The Tropical Fruit Forum

They make good fertilizer.

How long from pup to fruit? From what I have read it should be 12 to 18 months. I push bananas here in 9a, some I can get to fruit in a season but at 18 months may not produce every year for me. The winter will set them back three months and not likely they would not make it through two winters.

I have heard good things about "beauty plum". It grows wild in Central Florida. Obtained some seeds and scions last year, grafts failed and the seeds didn't sprout... If you know any good ones, I am in the market. Supposedly it produces a large crop of red fruit that are larger and sweeter than native varieties.

Galatians! That is AWESOME! Good work my friend.

I will still give the variegated careful care and ideal conditions in the first year. We will see how they do. My preference are bananas that require little care. They will get feeding, watering, pruning and mulch but here in 9a I don't go to great lengths to protect them. I have found that bananas with thick trunks take less damage and recover more quickly with temperatures warm up.  Brazilian, Ice Cream and Namwah have fruited for us regularly. The other 7 strong varieties are to young to flower but I expect flowers this summer. Veinte Cohol is looking good as is Gold Finger and Orinoco.

Quote from: DavidBYE on June 12, 2025, 11:56:15 PM

2.5 years for the Mother plant to fruit? Did you push it at all? Here in zone 9, I have to push to get flowers. We mulch, water, fertilize and keep them pruned between 5 and 7 leaves max which gets us to a year or less depending upon the variety.

It has been a much slower grower than any of the dozen or so other varieties I've grown. I have gotten flowers in as little as 10 months up to like 18 months from a planted pup with common bananas.

After failing with my first variegated however, I treated this with more attention to input, it received what I deemed sufficient water and compost, light fertlizer and manure based on climate conditions and foliar indicators... they are sensitive and react quickly when they're not happy. Too much N and they burn up, too much sun they burn up, too much water, they rot, too much trimming they stall out, etc. The white parts in the leaves will literally dissapear and look like a burnt edge of paper with too much heat/sun and not enough water, and will discolor and sweat when overwatered!

Definitely wouldn't recommend "pushing" them like any other Cavendish or comparable banana that just eat and drink whatever you throw at them. Definitely doesn't like the cold and I believe that played a role in the delayed flowering as well. Between the cold and the wind last winter I'm blessed and impressed that it's still alive and fruiting.

WOW!!! I have some on order... Really was not aware of all of these issues. Use to have 30 varieties and let all the less hardy ones self destruct. I'm down to about 20 varieties now, with around 10 of those being strong and reliant. Appears maybe the aeae is a waste of time and money for me... Thanks for the insight.

That does sound like a challenge. I have heard that lighting and a good yard dog work really well. Best of luck to you.

Does anyone have any experience or recommendations with using an electric net/fence to keep out squirrels/possums/raccoons/???. Something (likely raccoon) has stripped all of our stone fruit this year from 8 trees and caused limb damage, so I'd like to protect my mangos, etc as they are starting to ripen.

Subsonic 22 or pellets work good. Traps work better. I use to have opossums sleeping in our grape vines and persimmon trees. No more of that...

That is beautiful! Did you taste the fruit?

Be sure to tune in an exterminating station like subsonic LR22, that works well.

Bark as a top mulch is ok. Was hoping that was just on the top and filled with it.

Thanks Galatians, something good will come from this, I am sure of it.