momoese

Get it Harvey!

caliboy1994

And I'm going to want a pup!

__________________
"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Find me on linktree here as Solarpunk Farmer:
https://linktr.ee/solarpunkfarmer

harveyc

Nah, I think I'll get one from another source.

I did place a bid on it earlier from my phone but don't think I'll bid again...unless I change my mind!

__________________

harveyc

If I recall correctly, I decided about four years ago that it was crazy to ever pay more than $50 for a banana and said I'd never do that. Maybe about three years ago I bought my first Ae Ae for about $200. Then, when I found a source for two large ones standing about six feet tall for $100 each, I bought both of them. Then I found one on eBay that wasn't getting enough respect so I bought it for about $125. They are now all dead!!! Maybe if I buy a place in Nicaragua someday I'll try an Ae Ae again but, for now, a variegated Ice Cream seems like a good option for my climate.

Andreas, you should be warm enough to grow Ae Ae. Check out Green Thumb nursery to see if they have any more $49 bargains.

__________________

caliboy1994

Hmm...an Ae Ae for $49...it might be worth checking.

__________________
"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Find me on linktree here as Solarpunk Farmer:
https://linktr.ee/solarpunkfarmer

sunfish

My guess is it will sell for $140

harveyc

Pretty crazy, the seller in question sold two of these on eBay on 7/15/2011 to the same buyer in separate auctions at prices of $104.50 and $162.50. Pretty pricey. Would be nice to see a photo of a more mature plant.

__________________

momoese

Yes, are we even sure it's Ice Cream? The seller makes that claim but until it's grown out who knows.

harveyc

I wrote earlier that I had sniped at least 10 auctions. I was typing on my phone. I have sniped at least 100 auctions.

Funny, one woman in town back several years ago would always bid against me on vintage postcards of our town, including of our Catholic church (she wasn't even Catholic!). Once there was a seller with 4 or 5 postcards all ending within a few seconds of one another. I beat her on all of them in the final seconds and she remarked that she couldn't believe how quick I placed my bids. I was in church at the time. I wonder if she ever figured that out.

__________________

venturabananas

I'd bet good money it is Namwah, since it seems like no one in the US is TC'ing the real ice cream.

__________________

venturabananas

If you would consider going to Green Thumb, you ought to contact BadPun. He has a huge mat of Ae Ae and sells pups for reasonable prices. He's in Ventura.

__________________

harveyc

Okay, here is some reason for caution. I heard several years ago that Going Bananas in Florida had a variegated Ice Cream. I contacted Don in 2008 and got on a waiting list. After a few follow-up messages over the next 6-12 months I spoke to him on the phone again and he said that he had tried to propagate it via tissue culture and it just wasn't working out.

I called Going Bananas again a little bit ago and spoke to Katie. She said that they had produced many variegated Ice Cream tissue culture plants and they looked variegated when small but the variegation was reduced as it grew older and pups were always regular green. They did not want to mislead people and sell these small plants as they knew customers would end up being disappointed.

Unless a seller can provide a photo of a mature plant with variegation (ideally with variegated pups), I think this is a waste of money.

I was not planning on bidding beyond my $43 bid anyways so, no, this is not a trick.

__________________

sunfish

Current bid: US $81.00

Clare_CA

I'll have both AeAe pups and Thai variegated pups for sale soon. They are a bit small right now and need to get bigger. That variegated pup looks teeny tiny, which is worrisome to me. I think it must be a TC.

Every time I bought a teeny tiny banana on eBay, variegated or non-variegated, it hasn't survived. That's why I only sell large ones. I know the sting of having four AeAe's die at $100 a piece. I'm not bidding by the way in case anyone questions my motives here. I'm just concerned for the recipient. TC bananas tend to need a greenhouse, in my opinion, until they are strong enough and large enough to be planted in the ground.

I have some large five-gallon Thai variegated bananas that Green Thumb Nursery is going to buy from me for sale in Ventura once they are ready.

Variegated bananas photo album: variegated bananas pictures by Clare_CA - Photobucket

caliboy1994

Is Thai variegated edible?

__________________
"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Find me on linktree here as Solarpunk Farmer:
https://linktr.ee/solarpunkfarmer

sunfish

No

Clare_CA

Mine haven't fruited yet, but from what I understand, the fruit bears seeds and is inedible.

sunfish

Item Information

Rare Variegated Ice Cream Banana Plant, Blue Java Variegated, Variegated Fruit
Item number: 290709769930
Sale price: $104.01
End time: May-13-12 19:53:13 PDT

caliboy1994

Did you get it?

__________________
"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Find me on linktree here as Solarpunk Farmer:
https://linktr.ee/solarpunkfarmer

sunfish

Not me my high bid was $28