banana berserker

In the spring Im going to buy my first banana tree (actualy its considered a perrenial). I want an ice cream banana tree, but i want to make sure its cold hardy. Im a nooby and dont know a lot about bananas.

Bananaman88

Berserker,

I haven't personally grown Ice Cream but from what I have read it is somewhat "cool hardy", meaning maybe zone 8-9. It isn't cold hardy like Musa basjoo. Let a few other people weigh in with their opinions and see what they say. I think there are several here who grow this one.

buzzwinder

Berzerker, where ya from, zones help alot with figuring out hardiness, I'm in 4-5 N. Illinois 8 miles from Wisc. border. I seem to be in a pocket that can be 4 or 5, depending on mother nature and how she feels at the moment

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Bill for my friend

banana berserker

hey guys thanks for the info so far im in central valley in california zone 9 so most bananas would like here but this winter its gotten colder than ever so this spring i want cold hardy and though ive herd dwarf cavendish are good trees ive seen somebodies cavendish and ice cream that have gone through the same winter, the ice cream looked great while the cavendish look dead.

bencelest

I am in zone 9 and I have a lot of dwarf cavendish pups that are growing beautifully inside my covered patio. In fact all of my bananas including the double mahoi are doing real nice in my patio. So if you are interested PM me. I live in Salinas.

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harveyc

I see you are up near Rocklin on the map. You should put that in your profile as it will be easier for more folks to help you. I don't know some of the other members I see located just south of you but Microfarmer is not far away and you should probably go pay him a visit. Maybe he can sell you a so-called "California Gold" pup since they fruit reliably in our climate. I'm further south down in the Delta, but our climate is pretty similar. This year has not been that gold, actually. Last year was much colder in January and so was 1990. We had 20F at our place last January and my Ice Cream died but my two Dwarf Orinoco and one Raja puri had pups come back from the corm after the pseudostems died from the freeze. I don't see anything that has died yet this year. You might also try a Dwarf Brazilian. They have such a stout pseudostem that it may be what helps them seem to be pretty hardy. Joe Real from Davis thinks his is hardier than his California Gold.

Good luck and welcome to the board!

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karunasagar108

I am growing an Ice Cream banana under an oak canopy and it just survived 27F easy. I have 7 other verities in the same area and the ice cream lost the fewest leaves to freeze. Though it could be due to many different reasons, it sure seems hardy to me.

harveyc

What were the other varieties?

I'm not saying it isn't hardy, but it didn't survive our 20F last January while others did. I thought it was hardier than some of those but mine wasn't.

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karunasagar108

The Ice Cream is hardier then the sweetheart, a dwarf red banana, just about as hardy as the apple it is close to, and more hardy then a dwarf cav. Also, the ice cream seemed to get less damage then the raja puri planted near it

lloyd

After the first winter - plant in ground 12 months - where temps occasionally hit 25F I had a bloom May 1st. The following winter - by records not one bit colder - they died slap to the ground. Go figure! But the same thing happened to four other varieties, the only exception being the dwarf Orinoco.

MediaHound

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microfarmer

So far my Ice Cream, in the ground, heavily mulched with horse compost, with nothing more than fried leaves folded down, and a lawn-n-leaf bag on it, (with no other protection) is still green and standing tall. If it's still alive, I won't know 'til spring.

I also have Cardaba, Cheesmanii, Mysore, Goldfinger, Manzano, Dwarf Orinoco, CA Gold, and Zebrina all standing tall and green, except for CA Gold and zebrina, which are standing short and green.

Last year was much worse with alot more nights below 32 degrees...in a row...

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Tropicallvr

Are you set on Ice cream? If I was starting on my first banana I'd do dwarf orinico, Dwarf brazilian, and maybe Musa 'Belle'. But if your ready to shell out a few bucks for a cold hardy edible, Musa "CA gold" would definatly be a good choice.

bigdog

I can give you a good idea of how cold-hardy the corms are after this winter! I am unintentionally testing three mats of Ice Cream in the ground by intentionally not digging them up this year, lol. For the past couple of years, I have tried to overwinter the pseudostem under the house, but each year the center leaf always rots out on me. So I get pups sprouting from the corm every spring, which doesn't help me get fruit! I got tired of them being so darn unproductive that I just decided to let them all die. I couldn't imagine doing that to a banana just a few years ago, but I find it much easier to throw excess corms away these days. So anyhow, I'll give a full report in the spring!

mskitty38583

bigdog i live exactly 1 and 1/2 hours from you! if you dont want your icecreams i will drive to knoxvegas and i will dig them up so you dont have to! lol. i aint to proud to dig. haha lmk, ill make the drive. ill even bring dirt to fill in the holes!( good dirt) you just say when!

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troy NH

I think you will be pleased with the Ice Cream Banana. I have them up here in Z6 Southern NH. I do overwinter them in the basement. I bought one last year from mail order and it was delivered at 4-5" tall. By October it was about 8 feet. So be aware they grow very fast in the right soil.

banana berserker

im not "set" on ice cream but it is very appealing

banana berserker

Maybe...

KYpalmer

Was reading along and happened to come across this. Very helpful indeed, but could you shed some light perhaps on the Musa Ca Gold and where to shop around for nice cold hardy edible bananas? Thanks in advance.

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venturabananas

Don't bother with CA Gold. It makes Orinoco-type fruits, which are only OK. Get Dwarf Namwah, which is probably just as cold hardy and makes better fruit that ripen faster.

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