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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2009 15:12:32 GMT
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Post by imec on Dec 3, 2009 17:23:51 GMT
This is in your garden??? Bananas?? I had no idea they could grow in North America (I guess I'm showing botanical ignorance )
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2009 17:39:07 GMT
I do have bananas in my garden but this shot was taken a half block down the street while on a walk yesterday. Yes,bananas do grow here. There are umpteen varieties of from the plantain variety used so often in Central American cooking to the teeny tiny sweet finger like bananas. Then,there are the ornamentals,grown specifically for that. I have one edible variety and two ornamentals.They spread like wildfire and have been the cause of many a neighborly dispute for generations throughout the city. Very hard to eradicate. Have to use a railroad pick axe or a bobcat and even then ,one piece of tuber remaining will regenerate. They will uproot a sidewalk...
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Post by imec on Dec 3, 2009 18:11:46 GMT
Thanks, I had no iea about any of this. Now, what is the function of that big purple thing? Will it turn into bananas at some point?
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Post by bjd on Dec 3, 2009 19:09:36 GMT
A friend of mine here has a banana plant in his garden. It gets small bananas on it but they don't ripen. And when it freezes, the whole stem turns brown and rotten because it's full of water, so the thawing makes a mess. But it does grow back every year though.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2009 21:10:01 GMT
Thanks, I had no iea about any of this. Now, what is the function of that big purple thing? Will it turn into bananas at some point? That is the MALE part of the banana flower bud referred to as a BRACT which does not produce bananas but I've been told is boiled and eaten as a vegetable in parts of Asia. Bananas plants are about 75% water and after one cuts one down and tries to lift,you realize just how heavy it can be. I always ask my clients if Ican please let them lie after cutting down for a day or so to let the water leach out so I can then bundle and discard.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2009 2:09:40 GMT
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Post by imec on Dec 4, 2009 3:22:07 GMT
Hey! I've seen recipes for fish cooked in banana leaves before - with all the fish you've got there, maybe you've tried that?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 4, 2009 3:43:57 GMT
Imec, when you come here, in every market you will see many stands selling banana leaves, and will undoubtedly eat many tamales cooked in banana leaves.
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Post by imec on Dec 4, 2009 3:47:59 GMT
No pics?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 4, 2009 3:54:10 GMT
;D No, and no thread-jacking. That would have to go in foodlandia.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2009 4:50:35 GMT
Notice how when you speak of the MALE parts of the flower (after being asked) they suddenly want to talk about food? ;)dropped that one like a hot potato,oops,more food speak.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2009 2:01:02 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 5, 2009 2:41:42 GMT
The mind inevitably turns to thoughts of barkcloth curtains!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2009 7:03:47 GMT
We had a banana tree in California. Most of the houses in our neighborhood seemed to as well.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 5, 2009 17:33:36 GMT
Tropical and subtropical climates will have plants in the landscape that are known as houseplants elsewhere. That means that everyone, no matter where home is, may be tending tropicals right now. This thread is a good opportunity to ask questions about what different plants enjoy when they're at home, the better to duplicate those conditions in our kitchen windows, living rooms, etc.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2009 17:51:29 GMT
I even see a banana tree in Paris from time to time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2009 18:04:18 GMT
Our good friend Happy Traveller has boasted a banana tree in her home in Switzerland for some years now.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 5, 2009 18:50:05 GMT
Here are some pictures (from my previous garden) that are frequently grown as houseplants, or outdoors and protected during winter if possible. (words that are a different color are links) impatiens~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ coleus and variegated Ipomoea batatas 'tricolor' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stromanthe sanguinea ( part of the Maranta family), episcia (?), and coleus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Swedish ivy, caladium, and 'Blackie' sweet potato vine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ bougainvillea
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2009 21:28:26 GMT
I remember reading that something like 80 or 90% of houseplants come originally from the base of the rain forest. Since they nomally get shitty light exposition, those are the plants that survive in someone's home.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2009 16:41:22 GMT
The wonderful thing about many of these tropicals is the ease in propagating to either pass along or swap with others. Next weekend,The Green Project here in NOLA is having a plant swap. I will be there with a truck load of plants I have been potting up. Even if I come away with only a couple of heirloom roses or one or two exotics I don't already have,it will be well worth it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2009 17:18:20 GMT
I am suddenly inspired to visit the botanical greenhouses of Paris to see what they have.
But will I actually get around to it?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 6, 2009 17:30:26 GMT
The wonderful thing about many of these tropicals is the ease in propagating... So true. If a friend has something you like, ask for a little piece & advice on what conditions the plant prefers. If the friend knows a propagating trick, that will help. Otherwise, put some soil in a little pot, set that pot in a saucer of water, and push the cutting well into the soil. You can also make mini greenhouses out of found objects -- clear plastic "clamshells" for salad, for instance. The roast chicken containers are naturals for this use. Be sure to burn holes in the bottoms of plastic containers if you put the dirt directly into them. It's usually best not to close the containers completely -- let some air flow.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2009 17:41:13 GMT
Oh, you tropical and sub-tropical people have it so easy! Jeez, the rest of us have trouble just keeping lichen alive.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 7, 2010 5:04:29 GMT
This might be of interest ~~ today I dug up my turmeric plants, not to harvest them, but to put them in a pot. They're been growing for over a year in the local "soil", which is almost pure grit. This is not my photo, but the rhizomes I planted looked exactly like this. If you've never seen turmeric root, it's not very big -- roughly the size of a person's fingers. The rhizomes on the plants I dug up look nothing like that! Maybe they have to be harvested and air dried for a while? The first picture is just to show the leaves, which are quite handsome. I can't wait to see what kind of flowers it will eventually produce. inetgardens.com/turmeric-culture.htm
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Post by tod2 on Nov 1, 2010 9:29:41 GMT
Every now and then one of my cycads produces a fruit - this was taken 2 days ago, so we will see what developes! I hope it is classed as 'Tropicana'!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 1, 2010 14:06:51 GMT
Incredible photo, Tod!
Where I come from in Louisiana, cycad leaves stand in for palms on Palm Sunday. Many people save their Palm Sunday "palms", usually on a wall or in a vase, since they dry and last forever.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Nov 2, 2010 21:27:30 GMT
<swooningsmiley>
I luuuurve tropical plants....and would love to be able to grow more. Thank you for posting these pics... ;D
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Post by myrt on Nov 3, 2010 8:09:34 GMT
And from me also...they are just beautiful but I don't have the time, the place or the central heating to even grow them as house plants... My sister living on the UK's south coast has a banana plant in her garden which has fruit in a good summer..I think that's amazing!
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Post by tod2 on Nov 3, 2010 13:39:47 GMT
myrt - That IS amazing! I am hoping that one of my Delicious Monster's will produce a fruit - It is absolutely gorgeous and like nothing I have ever tasted before. The fruits peel off in sections like pips of a pomegranite - but the size of a small plum. I've only ever tasted or seen this fruit once before but think the fruits were pale yellow.
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