And thus, the saga of the Cincinnati-grown Bananas Concludes...YUM!!!
- Thread starter richard-in-cincy
- Start date
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
Patient??? ...
I bought the original plant in St. Petersburg, Florida in December 1999 (I think, it could be a year or so later, but it's been at least 10 years).
The plant this stalk came off of was the 4th generation of the original plant. I knew the banana wouldn't set fruit until it matured at 18 months, so getting a plant to two years was a feat (they grow too tall and have to be cut back and I would start over with new plants off the rhizome.
So this one made it to 2.5 years, no fruit. And I officially pitched in the towel.
But instead of cutting it to the ground. I tried a new technique: I cut it off at the base of the leaves, wintered it over, and it took off last summer as a three year old tree. That is the tree that sent up the bloom and formed the stalk.
The tree came into the solarium for the winter, bananas still weren't ripe, I posted a couple weeks ago about it. Well, the stalk finally fell over, the weight of the rock hard green bananas finally winning. I cut it off, put it in a large paper bag with some apples, closed it up and waited for 2 weeks.
Lo. Ripe bananas.
I bought the original plant in St. Petersburg, Florida in December 1999 (I think, it could be a year or so later, but it's been at least 10 years).
The plant this stalk came off of was the 4th generation of the original plant. I knew the banana wouldn't set fruit until it matured at 18 months, so getting a plant to two years was a feat (they grow too tall and have to be cut back and I would start over with new plants off the rhizome.
So this one made it to 2.5 years, no fruit. And I officially pitched in the towel.
But instead of cutting it to the ground. I tried a new technique: I cut it off at the base of the leaves, wintered it over, and it took off last summer as a three year old tree. That is the tree that sent up the bloom and formed the stalk.
The tree came into the solarium for the winter, bananas still weren't ripe, I posted a couple weeks ago about it. Well, the stalk finally fell over, the weight of the rock hard green bananas finally winning. I cut it off, put it in a large paper bag with some apples, closed it up and waited for 2 weeks.
Lo. Ripe bananas.
steve2-in-la
Well-known member
(Not to take the wind out of your sails but you know you can BUY bananas at the store?)
patbastrop
Well-known member
Banana woes -- I understand, Richard!
Our house in Santo Domingo (it was a new duplex -- the owners lived in the apartment above us) had a beautiful banana plant. The landlord assured us that the yard was OURS, including the bananas that were flowering at the time. We watched that d*amn plant while the fruit developed and grew and grew.... One day I came home from the market and the stalk was GONE!! Our yard was fenced - gate padlocked. Someone had gotten in and purloined our bounty. Two days later I heard a loud "plop" outside my bedroom window. On the ground were maybe 3 "hands" of green bananas. The thief was the landlord, and I guess he had a guilty conscience and dropped us a few. Humph!
Our house in Santo Domingo (it was a new duplex -- the owners lived in the apartment above us) had a beautiful banana plant. The landlord assured us that the yard was OURS, including the bananas that were flowering at the time. We watched that d*amn plant while the fruit developed and grew and grew.... One day I came home from the market and the stalk was GONE!! Our yard was fenced - gate padlocked. Someone had gotten in and purloined our bounty. Two days later I heard a loud "plop" outside my bedroom window. On the ground were maybe 3 "hands" of green bananas. The thief was the landlord, and I guess he had a guilty conscience and dropped us a few. Humph!