Bananas are super easy to grow. Defiantely dont plant them until spring, but you might want to but it now so it will be much healthier when spring comes.

I have had alot of success with cavendish and they are great growers. Most of the bananas ive seen fruiting in your area are dwarf cavendish, and regular cavendish, and they were fruiting around late july and were almost ready for picking. I think the regular sized cavendsih would be the best for rate of growth, but my super dwarf cavendish was only 3 years old when it was mature (that was froma small plant).

Musa saba is one of the taller ones and will take a few years to fruit, but grows very fast.

Ice cream banana is another great fruiter and the fruit is delicious. The leaves alone are very nice like most bananas, and the fruit has a hint of vanalla in it.

I dont think any established bananas will have too much trouble in a zone 9b, but I would put a frost cloth over it (if its not too big) to protect if from frost.

Bananas will get leaf damage when temperatures get below freezing, but they wont die. Its imprtant to keep the stalk from getting damaged, because if it gets damaged it can keep your plant from fruiting that year.
Good luck.

WELL T.Z. I did it, I ordered 4 banana trees, they are about 6" tall.

They are coming from a man I have bought from for over 3 years with 100% success. He is an ebay dealer WELLSPRING NURSURIES.

I bought a Dwarf Cavendish, Ice Cream, Manzano. and a Williams Hybred.

I will plant them in pots so I can move them if it gets too cool.

Wish me luck. I may call for help later on ...see you were an inspiration. MERRY CHRISTMAS... we can say that now.

Smittee~

Who am I to be giving advice -- I just started.....but:

Check around your neighborhood and find someone with a banana tree. Knock on the door and ask if he/she would be willing to give you a pup. (A pup, to me, is the little offshoot that grows in abundance around the mother/father tree.) (He/she'll probably be grateful to find a new home for ity.) Thank him/her -- dig it up, carry it home, and stick it into your ground (where you have space, that is.) Stand back and watch it grow. In sixteen months (or so) you'll see a fruit blossom hanging from the top -- and in another six months you'll be eating bananas. (And trying to get rid of the pups that are spreading around the base.)

The main pseudostem (what the afficionados call the trunk) is to be cut down, plus all but the strongest of the pups, and you're ready to resume the cycle.

This is how I got started, accidentally. I had asked a neighbor if we could swap some of my figs for his bananas -- and, instead of fruit he gave me a pup.

When I asked for advice as to where to plant it, one of my friends suggested that I throw it into the bay -- it spreads so. But, I didn't -- and I am still happy.

My first crop.

.

Be well

(o_O)

bradfl,

That is a very nice first crop! I've read elsewhere that the plants will die once they fruit but didn't believe it (there is so much misinformation on the web).

So, if you don't cut the old plant out, will it just die on its own or will it continue to live but not produce any more fruit?

I have a Vietnamese banana that someone gave me and I'm trying to figure out where to plant it as I understand that they spread and I need room for my other planned fruit trees. I've read that you should leave about 6 to 10' out for expansion. Is that true?

Also, I'm in zone 9b (coastal Southern CA). Should I go ahead and put it in the ground now or wait until Spring? It's only about 2-3' tall but we don't get too cold around here.

Thanks for the banana pics. It looks great!

Sandra

Sandra:

Yes, they die. Stone cold DEAD!!! But they leave behind enough offspring.

If you, or others, are interested -- send an e-mail to the following:

Scot Nelson
University of Hawaii at Manoa
875 Komohana St., Hilo, HI 96720 USA
ph: 808-969-8265 808-969-8265
http://plant-doctor.net

The University has available -- for free -- a DVD that tells one all about bananas. (It's a big and important crop there.)

Also, go to this site: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG040

Good luck -- and, be well

(o_O)

Hey, thanks for the info. I'll definitely check them out.

Hope everyone had a great turkey day! :)

Sandra

Hi, Bradfl,

What kind is your banana? Where did you buy the "pup"

I am interested because it is one gorgeous plant!

Thanks.

freva~

I really did not know about kinds of bananas. I knew there were little (midget) ones and regular ones.
Rather convoluted; but a neighbor had bananas growing, and I have figs (among other stuff) growing, so I suggested that we swap. I brought over a bag of figs, and he presented me with a pup he had dug up for me.

I put it into a pot -- which it quickly outgrew -- and then stuck it into the ground. I have since given away a half-dozen pups, but it still pushes them out. (If you want one -- or more -- stop by and take them.)

It's like that scene "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" from Fantasia. They just keep multiplying -- and multiplying -- et cetera.

Be well

(o_O)

LOL WELL your address is a little vague lol. It says you live in the USA lol Kinda hard to stop by. I just bought my first fig tree. it is now 3 " tall. I think it is a brown turkey or something like that. I am very anxious for it to grow up ..I have much to learn about fig trees but as usual I buy the tree or plant and then hunt about for information about them I know that is like putting the cart before the horse...............go figure.

Smittee~

I live on Longboat Key. It's a small island just off Sarasota. I think I am in Zone 9b.

Figs are my passion. I have five different varieties, but the best are the ones I started with a neighbor's cuttings. You see them growing and know they'll grow in your area.

I have them espaliered against the south side of my home -- so they grow well. I keep them about six-feet tall. This has been a great season for them.

Be well

(o_O)

O DARN I am in Polk county the county next to hillsborough (TAMPA BAY) i guess I wont be dropping by.

are you saying that figs grow well from cuttings..? I have not seen them growing but that is because I am dissabled and rarely get out of the house but both walmart and lowes carry them in this area if that is a clue...well see. if they grow from cutting maybe I can find someone who will send me a cutting or two ..I am busy reading the fig forum thanks

Hello! I am a fruit and vegetables grower living in central Georgia. I started doing work for a lady who has several banana tree plants she wants out of there and I told her I would love trying to transplant them. I am very new to growing bananas and I have been reading a lot of FAQ's and surfing a lot on the topic. I still have some questions I hope you will read my letter.

1. Should I cut the plant down to about 6-8 inches above ground and dig up the corm..cut away rotten parts, leave the pups attached until spring, trim leggy roots. I have even read to boil water to 120 degrees F and steril boil the corms for twenty minutes.

2. I don't know if I should put the sterile corms indoors in mulch and perlite in well-drained containers, letting the corms sprout their maiden leaves, a continuous non-dormant cycle if you will..then in spring transplant outdoors for good? (Prob to cold in my region to transplant outside again at this time of year?)

3. I am trying an idea that brings several questions to mind. Here is my main concern. I built a giant grow box 16 x 4 ft. It is raised above the ground about 3-4 ft. (My box is next to my house so it might share heat of the house. I don't know if wrapping bottom of my structure with plastic to prevent cold winds entering bottom of grow box..AND if my soil/mulch leaves loose heat from being above the actual ground 4 foot, even in summer(?)) I put partition walls to form Four 4x4 grow boxes, and of course, crates slanted on bottom for excellent drainage. I was going to fill all 4 boxes with oak leaves for mulch and let it sit all winter, adding worms to break down faster and have ready for spring. I am worried that acorns with fungi will sprout or try to corrupt my mulched leaves. So should I bring the pruned corms indoors this winter letting them sprout and then back outside again come spring? Do you think growing them in a stomach level huge grow boxes is a good idea?..(One nice corm per 4x4 box) It is GREAT water drainage, but won't they loose root temperature? Outdoor/outdoor again? Or Outdoor/indoor/outdoor? I believe they might be of the Musa Basjoo.

Thank you for your time and expertise!

Jason

My bananas arrived.
TZ-7, You said 'dont plant till spring'.
The plants arrived in soil, fully rooted. I upgraded the plants to small pots and set them in my bedroom near a window but not in front of it.
I read that bananas can tolerate low light. They are near my 8 cuttings of figs which I watch daily. Well that is missleading since I have only had them a week , oh by the way( I have a large bedroom).
I thought it was an appropriate place for my 'resting/dormant plants' Why not, that is where I go dormant at night. well never mind, moving on.
I plan on leaving them there until spring. They look really green and healthy but are only 8" tall.
I ordered some of that recommended liquid kelp which should be here by friday. SHOULD I give them a sip of the kelp to help with shipping shock?
I bought it for my Star Sruit Tree, a lovely gift, that just arrived . It had been pruned top and bottom and I wanted to help it, so I bought what, THOSE IN THE KNOW AT GW recommended.

Always open and ready for instuction, advice and opinions, and grateful for all.

So what ever happened to the bananas? I'm thinking of finding and planting a few pups in a spot I've cleared.

JD

Here is a link that might be useful: Pierce Farmstead