Natureboy

In other words, for those that actually grow D. Namwah, what is the minimum temp it has endured before dying to the ground? The cold hardy list at Wadd's Creek lists it similar to D. Cavendish: Cold Hardy Banana list - I can say from experience that my D. Cavendish tend to die to the ground at around 27F.

On the other hand, my Praying Hands, Goldfinger, and Ice Cream all came through fine unprotected at 27F. Ice Cream definitely endured 24F with psuedostems intact (I can't speak for PH or GF as they weren't part of my collection when it reached 24F).

Of course, microclimates can have an effect, but I'm talking about if all things are held equal.

So, does anyone want to weigh in on the D. Namwah?

Thanks! Nate

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Praying hands: a good way to thank God and a darn good banana, too!

Current varieties: Dwarf Namwah, FHIA-03 (Sweetheart), White Iholena, Maoli, Orinoco, Manzano (Apple), Praying Hands, Dwarf Brazilian, Pisang Raja, Rajapuri, Ice Cream (Blue Java), FHIA-01 (Goldfinger), Kandarian

sunfish

I say D.Namwah is right up there with Goldfinger or pretty darn close

Richard

I have maybe a dozen nights per year where the temperatures briefly hits freezing for a half hour or so before dawn. Dwarf Namwa has never shown any negative response to this, whereas a few other varieties I'm growing here take 2 months to recover.

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bananimal

For my area in St Lucie county I can rely on DN, DB, PK, RP and Gfinger to come thru frosts better than others. They show decent cold tolerance. Cold hardy is a term I reserve for oak trees.

Darkman

Hi Dan,

That's good news. I hadn't realized the DN was that forgiving. I'm glad I got those two from you. I'll protect them well this winter and try to get a June bloom and some pups. The DN could be the primary banana I grow if this works well.

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Darkman in Pensacola

AS ALWAYS IMHO AND YOUR MILEAGE MAY DIFFER!!!!!!!!

Life - Some assembly required, As is no warranty, Batteries not included, Instructions shipped separately and are frequently wrong!

Kentucky Bourbon - It may not solve the problem but it helps to make it tolerable!

Statistics - Data that analyst twist to support the insane opinions of those that pay them.

Nicolas Naranja

Here's my little word of caution. It froze at my banana farm last december, it hit 28-29 degrees. Dwarf Namwah did well. It actually was the best of what I had. That being said, the areas of the farm where I had pruned and desuckered recently absolutely got hammered so my advice would be to not desucker late in the year like I did. I had desuckered my first planting in MArch and April and the rest of the plantings in September and October. The late desuckering made the planting look really nice and clean and then it froze out and I ended up losing an entire season of fruit.

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Worm_Farmer

Last year all the leafs died but DN was the first to show green again. When all the others were just showing 1 leaf DN had 3 green ones showing.

sunfish

I don't think you can beat D.Namwah,good taste,dwarf for wind resistance,good amount of fruit,hardy,lots of pups

Darkman

Thanks everyone,

Seems like everyone likes this one!

__________________
Darkman in Pensacola

AS ALWAYS IMHO AND YOUR MILEAGE MAY DIFFER!!!!!!!!

Life - Some assembly required, As is no warranty, Batteries not included, Instructions shipped separately and are frequently wrong!

Kentucky Bourbon - It may not solve the problem but it helps to make it tolerable!

Statistics - Data that analyst twist to support the insane opinions of those that pay them.

bananimal

Charles ------------ I take extra precaution with my dwarfs by pulling the leaves together, tieing them up and covering with frost protective cloth. Most of the leaves take a hit but the pstems always survive.



BTW how is that PK doing. You can cover him up too if it's still short enough.

Dan

Worm_Farmer

Dan, I think that might be a little excessive for you area. I do not do anything to protect my Bananas anymore. Only Banana I ever lost was Williams.

Natureboy

Even my "dwarf" varieties are too large to cover adequately. A couple winters ago when it got down to 24F, I attempted to protect some p-stems up to a certain point by making a tall cardboard cylinder around them and filling with leaves, etc. to help insulate.

I don't protect any of my bananas anymore, since I have 10 or 12 different clumps - it's too labor intensive. I'm more into growing cool-tolerant varieties and seeing what happens. I can't say that I like sub-freezing winter temps, but in a way, it is valuable because I can see firsthand what can truly make it.

Praying Hands surprised me - it made it through as well as Goldfinger and Ice Cream. We've been enjoying a harvest of PH bananas for the past week or so - man, I definitely recommend! Similar to Ice Cream, less sweet, but very creamy and smooth. They're not very hard to separate either, once they get ripe enough. And, of course, the fruit is just so cool looking...

Based on the reviews of D Namwah, I think I'll be removing my last remaining clump of D Cavendish and subbing in D Namwah. Thanks, everyone for the feedback - very helpful conversation!

Nate

__________________
Praying hands: a good way to thank God and a darn good banana, too!

Current varieties: Dwarf Namwah, FHIA-03 (Sweetheart), White Iholena, Maoli, Orinoco, Manzano (Apple), Praying Hands, Dwarf Brazilian, Pisang Raja, Rajapuri, Ice Cream (Blue Java), FHIA-01 (Goldfinger), Kandarian

Darkman

Here protection is probably needed especially if you are looking for fruit.

The DN are about 3'-4' tall and will be brought indoors this year along with a 3' Raja Puri as well as the 5' PK. I'm really stoked about the DN's and hope I can keep them happy till spring.

I'll plastic wrap my front porch and keep everything there. I'll have a space heater to keep things toasty. It faces South and will get light and solar heating too.

__________________
Darkman in Pensacola

AS ALWAYS IMHO AND YOUR MILEAGE MAY DIFFER!!!!!!!!

Life - Some assembly required, As is no warranty, Batteries not included, Instructions shipped separately and are frequently wrong!

Kentucky Bourbon - It may not solve the problem but it helps to make it tolerable!

Statistics - Data that analyst twist to support the insane opinions of those that pay them.