sproino

Five months ago, I seem to have made the mistake of buying a Gros Michel as my first banana. It spent the summer on my enclosed and south-facing porch. Windows closed, it is consistently 30 degrees hotter than the outside during the day. At night, it falls down to arrive the sane temperatures as outside.

From may through a couple weeks ago we were able to give it 90-100 degree days and nights above 60. Summer humidity is usually really high here, and this year was no exception.

With nights now getting down below 50, I just moved Big Mike up to my bedroom, also south facing. My wife uses a humidifier all winter, so humidity should be decent. Our room usually ends up 15 degrees hotter than the rest of the house, so we spend most of the winter pushing 80 in there.

Long term, my cousin and I are hoping to open a meadery in a disused section of a building I own. It's a corner space with a funky pentagonal shape and three outside walls dominated by windows. We're thinking of having a banana hole connecting the basement to the first floor with the GM's container on the basement floor. We'll have about 19' for it to grow. I'll supplement the natural light with some grow lamps, and we'll have a fun setting for a basement tiki bar.

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sproino

Since my last post, the GM has put out another leaf and started another cigar. I'm surprised at how fast it's growing even as its getting cold and dark out.

Also, whoever told me that bananas are addictive, I acquired a blue java and a dwarf Cavendish.

37.667910

Looks really healthy, but also really skinny for some reason.

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sputinc7

Not a GM. Needs more light. That is why it's thin.
A bigger pot for next year wouldn't hurt, either.

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If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

benenes

Thanks for the update on your NJ Gros Michel!

You've got a head start on me but I've got a Gros Michel in Minnesota. I received mine on August 31 so I suppose mine is a little over 3 months old. So far it has only been indoors. Window is North facing so I've been supplementing 6 hours of grow light every day to help out.

beam2050

where did you get your plant from?

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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

benenes

Got it on Amazon (see link). At the time I was not aware of all the other resources out there, just got excited about retro bananas.

Based on your credentials I'm assuming you're quite the banana expert. Does the source look legit? My plant seems very similar in leaf shape and color to sproino's but I also noticed sputinc7's comment claiming that it is not a GM.

https://www.amazon.com/Gros-Michel-B...+michel+banana

beam2050

sputinc7 is the expert I am a wanna do. I just blat my mouth here way more than I should. but yes I believe he is right. I bought some gros Michel tc last year. yours don't look like mine. one, my leaves were wider, darker green. same thing goes with sproino.

go to ebay. type in gros Michel banana. you will see some tc's in blue pots. they belong to ssdarkman619. on his site he has a number of pics. the tc's are abought the same size as yours. see what you think.

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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

john_ny

My first banana, Many years ago, was a GM from St. Lucia. This was about the time that commercial growers worldwide were switching from Gros Michel to Gran Nain. (I guess they forgot to tell the St. Lucia growers.) I had it in front of some glass patio doors, in a room that had a drop ceiling. After a short time it was pushing the tiles out of the ceiling. We gave it to my wife's boss, who had an indoor pool. He actually got fruit on it!

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John

benenes

John-NY, thanks for sharing your banana experience. It's great to hear a success story with an indoor GM getting some fruit!

Beam, thanks for the ebay suggestion. I've noticed that ssdarkman is very active on the site and a trusted source for providing correct banana plants. Based on his ebay images, the taller ones don't seem too far off from what I can tell. Somewhat narrow leaf structure w/ pointed ends. Not sure if there's an easy way to ping ssdarkman himself but it would be great to hear from him on whether he feels that these are genuine GM's since he'd be familiar with what they look like at all stages.

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beam2050

sorry buddy I had to type then leave. my apologies but I noticed just before I left; your site you bought your plant from are the EXACT same pics as the sddarkman's on ebay. only it says llc marketing. apt to be him and if it is you have the real bananer.

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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

benenes

Good catch on the pictures. Glad to hear we've got some authentic GM's we're dealing with.

John_NY, do you remember roughly how tall your GM was when it finally fruited at your boss's place? I'm wondering if their growth is stunted at all from being potted or if they still grow to full size. Either way, I'm assuming I won't succeed with my current 10' ceiling but I'd like to know what I'm in for.