kitnor

Has anyone had any luck with the above variety.

I planted one two half years ago and the stalk is only 2ft with leaves make it about 4 ft. The original stalk died and I have two of its off spring the above heights.

No fruit on anything. The descripiton says they should get 5 to 8 ft. tall. At the rate they are growing it may take another 10 years or they may never get any bigger.

Space is limited. Should I just dig up and get another variety?
Kitty
Tavares, FL

chong

Have you tried another location in your yard? You may have some drainage issue in the spot that you have it in right now. Or your soil may be unsuitable. (You might want to have it analyzed at a local county Aggie extension office. Though, if your neighbors have nice looking plants, it would suggest that there may be no problem with the soil.) First check for good drainage, then augment your soil with good compost and manure. You might try putting the plants on raised beds. Also, bananas like to have a lot of sun.

Mahoi is a sport of the Cavendish, and generally, their growth habits and environmental requirements are very similar. Mahoi should do well in Tavares, FL.

damaclese

kitty can u post some pictures that mite help it should take about 2 to 2 and 1/2 years to fruit its hard to say what if any thing is wrong they need lots of water and are heavy feeders a 10 10 10 is a good firt aplyed monthly they alsow need sunny spot in your location but up to 60% shade won't hirt any you are in FL right if so it sould be ok this banana grows well in Hawia but it depends on which zone you are in i dont know were Tavares, FL is to say for sure
Paulo

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kitnor

Tavares is in zone 9, near Orlando.

Plant is in same bed with another banana which has bunches all the time and grows 15 ft tall. They both get plenty of light. All the leaves were frost burned. Stalk is still hard. Will take some pictures soon and post.

Kitty

enigma99a

Don't Cavendish varieties do best in zones 10+? Seems like once the temps drop below 40 (and especially below 35) they seem to start to suffer. And if they get a frost, they are seriously stressed out and take a long time to recover.

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Average January Low: 40°F, Average August High: 95°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 28-30°F, Typical High Each Summer: 108-110°F, Annual Precipitation: 22 inches

Patty in Wisc

I have a dbl mahoi since summer '06 so this will be its 4th summer. Psuedo stem is 2ft & 3 1/2 ft overall height. It has 2 pups & I'm potting it up to larger pot today. It has been pretty dormant all winter & is just now pushing a leaf out. I'm hoping for fruit this year.

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Ueberwinden

Patty,

Im in a zone 6 and would like to get one started this season. Is there anything special I need to know about for winter care?

Michael

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Patty in Wisc

Hi Michael, I did nothing special over winter except I water much less. My sunroom is a high of 61* & coldest to mid 40's so it goes semi dormant. I have another (ice cream) in a sunny window at 68* & it is growing fine and takes up more water.
If kept cool --less water. If warmer & putting out leaves --water more & some fert.
Worst thing you can do in winter is overwater. The corm & roots will rot.

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Caloosamusa

Good evening Kitnor,

Go Bulldogs! Did you go to school there?

The Mahois really need to be covered from Nov 15th to March 15th in Lake county. Many of the Other members of the org in other zones have posted good methods, wrapping, wire with leaves, to protect the plants during this time.

At this point frost has already done its work so just wait for warmer weather, and after first leaf is fully out, fertilize and water.

Best wishes,

Ueberwinden

Patty,

I have just recently started growing bananas seriously, before they were a curiousity plant. So I have one of these and one of those. Last season I started taking extra care of them and they have really grew on me, and I am now hooked! So I am asking questions and making my own observations and trying to learn as much as I can. I have sereral tucked away in an upstairs bedroom that I use a spray bottle to water them at least once a week, and there are several in the grow room (converted 2 car garage). It can get cold in the grow room right now. When we hit -4 degrees just a couple of weeks ago it was 32 degrees in there for awhile, I have minimal heat in there right now. I don't seem to get any damage with it that cold and I have plumeria, brugmansia, bamboo, alocasia, water lillies and bananas out there. I had to take the bougainvillea, and the hibiscus inside it was too cold for them. Now the hibiscus is blooming again, and the bougainvillea has all of it's leaves back and is growing new branches. It's amazing how durable some tropicals really are.

Michael

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damaclese

ice creams are hardyer then DM's that why it dint mind the lower temps my ic's grow all winter were my aeae took a few brakes from growing even in the house light was a mager part in that after reading all the post id say its a slow grower to begin with im no exspert i based that on pattys coments so mabe you should consider poting it up and bring it inside for winters that way it will never go dormant

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Patty in Wisc

Wow, 32* is cold for those plants! Those are all plants that can't take frost.
I have brugmansia too & keep them in sunroom for winter, but I also cover them to keep it dark. You know, there is a thread here in Main discussion that I read thru called "Time to put the bananas to sleep for winter". Frank gives details along with pics of how he digs up his nanas & puts them to sleep. I did this one year & it worked.
All I can say is keep reading here & most likely you find answers.
When the nanas are actively growing, they need a lot of food. I use a 15-5-30 w/ micro's.

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Ueberwinden

Patty,

That sounds cold(freezing I know), but in the room there is never frost and I don't see any signs of damage. The brugs are very sensitive to cold, as are the plumeria. I check the plants on a regular basis, and add extra heat sources if I know there is going to be an extended period of cold weather outside. It has never gone below 32 so far. Now if the power were to go out, do to an ice storm say, then I would be in real trouble. All of the plants come out of dormancy really well, so no signs of stress related to the cold. I'm hoping that the growing conditions will give the plants "cold weather characteristics", just like people adjust to the climates with proper precautions. It may sound far fetched, but so did going to the moon when I was a little boy. Technologies evolve, and people tinker with things and do observations to see what the limits are. Then one day you say, "What if" and you have a break through. So far my plants that I tinker with (not my plants for my nursery) are happy and healthy. I have a plumeria in my great room which has been blooming since December 2007. I just took a 2 week break and is blooming again, with several blooms waiting in the wings on the floret. Remind me and I will post a picture when I get home if you would like to see it.

Michael

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damaclese

i don't want to hijack this thread but i thought Brugmansias could easily survive zone 7 sure they die back but pop back up i was told that buy at least 5 different people is that true?

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Patty in Wisc

Yes Paulo, that's true. They may die back to the ground & then grow back.
Mike, I would love to see pics of your blooming Plumeria.

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damaclese

Thanks Patty i was worried for a second i have so many plants i have to bring in i wasn't sure were i would keep three more 4ft tall plants during the winter

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kitnor

Yes, I did go to the Lawrenceville, VA school. They were the Bulldogs.
Kitnor