Fastest growing banana, hands down, bar none has been Fhia-3 Sweetheart (here in San Diego).

Musa blue java/ice cream is quite fast for me.

Orinocco,and raja puri,very fast here in Kansas

Ice Cream is my fastest, without a doubt.

Musa blue java/ice cream is by far my fastest growing banana. It was just a small pup the spring and grew to be taller than my house.

{{gwi:424415}}

TnShadyLady,
Thank you for posting a picture! Pictures are the best! And your banana is beautiful. I just ordered an ice cream and can't wait until it arrives!

How many pups did your banana send out?
Do you still have it in the ground or did you dig it up?

TnShadyLady-
That banana is incredible. I noticed you are 7A. I am 6B not that diffirent. Did you dig that banana up for the winter or mulch it. I would love trying to grow that type of banana but I'm not sure I want to have to dig it up.

It put out 5 or 6 pups - - all which are about 5ft tall. My DH and I cut off all the leaves and dug up this banana. The trunk is about 18 inches in diameter and the banana was so heavy that we had to let it fall onto a tarp, so that it could be drug into the basement. We are storing it with the pups attached. In all honesty, I am not sure if we will be able to replant this one as it is so heavy. But the pups are large and this one is a fast grower.

Ice Cream/Blue Java is only hardy to zone 8.

I really like the coloring on this banana, and it is one of my favorites.

AndyAndy, I also have several dwarf cavendish in pots. Given plenty of water and fertilizer, they grow quickly - but stay a manageable size.

Wow an 18" Trunk. That plant is so large and impressive that I almost certainly give it a try. I'm going to also grow some Basjoo as I can leave them in the ground. If you don't mind me asking; How much did the pups you planted in the spring cost? How much water and fertalizer? What kind of fertalizer? I sure wish I had known about these various bananas last spring. The Detroit area had the warmest summer on record in 05. I have a number of palms I grow including a coconut but they are all potted. Thank you for all the time and great information.
Andy

Andy, I acquired my ice cream banana at a plant swap last spring - - so I can't really tell you how much. But at "Going Bananas", they sell for $20. This is the only site that I can personally vouch for - - but there are probably other good ones out there. I started with one pup about a foot tall. It grew steadly through out the summer, but towards the end, it seems to get visibly larger every day.

It was planted in a well ammended bed and I added a generous amount of manure at the time of planting. It was also top dressed with a time released, organic fertilizer and received a couple of gallons of seaweed or alfalfa "tea" once or twice a month.

I use soaker hoses in my tropical beds - - running them for 30 minutes every other day during dry periods.

Here is a link that might be useful: Going Bananas

Andy, try www.wellspringgardens.com - they have ice cream for $9.95. I haven't ordered bananas from them, but was pleased with variegated tapioca that I ordered from them.

Thank you for the information. I think I'm going to order some around March-April and grow inside until I can put them in the ground.

Ice cream, FHIA-18, Goldfinger, for sure. My G'fingers grow and fruit in one season. Orinoco and Mua hoa are fast also. Now that I think about it, I'm thinking that most bananas grow quite fast...:>)...

...however, it did take my Pisangs almost two years to fruit.

...Email me if you want more info...Z

Andy,

for you in your zone, planting out in May- Saba is by far the biggest and fastest.

I had one corm this year, didn't even sprout until early June, then grew to about 18' by September with pups!

check out my friend's garden in east central Iowa and see what you can do! All of the big green banana plants you see here are sabas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coopman Cay 2002

i highly recommend wellspringgardens.com

wellspringgardens.com is where I got my ALL TOTALLY GREEN, RED ABYSSINIAN BANANA! He told me the red will SHOW UP??
..and a totally green, Nancy's Revenge EE. This one will turn too
Yeah, I recomendthem too. They sell Chameleon Bananas, and EE's. I can't wait until these things change color, I've got the video camera ready.

Beware!

You cannot go wrong with Going Bananas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's a great place to buy bananas

Boca Joe-
That garden is awesome. Did he dig up those giant bananas and store them for the winter. Basjoo is the only kind I know of that can stay in the ground over winter and that's with protection.

THShealady-
Any foolow ups to the 5 foot Ice Cream pup you pulled up. Were you ever able to put it back in the ground?

hey Rick,

the red abyssinian will remain mostly green in FULL sun. I always plant mine in afternoon shade and they are beautifully colored burgundy.

Nancy's Revenge takes a long season to start showing the white variagation.

Andy: yes he stores them inside over the winter.

Boca Joe

Hi Andy,

I live in Maryland and am able to get 10-18' out of bananas in one season (June-Sept) using my secret formula (hahaa):
First of all they like TONS of water and good soil. Then this year I really stepped up the fert program- and not a burnt leaf on anything either Imight add-

here's what I do beginning in late May--

once every 7-10 days
in a 2 gallon watering can, I mix 2 TBSP Peters powder 20-20-20, 1 TBSP urea, and 2 TBSP UPSTART (Ortho or similar). and one or 2 TBSP of EPSOM SALTS to 2 gallons of water. I then do about 6-10 pots or specimen plants with each batch dumping some of the mix around the base.

2 -3 times per week
I use the hose end sprayer with the Peters or Miracle Gro mix (with the hose end sprayer that you just dump in the whole little bag of powder and spray away. I follow all of these with a light "watering in" spray - the leaves are all dark green and the plants are loving it grow like crazy in the heat!

2 times during the season
I also use the MIRACLE GRO tree spikes for CITRUS /FRUIT TREES -I break each spike in half and put the 2 halves around the base of the plants in the ground and the ones in pots. I do this twice: Memorial Day and aroound 4th of July

Oh yeah, I also dumped milorganite around each plant potted and in ground, plus handful of 10-10-10 back in June.

I get monster plants this way- never had a probelm with leaf burn or salt build up either.

You can see my photos for proof!

good luck

Boca Joe

Here is a link that might be useful: Boca Cay Tropicals Part 2

Boca Joe:
You said that you can get 10 to 18 feet out of your Saba's in one season with that formula, but what do you start with, a pup or overwintered p-stem?? If you start with a small corm that is amazing growth!

Thanks for sharing your secrect...

WeatherGuy

hey WeatherGuy-

I have started with a corm and small (12") plants!

the secret is the water and fert!

Boca Joe

Greetings!

Ironically for me, based on what I have read so far in this set of posts, things seem to be slightly backward in our area.

I currently have seven banana plants growing in my back yard, which may represent either six or seven distinct cultivars (I am not sure yet if I have a duplicate of a plant that I bought at Lowe's on sale-the other five came from Don and Katie at "Going Bananas.")

As it stand right now, I have: Grand Nain, Blue Java (Ice Cream,) FHIA 17, Brazilian (Tall,) either two Red Bananas(Plaintain) or one Red and a Dwarf Cavendish, and an SH 3640 variety.

For me, the SH 3640 seems to be the most enthusiastic grower (although I cannot ignore the fact that the SH 3640 and the Brazilian started out as corms vs. the rest being of the tissue culture variety-not sure if this matters or not, but it could, I suppose.)

I do get new leaves on the Ice Cream and Grand Nain regularly, the FHIA 17 is a little slower (for me at least,) and the Brazilian is still in the corm phase. The Red Bananas are currently much larger than the others, because they were that way when I purchased them. They produce large new leaves every 6-7 days or so (give or take-depending on water and weather.)

I had to alter our soil a bit and add a layer of mulch, because in our area we have a type of sandy soil similar to thick beach sand mixed with particles-thus, it tends to get quite hot rather quickly.

I water with the sprinklers at least 4 times a week, and apply a mixture of liquid miracle grow plant food and water on the off days.

Our local Home Depot and Lowe's Stores unfortunately do not sell any relative equivalent of a 0-0-22 Potash Fertilizer to mix with a standard 6-6-6 type to create a synthesized "Banana" Blend stock. And although it can be ordered, I have lately been experimenting to see how well the 12-4-8 Miracle Grow works with a bit of Citrus/Cactus/Palm fertilizer thrown in for good measure.