I think thats because it says at the bottom:

'Oversized; counts as three plants for shipping calculations.'

So I wouldn't take the price as meaning it's the most expensive cultivator of banana, it's just the size factor.

Chitown

These varigated Asian ones are very rare and expensive and they should be a lot more then 'Ae Ae', it does not have anything to do with the size of the plant.

Ever heard of Indonesian Ivory banana? One sold on the internet for $500. It is a very rare, Asian variegated banana. Instead of the splotchy variegation that Ae Ae has, the white goes all the way across the leaf. I've seen one here in Nashville, but so far it hasn't impressed much. Maybe when it grows larger it'll look better.

Yes, those two were originally sold by this same nusery, Asiatica.

The highest price i've heard for a banana is $2000. :-0 It is much rarer than all of those.. and not even variegated. pretty cool though.

Tim Chapman

I know which one your talking about Tim!!!!! Id rather have that anyday then any of these ones! Too bad no one else knows what were talking about, lol! : )

a few others do, and have seen the originals. Still quite obscure though. I, in theory at least have a couple now. :-) I'm pretty sure now where it was collected, and that it is a natural form (wild species) and not a sport of an edible as has been suggested.

Tim Chapman

I take it it is a secret? Well, let all us banana lovers in on it.
I think if you have a rare one you should charge accordingly but I for one would never pay this much for a plant. I might get an Ae Ae someday but that is about the limit of what I want to spend. Eventually they won't be so rare and will come down in price.
I myself know that the larger size shipping is a bunch of crap, had a 5 ft banana sent to me priority mail and it still only cost the person $6.55!

Tim,
If its wild then I would start germinating 1,000's of seeds to see if I could produce one, that would be awesome! (albiet very expensive and time consuming, lol). Although my luck with seeds has been minimal. I remember seeing one that was close to being like it at the Biosphere 2 in Arizona, but they refused to let you into the tropical rainforest section so I only saw it through the glass, and of course did NOT have my camera on me!

For $2000, that banana would need to either get you high, "enhance your masculinity," or pay your mortgage!

LOL

I mean really!

Here's a musa sapientum 'Sweet Cream' here in Nashville, TN. At Blooms Nursery. Variegation hasn't been great yet, but hopefully will improve as the plant matures. Slow growing too.

{{gwi:416120}}

And HERE is the much-awaited (lol) photo I've promised of the mythical 'Indonesian Ivory' banana, a banana from Thailand, I believe. The owner is disappointed with this one, and you can see why. Variegation is nothing short of, well, unspectacular to say the least. Once again, the plant is still young though, and variegation is supposed to improve with age. Let's hope so!

{{gwi:416121}}

fglavin, Thanks for the pictures! For the prices its going for I hope the variegation improves also.

My original $8 dwarf cavendish has proved to be more expensive than any AE AE I've ever seen priced-- I got it on vacation at Gulf Shores, Alabama, hauled it home and potted it up. We liked it so we bought a $250 grow light and kept it in the basement. Decided the next year that the grow light wouldn't be as good as a greenhouse, so we bought a greenhouse ($1,000+ heat for the next two years ($500-600$). So I've got about $1850 in it, and guess what, I still haven't gotten a fruit yet!!!! ha ha ha

sandy0225-I know what you mean. A simple question from my wife several years ago ("Can you grow papayas in south GA?") has lead to this horrible obsession I now suffer from. At present, I would guess each papaya I produce costs several hundred dollars. (And that's if I only consider the construction costs for the two greenhouses and fuel for heating.)