Robi

Hello,

Does someone have experience with growing Ae Ae, What soil does it require
Does it need a lot of sun, or partitial shade? Does potasium nitrate influance the variegation? When you over feed them do they turn green?
A lot of questions, I hope someone has the answers.

Greetings Robi (belgium) Europe

Chironex

Welcome Robi! Yes, there is a lot to know when growing Ae Ae. I have read 2 different opinions on soil type - acidic or basic, so I would say that you can always keep it neutral until you find out for certain. They burn easily in full sun, so partial shade is what I would recommend. The white portions of the leaf has no chlorophyll so you need to plant them where they get dappled sun or partial sun.
As to the potassium nitrate question, yes, they will become more green and less white with applications of nitrogen. As soon as the nitrogen is consumed, the white will return, so it is a delicate balance that must be maintained.
Nitrogen will also cause them to pup more frequently I have read. Mine have yet to pup, but I have been feeding them with 15-5-30 fertilizer that is close to the ideal N-P-K ratio.
Hope this answers your questions - Good Luck with your beautiful bananas!

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Scot

millermackenzie

Spoke with my amigo who lived in the islands and had quite a few, he suggested the following:

PH 5.5 - 6.5

On level grade or a container of at least 45 gallons.

Soil drainage is KEY, must be very well drained.

.25 kg of a 6-2-12 or 3-1-6 ratio with .10 kg 3-5% magnesium bump every 75 days. double rate every 90 days.

Top dress with any quality 1.5 lbs organic compost every 90 days.

Hope this helps as I'm in the same box, but in South Florida / USA and will be
beginning myself in Spring of 2009.

Regards,

John

damaclese

my Ae Ae is doing surprisingly well i used a standard organic soil form HD and added 40% perlight to that makes a vary well draining mix i feed it with some mirclgrow every other week at 1/3 strength min is indoors under plant light it seems to like that allot i top dressed with 2 cups of used coffee grounds to keep the Ph acid and thats all iv got no rot and the leafs are quite nicely balinced blend of green and white i have noted the the Ph seems to directly affect the color of the leafs the more acid the brighter the green the more alcaline the darker the green almost a blue and the whites start to turn a butter color with higher Ph i have only had mine for less then 2 months so the long term i don't know I'm planing to add some manure in the spring and then again in the beginning of summer

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harveyc

Mine is also doing well (besides the two I killed over the winter) and I moved it up from a 16" diameter pot yesterday to a 30 gallon pot (portion of a 50 gallon plastic barrel). I used SuperSoil potting soil along with perlite and some acid-loving plant fertilizer along with some K-Mag and sometimes have applied potassium nitrate when I think the leaves are too white. Mine was root-bound when I repotted it yesterday and would show signs of stress on warm days so it should be happier now since it's got at least 2-3 times the volume it had before. My greenhouse is 16' tall in the center and the Ae Ae is getting close to the top but I think I'm going to dig a hole in the ground and give myself another 2.5 feet to carry me through the winter. I plan to plant it outside next May if all goes well.

On the pH I tend to think it's not that critical. People seem to suggest their own conditions as being what are the necessary levels but I don't believe anybody has done any tests to see what it actually does best in. Jordon in Florida has been growing Ae Ae for some 40 years or so and suggests growing them in alkaline soils since that's what he has and his do fine. People in Hawaii have plants that grow fine in acid soils. I would venture to say that anything about a pH of 7.5 to 8.0 would be too high though and would probably shoot for something at least slightly acidic since that is the environment that most are grown in. One thing is that phosphorus becomes less available at higher pH levels but bananas aren't a big user of phosphorus anyways. I believe that many of the pH level requirements of plants is based on what their nutrition needs are as different nutrients become more available at different pH levels. That is just some speculation on my part, but I believe it is probably bears some truth to what is actually going on.

I've heard that Stokes uses humic acid with the idea that this acidifies the soil but everything I've read is that it does not affect the pH.

One thing I experienced is that when weather was warm I was being too cautious with watering it out of fear that it needed to be well-drained. Then someone in Florida told me that he heard that you can't over-water them when they are growing quickly. I started really soaking mine at least once a day and it really took off then.

Good luck!

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