CarolinaShoreFruits

Greetings!

I recently moved to Southeastern NC and have been researching different fruits, including bananas, to grow in the area. I stumbled upon the Veinte Cohol as a prime candidate for this region given its short ripening cycle.

It appears I was late in the game this year as all reputable online nurseries were out of stock when I decided to go for it. Found a few listed on Etsy and decided to give it a shot. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1480342..._4&frs=1&crt=1 Seller has good reviews but there's no confirmation from the reviews that they are truly VC pups and I'm not sure what identifying characteristics are used besides sequencing I guess.

Regardless, I'll be giving it a shot on two pups and hopefully keeping up with some updates.

The VC pups should arrive at roughly around 5" in height. I'll likely keep it potted throughout the year and consider planting in ground Spring 2025.

Wish me luck!

Jeff zone 8 N.C.

North Carolina southeast can grow some awesome bananas. A good place to buy is here on this site under the "Banana Plants For Sale & Auction" section and then buy from someone who has been on here for a while as they are most likely to sell true to name plants. Summer is when you see more bananas for sale here. Wishing you luck.

CarolinaShoreFruits

Thank you, Jeff! I will check that out periodically. So far, the only fruiting banana I've done some research on has been the VC.

What other cultivars would you suggest for 8b? TIA!

Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Any of the shorter cycle bananas will work. I have, in the past, flowered and fruited many others too but after I started a new business a few years ago and moved to my new property I have not even tried. I got rid of most of my varieties as it just was too much to maintain. Now I just keep one smaller pot each of a few types so that I will one day be able to plant out and not have to buy again. If one tries to bloom I cut it down and let it make a fresh pup.

CarolinaShoreFruits

What's your experience with dwarf orinoco? I saw that it could potentially be over-wintered well out here.

Jeff zone 8 N.C.

Yes it can be overwintered here and will fruit. I always mulched all my bananas well because we are in N.C. and while we can have quite mild winters we always get at least one lower temp freeze (like this years) and probably more and there is the possibility of those rare killer freezes. You can always wrap the trunk too to get a head start on spring. There are many old banana clumps around that have survived for many decades that are not the cold hardy basjoo type.