rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Now that I know what this plant is, all photos and updates will be consolidated into this post. Originally, I purchased a Musa "Ice Cream" TC start from Greenearth Publishing in late 2014. Many had said these turn out to be either Namwah or orinoco, but in my case, it turned out to be Rajapuri.

Here's a photo of the rajapuri TC start, it was overwintered indoors during the winter of 2014-2015 and then planted outdoors in July of 2015. Here's a few days after it was planted outdoors here in Northern California:



August 2015:




Group shot, rajapuri is the second plant from the top:




February 2016, after being exposed to a few light frosts, rajapuri is second from the top:



July 18, 2016-rajapuri to the right of the variegated aeae:



Nov 2016-the original TC watersprout bloomed! Regretfully it flowered too late: the fingers were very tender and couldn't take months of cold, wet weather despite being under greenhouse plastic:



Closer photo of the flowers:





Big Fingers! unfortunately, these all rotted away:


this is what failure looks like:



But looking on the bright side, I got more than expected from this failure: a positive ID! Notice the persistent male bracts:



And rarely does one succeed without failing! The first ratoon replaced the dead bunch and flowers first opened on 4/20/17!



Challenge is, it's been a very cold spring, with 2 heat waves mixed in, so with this crazy weather comes semi-choking (rajapuri is infamous for choking). The inflorescence won't push out of the p-stem, it's sorta stuck there and not hanging like normal bunches would do. Any suggestions on how to correct this?


Despite the plant being almost 1.5x the size of the watersprout TC starter plant, the fingers on this first ratoon are about 1/2 the size when flowering:




Here's a better picture to give you an idea:







To be continued....looks like I'll get this bunch to finish since it flowered so early in the season, but it's hard to say what will happen to the bananas jammed between petioles and the p-stem...

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Amazing plants! Thank you for sharing:lurk:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Great pics as usual. Looks like you have the midis touch. Wish I had your gift.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Try cutting the pstem vertically to free the petioles and brac. I believe Cincinnana has done this and posted pic in another thread. ... Banana Cee sectioin ...

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Don't cut! The flower is free and should do fine! That's is a raja puri for sure 100% congrats. Any update on the AEAE? How did it take the winter in that spot?

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

edwmax, thank you for the tip! This will definitely be useful for any rajapuri owner, haha! After seeing ty's recommendation, I thought about it for a bit and realized that if the fingers get messed up from being stuck in the P-stem, I'll try it out, but so far it doesn't seem to be affecting any of the bananas.

appreciate the feedback, and thank you Tytaylor77! The Aeae is doing very well: the leaves got mangled a bit from the wind, but they mostly ovewintered with very little damage. Growth this spring has been super-slow, and I'm watering this plant a lot less than everything else because when watered "normally", the new growth gets stuck in the P-stem and comes out all torn up. This is what you have to deal with in cooler climates I guess...

I also noticed you really can't fertilize Aeae as much unless it's warm and the plant has momentum. It's pushing out mostly green leaves now (but you there's still some variegation) probably because I pumped the plant with high P and K (with zero N) weeks before it got really cold last year in hopes of increasing its cold tolerance. That likely caused the pH to jump up, and rumor has it if you don't have acidic soil, those leaves won't produce much white. There's a new little water sprout emerging, it'll be interesting to see if those leaves are variegated, will keep you updated.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

I agree, don't cut if the banana fingers & flower are free. But from your above comment was some of the fingers were jammed between the petioles and pstem.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Your not alone with the AEAE! Mine is also slow and very very picky about water and fert. I figured by the size it is things would be better but it's still not. I keep it on the very dry side and only use composted manure/hay on the root zone. Things HAVE to get better as they get larger. We will see! Good luck with yours!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

meizzwang and Tytaylor77 (Ty):



My 'Ae Ae' Manini was a slow start on the beginning, but once roots got formed/established just took off!.....So far, its growing great!...fingers crossed!....She is about 9 ft. tall right now and growing nicely!......Something I have noticed that The 'Ae Ae' Manini doesn't like cool weather at all!.....When last winter came, even we have a "mild" winter in South Florida, comparing to you guys, The 'Ae Ae' Manini slowed down on growing but she resumed the growing pace once the weather/temp got warmer!.....


Good luck guys with The 'Ae Ae' Manini!.....:08:



meizzwang,


Congrats on the Rajapuri!....:2723::bananarow::2723:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Thanks for sharing your experience Ty and Hmelendez! Speaking of Aeae, even though we're having a relatively cool spring, it's still growing well as all the cold hardy plants, although slightly slower. You can tell it's drinking much less water too (ie. soil near root zone of aeae is still moist in the evening, whereas the soil is almost bone dry in other banana mats), and I keep it on the drier side to avoid rot. Thing is, it was protected last winter, so that might have something to do with it. We'll see how it does next spring after being exposed to all of the elements.

Some update pictures on rajapuri: I've decided not to do any surgery and leave the plant as is. It is true, some fingers might get smashed from being stuck between the petiole and the flower stem, but I'd rather not risk surgery at this time since it's still relatively cold here in Northern California. Another shocker: look at how many fingers are on this thing!!!!! Photos taken 6/6/17:





This inflorescence is definitely stuck, but it looks like things will work out:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Very cool! Keep Sharing pics as they fill. Hope I get a bunch this year! Congrats man!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Mild Chilling of Banana; Bradley Voules Harvey https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.../2/02whole.pdf could possibly help with chill injury of fruit. It tells of control in the field using bubble wrap augmented bunch covers.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Shem! Thank you so much. I had found and looked over this a couple years ago and lost the link. Thank you for reposting it!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Well, here we are 4 months after flowering and the fingers are still pretty darn small. I think this bunch has way too many fruit, and the leaves are a bit worn out from the long and cold winter months. In the tropics, new leaves feed the bananas, but up here in Northern California, oftentimes we have old leaves that serve to beef of each finger. Will these be the world's smallest bananas at maturity? Suppose I don't care; as long as they taste great, that's all that matters. Hopefully these will mature before end of October, otherwise I'm not sure this p-stem can take another winter. Photos taken 8/2/17:

Notice the fingers on rajapuri are sorta fattening up, we've been having some great hot weather and warmer nights that has been helping, but overall, it's been a relatively pretty cold summer:




Hand for scale: this bunch makes me feel just a tad bit insecure, LOL

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

I wonder if you'll get anything edible. These remind me of ones I see in yards where people don't fertilize and the fruit never fill out. I hope you get something out of them!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

If you want that ornamental look to complement your house, then they're really cute bananas: absolutely nothing wrong with them.
I wouldn't've noticed their diminutive size had you not brought it to my attention. It's not as bad as it may seem. There's the optical illusion where the closer object appears to be bigger than the one behind. Next time take the photo with your hand behind the bunch and the bananas will look much bigger.
If you're concerned about edibility, then you could try a few things and still find out that's as good as it gets.
After all, Northern California isn't exactly optimum banana country.
If you're going for brag patch bunches you need to optimise the conditions so the plant can take up what nutrients you provide.
The growing media is within a confined space that is basically a planter box. It is possible that the media gets sour and needs liming more frequently; and/or needs replacing periodically, perhaps only one section each year ( just be careful of buried services).
The waxy cuticle on banana plants may prevent uptake of foliar feed. Some giant pumpkin growers intraveneously feed their plants. I don't know anything about this practice with bananas.
If that wall is facing southerly, then it is going to help keep the plants warm. It might also be drying the air. Some cultivars may tolerate lower humidity better than others.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Funny how bananas "grown for Jesus" here in northern California are compared to neglected plants in the tropics! This rajapuri mat is constantly fed only when the weather is suitable for growth. When it gets cold, you can tell the plant isn't growing and the soil stays wet, so we have to wait until it warms up before we water and feed them again.

Here's a recent picture of the rajapuri mat, center of the photo:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

some updated photos of Rajapuri, taken 10/9/17. These might even be harvestable, but I'll wait as long as possible to pick these. Most likely, they won't all fill in:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Took approxmimately 7 months before rajapuri was fully ripe and ready to go! I should have picked these a little bit earlier since a few split open from ripening on the plant. I tried a few at this stage, and they definitely need to get some brown spots before reaching peak flavor. It tastes like a tangy unripe cavendish when fully yellow like this:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

sweet

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

They look good on the counter there

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Mike,



Awesome taste report on the Rajapuri!....

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Great looking bunch! Congratulations!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

whats worse than getting hit in the head with a banana. getting hit in the head by a bunch of bananas. :0491:

awesome pics. good looking bananas and plant.

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

Congrats Mike!.......




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



Awesome job!......




:2723::bananarow::2723:

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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!

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ8QDC_o0jA[/youtube]

Re: rajapuri outdoors in Northern California (grow report)
 

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: