Steve

Thanks for your post. Hopefully, it will make it here in 8b.

I also wish you luck getting yours to flower.

Dean

I am certain Ice Cream will at least be root hardy for you in zone 8b. The question will be whether or not the pseudostem will live or die in your zone. An effective way to protect a pseudostem is to wrap it in a blanket all the way to the top of the pseudostem when temps are predicted to drop below freezing. Stokes Tropicals lists it as root hardy to zone 8 and I know Mr. Stokes has told me he has fruited Ice Cream at his house which is outside of New Iberia and probably borderline zone8b/9a. Where in Texas are you located?

Steve

I live in Cedar Park just North of Austin, Texas. Yes, perhaps I'll have to wrap the pseudostem. Since I initially posted this I did a little research and it seems it is hardy to zone8. However, that dosen't take into account the pseudostem I'm sure. Wish me luck.

Dean

Just kidding.

Dean

Thanks everyone,
Dean

In order for me to be guaranteed fruit, my banana plants have to bloom by July 1st. Ice Cream is the earliest bloomer of all my varieties, and the yield per bunch is excellent. Taste is everything a home hobbyist could want and more...

Trunks almost always survive the winter, although this winter had more lower temps and was wetter, and I only had the 4-6 footers survive, with only one 10-footer. (Our low this winter was 24F, but two years ago was 20F and I had better survival.) This will probably be a lean year for nanners. :(

-Bruce C.

I didn't realize CalGold was a plantain either. I don't have any of this one, but it's good to know.

You must have quite a mat of bananas there in Florida. Good luck next year.

Dean

Yeah, definitely don't buy into the hype about the CalGold -- especially if you have a shorter season. In my experience, it tends to bloom August-September, which just isn't enough time to ripen before frost in late November/early December. I did get one that fruited earlier last year, and it was such a massive bunch that I had to prop it to keep it from pulling the trunk over. But, like I mentioned, plaintains...

My dwarf Namwah likes the cooler weather, but it too tends to be a fall bloomer. Typical tasty smaller fruits.

My dwarf Brazilian is the only other variety that tends to fruit earlier like the Ice Cream, but the bunches are smaller so you don't get the same "bang for the buck". Better off making room for the larger Ice Creams.

You can get lucky with just about any cool-hardy variety, and have a trunk get "almost there" in the fall, so when it starts back up again in the spring out pops the inflorescence. But in my experience, most of these varieties tend not to stray too far from seasonal patterns.

-Bruce

Good to know about the Namwah. I have one on the way. I think there the small fruited varities you can find in Asian markets.

Thanks, Bruce, for all the information. It's really helpful.

Dean

I'd have thought that L.A. was a tad warmer than zone 9, but I guess it depends on elevation.
We're supposedly zone 9 here in Sacramento & we can't grow jacaranda up here but I know that they grow OK around Los Angeles.

If you can get away with planting your bananas next to the south face of your house it would be a BIG help.

Bananas work a lot spiffier than pulling the blinds, too.

It got to around 100° here today (it's after midnight & still over 90°) & the Ice Creams must have grown at least 6" today. About time, too!

I planted a tree last year around April. It keeps putting up leaves but no flowers. It seemed to survive the winter without any damage. Any ideas when I should expect a flower? Anything I should be doing to help it?

Those original banana plants were 6 inches in length and about 1/4 inch in diameter. Now, they are 4-5 feet tall. I trimmed the leaves back and over wintered the psuedostem in my spare bath shower stall. I kept the temp 50-55, room darkened and watered only very sparingly. When cold weather danger past, I moved them back outside and they woke right up.

I also have a dwarf cavendish from last year that recently I parted from 2 pups, a dwarf brazilian, a CA gold, 1 bazoo that came back from the ground (one didn't).

I may have left one or two out; I will have to go look. Old guy here, alzheimers, mad cow, aneurism, CRS and other afflictions besides musas... I also run in and seem to be in near constant training for marathons. Will run for bananas (good t-shirt idea!).

Pax, amor et Musas! Mick -- Abilene (zone 7b), Texas

donnafreeman. they should do well in Cuchamunga. Mine tend to be about half the size of store bananas, much sweeter, and have nore of an acid aftertaste. Skin is thin and flesh is firm, As it gets 'over ripe', it stays firm and probably sweeter. I had some concern that the melting flesh meant that is was soft like an over ripe grand nain, but not the case
I think it has less fiber than the commercial varieties so has a different texture. Mine has a lot of pups, and to start I didn't keep them removed. Fruit size and production was affected . so as difficult as it is to remove good plants, next year leave just replacement pups.