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josh_palm_crazy

Pup growing like mad with Milorganite

josh_palm_crazy
15 years ago

Just thought I'd share the results of using Milorganite on my bananas.

This was on April 18th after I planted a large banana and used Milorganite.

{{gwi:409919}}

This is on June 3rd. Yesterday

{{gwi:246053}}

I think the Milorganite will doo. LOL!

Comments (5)

  • nightrider767
    15 years ago

    Milogranite or the parent corm?

    How's the parent doing? Is it going into decline, has it fruited? I've seen pups jump like that bacause they're being fed by the parent corm. When the parent deicides it doesn't want to live too much longer, the pup shoots up like crazy.

    Could be the milorgranite though, I'm just offering an idea.

    My banana's,,, heck, I could throw old car engines at them and they'd gobble them up and be ready for more.

    30lb bag of fertilizer for $8... Man, I wish I could buy even buy cheaper fertilizer as my plants can't seem to get enough. What a bunch of lushes.

    ANyways, thanks for sharing. Very nice pictures.

    Whoops! One last question. What kind of banana is that? The P-stem really looks funky near the botton. Almost like a Traveler palm or something..

    Either, have a banana of a day!

    Banana Mike

  • josh_palm_crazy
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Hi Banana Mike. The mother plant has not fruited yet. She was about 14ft tall at the end of last summer. I cut it down to about a foot and a half tall after I dug it up. Shook all the dirt off and let it dry for 2 days. Then I placed it in a pot right side up and put it in my unheated basement storage room. On Feb 20th I re potted my bananas gave them a little water and they took off. After new growth started showing, the old stem from last year started to turn to mush. Each day I would slowly trim off the old mushy stem and what was left hardened into what you see in the picture. Its very strange but doesn't seem to affect the plant at all.

    I was told when I got it that it was a basjoo but It has different characteristics than a basjoo does. It has a lot of pink mixed with the green on the psuedostem. I think it could be a Saba or something like that. Heres a pic of the p stem from a pup off the same mother. You can see the pinkish tint mixed with the green and yellow. Im Not sure exactly what it is. Any ideas? Heres that pic. Thanks!

    {{gwi:409920}}

  • JohnnieB
    15 years ago

    Jay, I can't really say anything about Milorganite as I don't use it, but I can tell you that my M. basjoo pups have grown that fast, or faster, without having used it. Particularly on an established plant with a healthy corm to store energy, the new spring growth comes up very fast as soon as the weather is to their liking. During the peak growing season each pseudostem generally produces a new leaf every 3-4 days.

    I do give my bananas lots of compost throughout the growing season, along with a generous dose of blood meal, bone meal, and green sand, and also fertilize frequently with Miracle Gro Miracid or other high-nitrogen fertilizers, especially early in the growing season. This is what my M. basjoo clump looks like by July:

    {{gwi:409921}}

    and in August (although a different year):

    {{gwi:409922}}

    BTW my clump would be much bigger as it pups prolifically, but since I have a small yard I need to keep it in check and continually have to yank out new pups that come up all around it. This year I'm trying to keep it to just 4 or 5 pseudostems, and dug out about 20-30 pounds of corms to confine it to one corner of my garden.

    I think the bottom line is that bananas like fertilizer, and aren't especially picky as to what kind they get as long as it has plenty of nitrogen!

  • josh_palm_crazy
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Very true Johnnieb. I agree. I think any fert high in N will do. the_virginian and Boca Joe turned me on to it. You've seen their gardens so I figure why not. Its cheap and it works. I do use miracle gro also. The bananas get a lot but I use normal amounts on everything else. Your right though. A lot of different things will work on bananas.

    I think I've decided I have Ice Cream bananas.

    Jay

  • the_virginian
    15 years ago

    Jay: Using both really supercharges the 'Basjoos and other bananas, not to mention cannas and elephant ears. One way to keep Milorganite neat and tidy is to dig a small hole near the plant, fill it with Milorganite and cover it up with soil and mulch. Keeps dogs and anything else away from it and ZERO chance for odors.

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