.......Huge Raja Puri bunch!.....Let me know if you need help eating all of those Nanners!.....



Awesome job!......

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meizzwang

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

LOL Beam! Sounds like you're speaking from experience...those bunches are like getting whacked in the head by a solid piece of wood, they're surprisingly dangerous!

edwmax

That's a huge bunch of nanas! Great pics .... May be I'll try hitting my head on a couple of bunches.

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meizzwang

In case you want to see what a choked up Rajapuri looks like, here you go! Why did one pstem, grown in the same exact environment, with the same watering, nutrients, weather, etc. develop normally, while another p-stem (pictured below) choked? I'm not sure, but if my memory serves me well, the bunches didn't emerge at the same time, so that might have something to do with it.

Photos taken 8/9/18, looks like these choked up bananas will finish soon! Oh, and nevermind the ghetto rigged extension chord being used as rope LOL

beam2050

wow that's almost sick. if that was on tv it would be rated to nasty to watch. well one way or the other your getting your bananas!

got this ensete glaucum that flowered. a heavy rain came and the weight of the bunch started to pull it out of the ground. I had to brace it THANKFULLY.

before when I mowed around it I would be looking down. every time, every time I would forget it was there...……….. don't you know it about pulled me off the lawn mower more than once. forget about guns give the troops a banana bunch!

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

meizzwang

yeah, banana choking reminds me of this scene from Total Recall:

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meizzwang

Here's the big bunch, photos taken 8/22/18! These could probably be picked now, but I'm going to wait until some fingers turn yellow before picking the whole thing.


Rajapuri is known to be short and rarely needs propping, but if this wasn't propped, the P-stem would have fallen over: