I've just been given some Lady Fingers.....and am looking to see if there are other varieties that I can buy. But I can't find anything online. Does anyone know where I might be able to buy banana plants in Queensland?
G'day Corny! If you contact your local DPI they will issue (hopefully)you with a licence to grow bananas. They give you a list of approved suppliers,all the vegtable bits (suckers) are ladyfingers.But,if your brave,you can order 'tissue culture' it takes 6 mnths for your order, and there are heaps of varieties!
You need a license to grow bananas Pulse? Is that what you're saying, or just to get a supplier of suckers?
I checked the QLD DPI site....(didn't think to before!) You need permission to have bananas in Queensland, whether for commercial or private growing. A lot of it has to do with controlling the movement of plants. I wonder how I would go...there were plants growing when I brought this place and I've just been given another nine!
Nah,you don't need a licence to grow bananas, there are plenty of suckers around (incuding this website :lol: ). I know of heaps of bananas (only ladyfingers though) around out that I could just lopp a sucker off of. I'm usually the last person to be informing myself to the authorities. I wanted some different varieties like the cooking banana 'plantain'. When I enquired around the nurserys, I quickly found out that to legally buy, grow and move bananas I would need a licence. In earnest I filled out the form, and was so exited when I got the list of approved disease free suppliers. But then when I realised the only suckers available were the common ladyfinger I was a bit dissapointed to say the least. All the other varieties are tissue culture grown in agar jelly and have to be ordered, it takes 8 weeks to process your order and tissue culture varieties are available from may to october (varieties include; Blue Java,Bluggoe,Goldfinger,Ducasse,Pisang Ceylan and another one I can't remember). I am going to get some free suckers from a friend, but I reckon I will summon up the courage and order some other tissue culture varieties. I'll grow them up, then I'll give them to friends who would'nt dream of applying for a licence! The DPI regulations is to control disease in bananas (good in theory), I guess as long as you don't distribute diseased plants and dispose of diseased plants responsibly, I can't really see a problem.
I got my licence and every variety from them /\ took a few months The legal varieties that you can grow change depending on what area you live in,even within Qld.
They are in the Community Garden Its tough going round there crap soil(clay hill made from dam spoil), not enough natural moisture. But they are all slowly growing after an initial growth spurt They are a bit over hip high after 2 years and 2 moves. They started at about 200 mm long.