Bananas!
diana chapman (Wed, 04 Jun 2003 17:43:00 PDT)

Dear Dave:

I should mention an experiment I did some years ago to see if I could induce
more reliable flowering in Lycoris. I had many pots of mature L. radiata.
I treated one group with ripening bananas (whole and very ripe), one group
with smoke water, one group with smoke and had a control group. All of the
treated pots had many more flower spikes than the control group. I think (I
don't have my notes) that the smoke water was the best, but the banana group
most certainly responded well also.

I should add as far as Lycoris is concerned, though, that when I moved from
the very hot interior of California to the coastal region all pots were
loaded in a van in temperatures of 108F (probably more inside the van).
When they were unloaded on the coast, the temperature was about 55F (this is
normal summer temperature here). The drop in temperature induced just about
every bulb to bloom. It was quite amazing.

Diana
Telos Rare Bulbs

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Fenwick" <crocosmia@blueyonder.co.uk>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 3:28 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Bananas!

I was very interested in David's post, too, but for a different

reason.

I
thought that all of us who need to pre-chill were supposed to make sure

that

our bulbs never shared a fridge with fruit. Ripening fruit gives off
ethylene,
which, I thought, would stunt or kill the flower developing in the bulb.
Now I
read that ethylene is helpful?

Hi Jennifer,
Yes I realise this too as I was thinking of treating my Amaryllis (as in
belladonnas) to see if this had any effect on their blooming. I too found
that storing bulbs in a fridge with ripening fruit wasn't a very good

idea.

However, that said, commercial cut flower practise on the Isles of Scilly,
UK, Narcissus leaves are burnt each year post flowering, this was
scientifically found to induce early flowering on an annual basis. It was
found to be ethylene from the burning that induces this early flowering.
Therefore it's probably ethylene after buring in the wild that promotes
flowering.

I had a friend try bananas on his Brunsvigias last year, the plants had

not

produced leaves for four year, yet after a couple of weeks of treatment
leaves were produced.

I think the answer is to experiment on less expensive bulbs, and make
comparrisons with untreated ones; or try the method as a last resort. Some
South African bulbs can sleep for quite a long period, at the moment I'm
waiting for a large species of Albuca to shoot surface, it has been

dormant

for two years, although the bulbs are fine. It would probably be a very

good

candidate for banana treatment.

Best Wishes,
Dave

Websites:
http://www.theafricangarden.com/
http://www.crocosmiaheritage.com/

Address:
David Fenwick
NCCPG National Collection of Crocosmia with Chasmanthe and Tulbaghia
The African Garden
96 Wasdale Gardens
Estover
Plymouth
Devon
England
PL6 8TW

----- Original Message -----
From: <jennifer.hildebrand@att.net>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 9:22 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Bananas!

Hi all,

I was very interested in David's post, too, but for a different reason.

I

thought that all of us who need to pre-chill were supposed to make sure

that

our bulbs never shared a fridge with fruit. Ripening fruit gives off

ethylene,

which, I thought, would stunt or kill the flower developing in the bulb.

Now I

read that ethylene is helpful?

I would appreciate elucidation!
Jennifer
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