andy, I live in zone 6b also and I've had my ice cream banana in the ground since mid April. You can plant it in the ground, but will have to dig it up and store before winter. If the pot is what you like, then thats good as well.

I grow all my bananas in the ground here in zone 6b, I dig them up before the first frost, I sprinkle the roots with rooting hormone then I stick it in a pot. I had a ice cream banana that I planted it outside, and left the root ball about 4" above the soil, and then I mounded the mulch 5" high at the root ball, it took off and produced 4 leafs a week.

I live in zone 4, but I'm also interested in an "ice cream" banana. Of course, I'll have to keep mine in a pot to keep it mobile. What size pot is necessary to keep these happy and fruiting? Is it possible to keep it indoors during the rather long winter here (i.e., are they particular about light and humidity)?

Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated -- I've never grown bananas before and have no experience with them whatsoever.

Thanks,
Jon

Andy,

go for it!

the pot is perfect - just remember once it gets hot and humid to water and fert like crazy- you can easily get 8-10' by September.

Boca Joe

Thank you Joe, I paid $100.00 for this pot and the palm I was going to put in it died last fall. I need to do something with it. If you get a chance please read my new post about when and how to plant it. I would love to hear what you think.

thanx, Andy

Jshine banana plants will not fruit if they don't have alot of sunlight, like a sunroom or a greenhouse. they like humidity, I try to keep mine at 70% humidity. I've heard that the smaller pot you keep it in the smaller the plant will be. I got a banana plant at the nursery and it was just starting to fruit, and when i brought it home it didn't produce any more bananas, and the bananas that were on it died off.

Is it possible for this variety to fruit in a container at less than 8ft in height?

Thats a really good question. I think it could, but dont expect a lot of fruit. Im growing mine in a container that is buried about 3/4 of the way in the ground. It will probably go in the ground next year and be dug up in the fall, but I think it is possible to fruit if its given enough fertilzer and a moderate sized pot (definitely over a 7 gallon)

Good luck!

Thanks Tropicalzone7. I think I am going to give this a try. I have no idea where I am going to put this thing during the winter but I guess I'll deal with it when the time comes.