emddvm said:Gina Brian's Botanicals has Thai Black bananas for $12.99. I think this is where I got mine now that I think about. They also have the Siam Red which I love. Killed mine last year with too much water. May try it again this year. It is picky but not as much as the AeAe. I had one for 15 years and it finally gave up the ghost. It even produced variegated bananas one year. I have tried to buy another one but they are too expensive or too iffy.
I have bought plants from Brian in years past before I had to take my leave of absence from plants for a bit. He was very active on another forum that I was on, along with some other great folks who seem to have dropped off the internet garden forum game. Their loss is sorely missed (by me anyway). I got my Siam Red from him years ago.
I had an Ae Ae in the past...it was so beautiful; It grew almost 20 ft tall, and had a pup. I took the pup off and grew it up. The mother produced a hand of bananas, then produced another pup. That pup was all white and did not survive.
The first pup I removed grew well and produced a pup, that pip too was all white and did not survive, they the mother plant succumbed to rot for an unknown reason and I had NO Ae Ae. I would not recommend people spending the big bucks on Ae Ae. Its beautiful, rare, eye-catching and neat, but in the end, it has some genetic flaws that can be lethal.
