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I was shocked to learn recently that the otherwise healthy looking banana and papaya trees growing across the street from my home in Escazu will not bear edible fruit because of their sex.
Specifically, I was told that they were males of the species (papayo?). It is always disheartening to be be reminded of gaps in my formal education, but I simply want to obtain a banana tree and a papaya tree of the correct sex that I can husband to truly enjoy the fruits of my labor.
The local garden stores in Escazu seem to favor decorative plants not fruit trees. Even when I can find a fruit tree, I cannot seem to get a simple answer about sex.
In fact my Spanish as my second language attempt to link the words sexo and arbol in the same sentence at the EPA garden section only got me expressions of disapproval if not alarm from the young sales associate.
Does anyone know where I can purchase fruit worthy banana and papaya trees in the Central Valley?
I am not seeking orchard scale specimens, just something I can carry in the trunk of a passenger vehicle.
Thanks. Tree challenged Bob
I am sorry for your loss…
Bananas are the worlds largest herb and produce an inflorescence which contains many bracts, but their main or upright stem is actually a pseudostem that grows 6 to 7.6 metres in lengh. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem from the rows of male flowers, so there are both sexes on each plant, plus some that are sterile, but the plant is not one or the other.
EPA were carrying some ‘dwarf’ species which means a shorter plant, not tiny bananas, when it bears it’s fruit, which is nice. Remember, it will only produce one hand in it’s lifetime, but hopefully some new family members will be around by then.
Some Papaya plants bear only short-stalked female flowers, or bisexual (perfect) flowers also on short stalks, while others may bear only male flowers. Some plants may have both male and female flowers, so there should be no actual sex of the plant but the flower that turns into a fruit…or not. 🙄 but you can’t tell which is which’ until the appear … and if your smart.
Papaya plants prefer not to be transplanted, even when quite small. Best to buy the species you like from the local [i]feria,[/i] then scrape the seeds out and place a dozen or so in different spots where you want them to grow…although I found the ones that didn’t actually plant, that’s to say the ones that you dropped while eating a slice, grow best. Once they have sprouted, ‘weed’ out the small plants and keep 2-3 until a bit bigger, and leave the strongest healthiest ones and watch them grow….and hopefully the bats/insects/birds that pollinate both the banana and papaya are present.
You could also check out [url=http://www.catie.ac.cr/magazin_ENG.asp?CodIdioma=ENG]CATIE[/url] where they really know about bananas.So if I’ve got this right, Bob, what you’re trying to do is to find a date for a tree? Well, that’s a new one on me! Have you considered looking online?
Maybe there’s an eharmony.com or chemistry.com for fruit trees. Just be careful. In Costa Rica, prostitution is legal but pimping is not. Who knows what the risks might be in pimping a tree . . .
He shouldn’t have a problem [b]David[/b], as they are easily visible since they hang around in bunches….
Thanks so much for the detailed information about the biology of banana and papaya plants. It is obviously much more complicated than even I imagined, and I have come away with a new found reverence for vendors at the feria. They must really know what they are doing! Your tutorial also unlocked some of life´s mysteries that were long time riddles for me. For example, to discover that the banana is actually an herb explains the hidden meaning of Donovan´s late 1960s hit song “Electrical Banana”. It will take me some time to digest the new knowledge you provided and I will consult with my neighbors who share an interest in my husbandry of the shared fruit adventure across the street. At this point, I am not sure what to do next. I am a little embarrassed to be seen bending over the Banana branches of the existing herb towers so the upper female blossoms can mix it up with their lower male counterparts. As for the papaya plants (one is more than 7 feet tall), they seem to have been started from the casual seed dispersal method you describe. They have have these collars of what look like budding papaya fruits pods but they don´t develop completely and fall to the ground. Maybe the plant needs more time. I will wait and see. It seems that I was captured too quickly by the American business management consulting firms´ mantra to “harvest the low hanging fruit” first. Humbled Husband Bob
P.S. The CATIE website link is great. I will follow up. Thanks.[quote=”costaricafinca”]I am sorry for your loss…
Bananas are the worlds largest herb and produce an inflorescence which contains many bracts, but their main or upright stem is actually a pseudostem that grows 6 to 7.6 metres in lengh. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem from the rows of male flowers, so there are both sexes on each plant, plus some that are sterile, but the plant is not one or the other.
EPA were carrying some ‘dwarf’ species which means a shorter plant, not tiny bananas, when it bears it’s fruit, which is nice. Remember, it will only produce one hand in it’s lifetime, but hopefully some new family members will be around by then.
Some Papaya plants bear only short-stalked female flowers, or bisexual (perfect) flowers also on short stalks, while others may bear only male flowers. Some plants may have both male and female flowers, so there should be no actual sex of the plant but the flower that turns into a fruit…or not. 🙄 but you can’t tell which is which’ until the appear … and if your smart.
Papaya plants prefer not to be transplanted, even when quite small. Best to buy the species you like from the local [i]feria,[/i] then scrape the seeds out and place a dozen or so in different spots where you want them to grow…although I found the ones that didn’t actually plant, that’s to say the ones that you dropped while eating a slice, grow best. Once they have sprouted, ‘weed’ out the small plants and keep 2-3 until a bit bigger, and leave the strongest healthiest ones and watch them grow….and hopefully the bats/insects/birds that pollinate both the banana and papaya are present.
You could also check out [url=http://www.catie.ac.cr/magazin_ENG.asp?CodIdioma=ENG]CATIE[/url] where they really know about bananas.[/quote]Thanks for the encouragement, David. Until I started this thread on the forum, I was naively prepared to do whatever it takes to advance local fruit action here. Now I am not so sure. Translating hopeful thoughts into practical action has always been difficult for me. Just how does one attract bats to pollinate an expectant banana plant? Even starting a dialogue with local authorities about fruit dating and the pimping laws will implode my Spanish skills with consequences I do not want to contemplate. Although you do raise another a good point. I should look into date trees because my Moroccan couscous recipes call for that expensive staple. Fruitless in Escazu Bob
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]So if I’ve got this right, Bob, what you’re trying to do is to find a date for a tree? Well, that’s a new one on me! Have you considered looking online?
Maybe there’s an eharmony.com or chemistry.com for fruit trees. Just be careful. In Costa Rica, prostitution is legal but pimping is not. Who knows what the risks might be in pimping a tree . . .[/quote]
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]So if I’ve got this right, Bob, what you’re trying to do is to find a date for a tree? Well, that’s a new one on me! Have you considered looking online?
Maybe there’s an eharmony.com or chemistry.com for fruit trees. Just be careful. In Costa Rica, prostitution is legal but pimping is not. Who knows what the risks might be in pimping a tree . . .[/quote]
So here’s a tie between bananas, prostitution, and inevitable STDs. Australian banana plantations have been pretty much destroyed by a fungus disease called ‘Tropical Race Four’ thst kills the trees. Nearly all of the world’s exported bananas [including Tico-nanas] are the ‘Cavendish’ variety, which is particularly susceptible to TR-4. It’s only a matter of time before TR-4 joins the mix of banana diseases in C.R. As I understand it, scientists are trying to produce a genetically modified Cavendish that will resist TR-4 😈
Our friend has date farm in Palm Springs tells us that dates won’t grow here…:cry:
I had a similar problem a ‘Passiflora quadrangularis’, which produces a football sized fruit, and had to hand pollinate it, due to the lack of whatever was necessary to do the job. I planted some Salvia plants for our hummingbirds and very soon after that some small bees took over the tedious chore…
So, plant some flowers and hopefully they will help.Maybe there’s an eharmony.com or chemistry.com for fruit trees. Just be careful. In Costa Rica, prostitution is legal but pimping is not. Who knows what the risks might be in pimping a tree . . .[/quote]
So here’s a tie between bananas, prostitution, and inevitable STDs. Australian banana plantations have been pretty much destroyed by a fungus disease called ‘Tropical Race Four’ thst kills the trees. Nearly all of the world’s exported bananas [including Tico-nanas] are the ‘Cavendish’ variety, which is particularly susceptible to TR-4. It’s only a matter of time before TR-4 joins the mix of banana diseases in C.R. As I understand it, scientists are trying to produce a genetically modified Cavendish that will resist TR-4 :twisted:[/quote]
I should have added that Cavendish bananas are sterile, which is why they don’t develop resistance to TR-4. http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Banana
[DISCLAIMER: I am not a Bananascientist, though I may play one on TV]Whoever said “life is never simple” was the astute one. Now I need to worry about procuring plastic propholactic tarps for the vulnerable banana blossoms! Abstinence seems out of the question…thanks anyway, David!
[quote=”pharg”]Maybe there’s an eharmony.com or chemistry.com for fruit trees. Just be careful. In Costa Rica, prostitution is legal but pimping is not. Who knows what the risks might be in pimping a tree . . .[/quote]
So here’s a tie between bananas, prostitution, and was very astute.inevitable STDs. Australian banana plantations have been pretty much destroyed by a fungus disease called ‘Tropical Race Four’ thst kills the trees. Nearly all of the world’s exported bananas [including Tico-nanas] are the ‘Cavendish’ variety, which is particularly susceptible to TR-4. It’s only a matter of time before TR-4 joins the mix of banana diseases in C.R. As I understand it, scientists are trying to produce a genetically modified Cavendish that will resist TR-4 :twisted:[/quote]
I should have added that Cavendish bananas are sterile, which is why they don’t develop resistance to TR-4. http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Banana
[DISCLAIMER: I am not a Bananascientist, though I may play one on TV][/quote]Oh how I wish there were informational forums 30 years ago when in my ignorance, I bought out a nursery’s entire stock of rubber trees.
I was gonna put Trojan out of business…
The song was “Mellow Yellow and not electrical banana which started many a teenager smoking banana peels.
The tune was actually about a yellow colored vibrator “electrical banana.” Donovan sung “I’m just mad about fourteen, fourteen’s mad about me.” Me refering to the vibrator.
I am sorry to ruin it for you guys but Mellow Yellow was about female teensagers exploring their sexuality/ So what was Puff the Magic Dragon really about anyways
Well, no really. That was the misconception. Just like mellow yellow was about smoking banana peels.
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