super dwarf cavendish

[ZPalms 589]

Finally got one! I had the option between Orinoco Pitu which is around 7-9 feet tall & gets very large bunches and fruit and Orinoco XL which gets 8-10 feet with the same fruit size as pitu but the only difference is Pitu has greener leaves and XL has yellowish looking leaves and I went with Pitu because I wanted greener leaves and those 2 are good size dupes to Musa Basjoo because I wanted something like the size of a Musa Basjoo 

I asked about the flavor of the banana and they told me as qouted "They are actually more of a dual purpose banana. When they're ripe they're actually pretty good eating fresh out of hand. They have no acid and a nice light sweetness. Kind of moist and less dense then a standard orinoco.. If you're going to cook with them they make really nice whole boiled bananas with salt and butter put on them or you can slice them thin before the green fruits are fully mature and they make nice crunchy chips."

[ZPalms 589]

Noticed some webbing on my banana tree, Spider mites 

Just took the tree into the shower and rinsed in every crevice, Where do they even come from? I’m gonna do this once a week to not only water but to keep it pristine!

[Little Tex 223]

Nice I just bought a banana too, Ensete ventricosum It put out 2 leaves this week! I see Orinoco everywhere here, and I wanted to try something different!

[ZPalms 589]

12 hours ago, Little Tex said:

Nice I just bought a banana too, Ensete ventricosum It put out 2 leaves this week! I see Orinoco everywhere here, and I wanted to try something different!

Oh wow! I just googled it and that’s a massive banana tree if it’s the right photos I’m looking at! 

I never see anyone here growing bananas at all so I plan to grow my Orinoco up and spread them around because I don’t think many people as myself not too long ago knew you could grow bananas in colder zones

[Dartolution 969]

On 2/25/2022 at 6:13 PM, ZPalms said:

I've been looking for Musa Basjoo but I've been finding it difficult to find a good trusted seller, They don't even sell them at lowes during the season, I was lucky to find super dwarf in a local greenhouse nearby.

@ZPalms have you looked at the big box stores there? Our local lowes sells them for the majority of the year. 

 

Basjoo reliably produces fruit here yearly, but its small, green and there's nothing to it. Neat to watch and a great ornamental for a tropical landscape.

I have a Namwah planted this year that I grew from tissue culture last season. They are supposed to be quite hardy. We shall see. 

There are several hardy banana types for NC. Check out TheMillennialGardener on youtube. He is somewhere up there and has a few varieties and recently posted a video about how they did during a pretty nasty winter. 

[ZPalms 589]

7 hours ago, Dartolution said:

@ZPalms have you looked at the big box stores there? Our local lowes sells them for the majority of the year. 

 

Basjoo reliably produces fruit here yearly, but its small, green and there's nothing to it. Neat to watch and a great ornamental for a tropical landscape.

I have a Namwah planted this year that I grew from tissue culture last season. They are supposed to be quite hardy. We shall see. 

There are several hardy banana types for NC. Check out TheMillennialGardener on youtube. He is somewhere up there and has a few varieties and recently posted a video about how they did during a pretty nasty winter. 

Suprisingly enough my lowes around here doesn't sell any bananas at all, same for home depot!

I will eventually buy Musa Basjoo but for my first I wanted something that gave decent good fruit to eat if I wanted them and grew large and since orinoco was recommended having decent fruit and cold hardy then after that I'll get Basjoo for it's look specifically but I will check out that youtube channel thanks! 

Everyone loves large leaves 

[ZPalms 589]

I received my orinoco but is this root rot and should I treat it?

Edited May 13 by ZPalms

[spike 134]

17 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I received my orinoco but is this root rot and should I treat it?

are they soft?

[ZPalms 589]

2 minutes ago, spike said:

are they soft?

Kinda mushy or bendy and soft, I’ve never seen banana roots before so idk if this is normal or not but if not I’ll clip all the bad roots and dunk in hydrogen peroxide and water mix once I’m given the ok 

Edited May 13 by ZPalms

[spike 134]

Just now, ZPalms said:

Kinda mushy or bendy

i can't tell what that means sorry

[ZPalms 589]

3 minutes ago, spike said:

i can't tell what that means sorry

I mean I can squeeze them and they are mushy so they are soft

[ZPalms 589]

I’m gonna go ahead and snip the bad roots or what i think are bad roots because new white roots look to be wanting to sprout and I’ll hit it with hydrogen peroxide and everything should be good 

Edited May 13 by ZPalms

[spike 134]

38 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

I mean I can squeeze them and they are mushy so they are soft

oh, yeah that sounds like rot. Hopefully the corm is fine

[Dartolution 969]

Roots will regenerate. I would just soak it in a small bucket or cup with some H2O2 for an hour or two, even overnight if you wanted. 

Bananas are generally pretty tough. 

I had one completely eat up with mealybugs in the roots snap right out of it after a root wash in insecticidal soap and immediately planting it in cow manure. 

haha.

[ZPalms 589]

20 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

Roots will regenerate. I would just soak it in a small bucket or cup with some H2O2 for an hour or two, even overnight if you wanted. 

Bananas are generally pretty tough. 

I had one completely eat up with mealybugs in the roots snap right out of it after a root wash in insecticidal soap and immediately planting it in cow manure. 

haha.

Do I mix it with water or is it ok in just H2O2

[Dartolution 969]

2 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Do I mix it with water or is it ok in just H2O2

Either or. Hydrogen peroxide isn't going to hurt it. 

I usually use about a cup per gallon when soaking. 

[ZPalms 589]

13 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

Either or. Hydrogen peroxide isn't going to hurt it. 

I usually use about a cup per gallon when soaking. 

Thanks! I’m gonna do that before I sleep 

[ZPalms 589]

Whats a good banana fertilizer? My dwarf cavendish banana leaves are starting to shrink and I'm guessing its from the nutrients depleting from the pot

Edited May 14 by ZPalms

[Xenon 2,419]

2 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Whats a good banana fertilizer? My dwarf cavendish banana leaves are starting to shrink and I'm guessing its from the nutrients depleting from the pot

Palm or citrus fertilizer is ideal. Bananas are potassium and magnesium hogs. 

[ZPalms 589]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

Palm or citrus fertilizer is ideal. Bananas are potassium and magnesium hogs. 

Oh, does palmgain work good because that's what I got

Edited May 15 by ZPalms

[Xenon 2,419]

1 hour ago, ZPalms said:

Oh, does palmgain work good because that's what I got

Perfect 

[Dartolution 969]

On 5/14/2022 at 3:09 PM, ZPalms said:

Whats a good banana fertilizer? My dwarf cavendish banana leaves are starting to shrink and I'm guessing its from the nutrients depleting from the pot

Palmgain does work quite well. 

I also use MG flowering tree and shrub feed granules (Product Link is HERE) that seems to work perfectly well. 

 

I do also use compost all around the base, and throw all my clippings below it (hibiscus flowers, coffee grounds, some grass, leaves etc...). 

[ZPalms 589]

2 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

Palmgain does work quite well. 

I also use MG flowering tree and shrub feed granules (Product Link is HERE) that seems to work perfectly well. 

 

I do also use compost all around the base, and throw all my clippings below it (hibiscus flowers, coffee grounds, some grass, leaves etc...). 

Is things grown with miracle fertilizer safe to eat? I would love to use a product like that since i'm sure lowes probably has it on stock and palmgain is only possible for me to get online

[Dartolution 969]

8 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Is things grown with miracle fertilizer safe to eat? I would love to use a product like that since i'm sure lowes probably has it on stock and palmgain is only possible for me to get online

I don't see anything in the ingredients list that would suggest otherwise. You can always email MG and ask. Its derived from kelp, bone meal, feather meal, etc... some salt based fertilizers and poly coated urea. 

@Silas_Sancona what are your thoughts? 

[Silas_Sancona 8,123]

7 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

I don't see anything in the ingredients list that would suggest otherwise. You can always email MG and ask. Its derived from kelp, bone meal, feather meal, etc... some salt based fertilizers and poly coated urea. 

@Silas_Sancona what are your thoughts? 

Me myself, if the salt based %'age is higher than the organic portion of a fertilizer, not sure i'd use it on anything i'd consume.. MG could use organic components in their stuff, but highly suspect just how much ..compared to the chemical stuff.   To be safe, stick w/ organics.. even if they'll cost a little more in the beginning.  

Again, just my thoughts..

[Dartolution 969]

Thats a good point. I suppose for edible varieties I would agree. 

I use the MG on basjoos - obviously not eating those things. 

The namwah I have I use compost, manure, and feed with seaweed, molasses, fish emulsion, plant tone, and fox farm marine cuisine etc.....

 

[ZPalms 589]

19 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Me myself, if the salt based %'age is higher than the organic portion of a fertilizer, not sure i'd use it on anything i'd consume.. MG could use organic components in their stuff, but highly suspect just how much ..compared to the chemical stuff.   To be safe, stick w/ organics.. even if they'll cost a little more in the beginning.  

Again, just my thoughts..

 

4 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

Thats a good point. I suppose for edible varieties I would agree. 

I use the MG on basjoos - obviously not eating those things. 

The namwah I have I use compost, manure, and feed with seaweed, molasses, fish emulsion, plant tone, and fox farm marine cuisine etc.....

 

I don't mind synthetic fertilizers on ornamental plants, but miracle grow specifically just doesn't sound good or healthy in produce or for soil life and I remember seeing a video or something about it that I wish I could find, but I agree with organics for things I plan to consume and I really want to try the orinoco bananas if I can get a healthy bunch of them. 

Edited May 16 by ZPalms

[Xenon 2,419]

Plants uptake ions whether they are ultimately derived from an "organic source" or not. All of the MG fertilizers (organic or not) are safe to use on food crops. 

Personally I don't feed bananas, but they get most of the yard trimmings. 

Edited May 16 by Xenon