Sodak

He posted a picture of the Ingens sprout. Very, very exciting.

I wonder if there would be any interest in cultivating these for the commercial market? Sold as somewhat novelty for banana growers or an annual type plant for us northerners.

Gabe15

I dont think ingens will ever be very widely grown where other bananas are grown. It is a unique species that absoutly hates tropical conditions. So I would count out Florida, Southern California, Carribean, Central America, anywhere else tropical, as places to grow this species. It seems to require cool daytime temps and cooler nights, although more trials need to be done, this is what has been observed in the past. Most of the people who eventually get one of these plants may be surprised to find they cant grow it.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Sodak

Thanks Gabe. So what do you think of its viability growing as an annual type plant in places like our own? Nederland, Rapid City? etc. where the nights are usually 15 degrees cooler than daytime temps during the summer? We have much less humidity than Pau pau New Guinea also...

What's your take?

Gabe15

I think it will do better in our type of climates. Here in Nederland, it has never in recorded history been above 89°F, and the warmest night I ever remember was last summer it was about 55°F one night. But again, lots of testing will need to be done. Its pretty much been detirmined where it will not grow (tropical places), but it is not really known where it will grow outside of its habitat yet.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

tropicalkid

I'll let you know guys.Night and mornings are beginning to get cooler here.

Carlos(tropicalkid)

Sodak

Are you growing an Ingens?

JoeReal

Sometimes the reason why a species is not found growing in a specific area is due to other problems like the lack of pollinators (ie, Brazilian nut pollinated only by special bees that needed presence of special orchids), failure to germinate, presence of other pests and diseases, or absence of symbionts, and other factors. It could be that these species can grow in another area, but they could not reproduce, and hence after that single specimen dies out, it will no longer be found there outside its normal range. Of course, we just have to try it. For example, a lot of the published high chilling hours requirement of fruit trees had to be revised, and even the chilling hours model itself have to be revised or improved when people started finding out that some of the fruiting plants can be grown and productive in areas having far less than their published chilling hours requirements, thanks to the brave and oftentimes hard-headed home growers like most of us are or will be when trying out plants that supposedly we can't grow them. To some of us, we take great pride in showing that we can do it. If we only grow things that we can get from the stores very cheaply, it wouldn't be very interesting hobby. Of course sometimes we do grow things that we can buy cheaply from the stores because a tree-ripened fruit, or the product of your own sweat and labor sans economics, is the best food there is.

tropicalkid

Yep, I watch the pots every morning.
Carlos(tropicalkid)

Sodak

Do you have a growing plant? or do you have seeds waiting to germinate?

tropicalkid

I still have seeds waiting to germinate, but I hope that this cold-weather wave that hit us this past week has done something to them.
Carlos(tropicalkid)

Chironex

What happened to this link? I wonder if there are still some unusual seeds out there?

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Scot

Gabe15

Tim Chapman, along with Gingerwood Nursery just kinda fell off the face of the Earth as far as I, or anyone else I've talked to who knew him, knows (as of a couple years ago though). I used to frequently communicate with him and we would trade materials. He was even an active member here at one point...one day he's running a nice little nursery...the next its all gone.

Any know the whereabouts of Tim Chapman?

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.