It just isn't meant for me to have a ripe Ice Cream banana! This is about the 4th or 5th bunch that I've had of this variety and not a single one has made it to maturity. Last night we had high winds and rain. This morning my poor banana was lying on the ground.
Here is the cluster, smashed on the ground!
Now thats just so very wrong. Im sorry Cala, that had to hurt pretty bad to see that.
I'm so sorry Calalily I know how I feel whenever I lose one of my plants to the acts of mother natural.
Maybe I should sent you mine it sure isn't doing that much for me. But I will hang in there with it, it was a tiny one when I planted it outside this summer, and now I am overwintering it in my computer/sewing room.
I'm so sorry that happened to you Susie. Maybe planting your bananas against a building or fence or surrounded by sturdier trees would help give you better protection from the winds. The trees may lean after a high wind but they won't fall completely over and they can still live.
So Sad Susie..the words out of my mouth wouldnt be too nice but Im sure that you have had joys 10 times greater in other plants so keep plugging with the banana...the fruit will be so much sweeter when you finally get the nanas......Judy
I'm starting to think Ben and Jerry's for Ice Cream for you ;-)
You've been having some tough luck w/ that one.
What's next Plague of Locust?......Raining Frogs?.......Banana Sucking Bats?
Ric
Ric, bite your tongue!! We had grasshoppers(are those locusts, or are cicadas?), they ate the brugs, frogs can stay, they eat insects. Banana sucking bat???? I don't even wanna see one of those!
Judy, I didn't even say a bad word this morning. I just said "why didn't the yuckie tasting banana blow over?" Of course they wouldn't, they have a trunk about 18" thick!
I've taken out two pups, I'm going to plant them by the fence in the corner.
Susie, your plant looks simular to my banana tree with the bananas. It broke also. I was so wanting to see the bananas get ripe. Hopefully we'll have a better year next year.
hey i hate to hear that but next year try to prop the fruits up on a wood board with a notch cut in it to hold the stem.
that way youre plant isnt holding the weight and for more support you can tie the board with 3 pieces of rope for added stability. I have had bananas just fall over with its own weight so this should help you.
Jerry
Ah - Hah ! A Banana Crutch ....... good idea Jerry
So what do Ice Cream bananas really taste like? Anyone know? Are they cold? I can't imagine what flavor.............. they have no flavor of ice cream attached like Strawberry Ice Cream or Vanilla? I want Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Bananas. Please.
Poor, poor Susie! It is so tough living zone 10 A. LOL Oh, I am sorry!
This message was edited Nov 2, 2005 7:37 PM
vanilla fudge so ive heard but i havnt been so lucky yet
Jerry
I wonder if Bleu would leave my banana crutch alone? I took out a pup, I'm going to plant it in the corner of the fence and tie it to the post!
So sad Susie
I kinda like the nana crutch idea
and Kell
They are cold....real cold........
you can use them as ice packs... seriously
Now there you go framing Bleu again, Susie! That nana was so tall that not even Bleu could knock it down. Oh wait...maybe he is flying with the pigs now!
Mel, Bleu thinks he can climb trees! He tried to climb a Phoenix palm tree after a possum, but the stickers deterred him big time!
He's been pitiful this week because Molly died. He's lonesome, he is a pest, underfoot all the time now.
I am so sad to hear about Molly the Collie! She was such a sweetheart. She sure did have a great life with a wonderful family. I am sorry to hear about your loss, Suz,
Thanks Mel, she was old and had a good life.
Susie so sorry to hear about Molly.
We had Collies for 20 years.
There is no dog more sweet, gentle and kind.
or capable of filling your house w/ hair ;-)
Ric
Ric, the hair was everywhere! Before she got so old, we used to have her clipped in the summer. The last couple of years though we left her hair, she always seemed to be cold.
We have a weimaraner. He sheds a lot too, but the hairs are short and not so noticable. He's a sweetie but he is big and scares everybody. My friend came over last night to get a cluster of the Orinoco bananas, and Bleu ran out and scared them half to death. They thought he wanted to eat them for dinner and all he wanted was petted.
That Bleu is a mess and I love him! Are the other bananas in the first pic also ice cream? If not, wonder why would all your other bananas stand up and not the ice cream? Fruit too heavy? weird!
Sorry about your collie.
Scared of a Weimaraner? LOL!
That had to be a great laugh for you guys.
I don't think you could get a 'Why me' to bite on a bet.
We have a Horse Coat Sar-pei now.
I know what you mean about the short hair.
The good thing about Pei's is they blow their coats all at once instead of a little at a time.
One day you wake up and they're bald.
Thought you'd get a kick out of this shot of Drake.
You KNOW wet Collie smell ;-)
Ric
Vossner, the first pic is the ice cream banana, the ones standing don't have fruit. I think they have weak stems and although the clusters aren't as big as other varieties, the stems are too weak to support them.
Ric, love that raincoat! I know the wet collie smell. Mollie was so funny, she wouldn't walk in the grass if it was wet from dew, but would stand out in the rain till she was soaking wet!
Bleu was a bad, bad doggie night before last. He was chasing something(probably a possum) and totally destroyed a whole bed of coleus and elephant ears and one Charles Grimaldi brug that was in full bloom(he tried to climb the brug, fell out on the ground). Oh well, I needed to re-do that bed anyway!
henry10 I love that pic
cala, since Bleu was bad, he should be restricted to one pet, instead of several, for one whole entire day. LOL
My neighbor's dog is a german shepherd/chow mix. As big as a bear, he comes over to play w/ my dogs and steps all over my DLs. they bounce back but barely. Can't get too mad at him, but I can't figure out why he doesn't use the walk path, just like everybody else...
Our Ice Cream Bananas all nearly allways fall over. The tree is dying as the fruits ripen and it becomes very weak with such a heavy load to bear. A crutch would work. Also cutting them off when the end of the Nana loses its squareness and letting the fruit ripen is another alternative.....
Carol
Oh yes, 2nd year in a row hit by hurricanes, but I won't give up on my banana trees. I prop them up until they're done ripening, then cut the whole tree down to make room for the new sucker babes. Still get great bananas from the walking wounded!
MerryMary
remember the strong winds we had in texas gulf coast area last weekend? well, one of my big basjoo bananas broke. first time that has ever happened to me. This one has a huge racime of nanas, so it was top heavier that the other bananas that are planted in the same area. the trunk dia. on the fallen one was about 12". was really surprised this happened.
Wow, I'm surprised that one fell. Of course my Basjoo's for some reason don't get big. They are short and skinny and no bananas.
everytime my plantains and bananas were ready to fruit we had a hurricane. so i brought in a little devine intervention. i just bought some praying hands bananas maybe that will help.
Awe Susie, I am sorry to hear about Molly. She was my dog when we stayed with you. The kids wanted to bring her home with us. LOL Of course they wanted the cats and frogs too but hey, it was the thought. ;)
You need to bring them down here Chele, we have big pink birds and wild parrots!
So sorry about Molly Susie. Can the bananas be hung on a fence to finish ripening??? We usually have Hurricane/TS to knock out our banana every year too but doesn't usually knock down the tree. They ripen fine on the fence for us. Of course my Ice Cream Bananas were still babies
Donna, I cut the bunch and it's on the covered patio, ripening in a chair. Two or three were ripe the other day, the taste was so-so, nothing to brag about.
We got home from a recent roadtrip to find that a storm had knocked over 2 ensetes and all our heavy tikis, but somehow our Ice Cream blew over onto a very tall pup next to it and lodged in the crook at the top! There is about 10 hands of bananas that should be ripe in a month or 2. I hope they make it. i would have been devastated if it had fallen to the ground. This is our first batch of bananas and we are eager to taste them.
Wow, that was a close call! I picked the bunch and let it ripen. The flavor was okay. I like the cavendish flavor better.
shovelmonkey, how long before your ice cream had fruit? how old is your ice cream nanA?
Cala, so you didn't like your ice cream nana, huh? Are you sure it was ripe enough (or whatever the optimum ripeness is)? I just bought a tiny one because I read everywhere it was the tastiest. When buying nanas at the store, i pick them sort of green, as I don't like bananas that are too sweet.
I like them ripe, my hubby likes them green. I think the taste was affected because the bananas weren't mature.
I wish I'd known you wanted a pup. I just gave one to the neighbor this weekend because I didn't have anywhere to put it.
It took about 1-1/2 years to produce fruit. But I did plant it in the winter.I was of the opinion that I got a non-fruiting variety in error. I bought it from somebody on ebay it was only 6" tall when I got it. It flowered at about 14 foot. It might be coinceidence, but It flowered right after I removed several pups.
