For banana growers everywhere!

[Mrs Ava]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!

My narnar in my conservatory is going to fruit!  ;D ;D ;D

[Mrs Ava]

[aquilegia]

that's fantastic EJ!

I would love to grow my own nanas. After overcoming my banana phobia (yes - really! ::)) a few years back, I've discovered I really like them, but object to the amount of fuel they use to transport them over here, so rarely eat them.

[ava_banana]

...........so proud for you EJ........ ;D ;D ;D........I know how long you have been waiting......... ;D ;D ;D

Can't wait to take pics as it gets bigger and opens..... ;D

[Marianne]

Wonderfully exotic !  ;D ;D

[Moggle]

I feel so daft! Which bit is going to be the fruit  ??? Is it going to be a bunch of nanas, or just one  ???

Well done anyway EJ, must take a lot of effort to get something like that to fruit  :) I look forward to the progress pics and I might be able to figure it all out by then  ::) :)

[Deleted]

Wow! great stuff. How big/old is the plant EJ?

[Mrs Ava]

Thanks everyone.   ;D  I am like a big kid!  So excited!!  The bananas grow down around that darker outer skin, lots of them!  No idea if they will be edible.  The plant was one my mum and dad brought for me when I was younger, in a little testtube.  So, it is around.....um..... well, at least 20 years old!!  It is about 7 or so foot tall.

Thanks my darling Ava  :-* - you are my chief photographer! :-*

[ina]

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeez, that is fantastic!
How are the pineapples going EJ? Picture of those too please?

[ruud]

great news keep us informed about the progress.

[Heldi]

Way hey, that is brilliant! ;D   My conservatory is so boring! 

[GREENWIZARD]

wonderful ;D

[MagpieDi]

   ;D   That's just amazing EJ !!

[Roy Bham UK]

:o I've been growing Banana's outdoors for years and never had a flower :o How do you do it Emma Jane ???

[Mrs Ava]

Ahhh you see Roy, things are terribly scientific in my conservatory, water when things get limp, feed when I remember!  ;D ;D ;D ;D  When we went to Devon at the start of June the plants in the conservatory got severly baked and the narnar really looked poorly, however, within hours of a really good drink, it had perked up, and a few days later I noticed the new leaves were coming out of the centre differently, more in a rosette and lots in one go.  Maybe the shock made it want to reproduce....  Also, all 3 of my darling Ava's fish tanks have had a major clean over the last couple of weeks and the banana has had the benefit of the tank water so lots of fish poo nutrients and water.  Other than that, I think it might just be the age of the plant, it is an old boy really.

[Heldi]

Hello EJ's Nan!  ;D

[daisymay]

they are such cool flowers ares't they - look like something from "the little shop of horrors"! I worked on a banana plantation in Isreal for a while, a long time ago, so this brings back memories. AND motivates me to nag for the extension I want so we can have a conservatory :)

[Roy Bham UK]

:o How strange :o I have been pouring the dregs of water from my fish pond filter whilst cleaning the filter pads onto my Nana's as we have been very short of water here although no hose pipe ban.

Hope we get a flower...watch this space. ;D

[tim]

Emma, dear - may I remind you what comes out of the flower?
Are you prepared??

[rosebud]

Hey Emma really well done to you ,maybe we should call you greenfingers ;).

[Mrs Ava]

An update on growth.  You can now see the fruits.



And for those that remember, I have 2 hardy bananas in the garden which suffered the winter totally unprotected and I feared I may have lost them....well look at them now!