blownz281

I'm going to have to take some pictures at this greenhouse,where the owner swears cavendish banana's have been coming back in the ground for him. He said they have been planted for years and I saw the old trunks in the winter. They are large and six feet tall and a good dozen or more. I don't really care for the cavendish I have not a fan of them. So I wouldn't mind if I lost some for a winter test. Thanks

Jack Daw

Isn't it Grand Nain or other more hardy variant of Cavendishes?

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TommyMacLuckie

I've seen, I'm guessing, Orinoco in Franklin, TN without protection that did just fine. I dunno what zone that is, it gets nasty cold there and it's awful. I don't live there and never would but I have done work up there and have seen them, near the trace. Where the trace ends actually, in that area.

hammer

I live in pargould arkansas in zone 7 i have friends who have orincos they come back every year and fruit there are some pics in my photo gallery.

blownz281

From what I have read and heard Orinoco are for zone 7. As for cavendish they are known for 9-10 zones. Maybe like what was said its a mix and not a true cavendish?

hammer

One of my wifes friend had 3 dwarf cavendish in her greenhouse last winter and a ice storm hit and the power went out for 2 weeks and temps got in the teens they died back now they are about 4 foot tall.

blownz281

It would be alittle warmer then outside plus I would think dry as well. I can try some as I have extras to burn. They are all small as the mother plants died off really bad,storing them last winter in my basement.

TommyMacLuckie

Orinoco are a cavendish. Although I've never figured out why they are called Orinoco when they are from SE Asia...

blownz281

Learn somethingnew everyday

TommyMacLuckie

It's confusing - there are Cavendish - the Super Dwarf, the Dwarf and what else? Robusta and Giant Cavendish? Any others? And then there are cavendish, desert bananas - at least, that's how I've always understood it. As far as I know the Orinoco is a cavendish (desert) banana.

Unless they fall under a different group. What group? What the Gros Michel is in? Funny how that is not considered a cavendish yet the cav is very close to it.

And I certainly don't mind if I'm wrong, of course, ha ha. Someone let me know I'm wrong! I'm not here to shout hollow.

blownz281

hmm thats interesting Thanks for sharing with us.

neferset

Not being pedantic. Just confused. I've seen people say desert bananas...Is it a misspelling of dessert or are these heat and drought tolerant bananas? I haven't been sure at all.

I thought Cavendish was a type of dessert (sweet) banana and Orinoco was also a dessert (sweet, though leaning toward a plantain type) banana, but that they were both separate types with different growth habits, sub-varieties, and such.

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TommyMacLuckie

Yeah, dessert. My bad. I always screw that up. That and a few others.

I've been looking around. Nothing says it is or is not. I would think that that means it is not a cavendish - but I hear people talk that it is.

So what is it? And just how do they know anyway? Is there some more specific than other banana types that make it what it is? That's another mystery to me.

blownz281

Welcome to the world of plants haha. Its hard to understand and figure them out .

Gabe15

Dessert bananas are bananas that are sweet when ripe and eaten raw. Any type of edible banana (genetically) can be a dessert banana, it is not any sort of classification, just a culinary description really. Any banana can be cooked, but not all bananas ripen sweet and can be reasonably eaten raw. The differences between dessert and cooking bananas is mostly cultural and based on local preference and customs.

Cavendish is a genetic group of bananas of which there are many closely related varieties. Orinoco is not a Cavendish, it is a Bluggoe (another genetic group like Cavendish). Orinocos are commonly used as both dessert and cooking bananas (not to be confused with plantains which are a specific genetic group of cooking bananas). Gros Michel is an entirely different genetic group.

Plant taxonomy and classification can be tricky as it is, but bananas take it to a whole different level. In order to really understand and make any sense of them, you really have to spend some time digging through the information out there and putting it together yourself. There is also a lot of common nonsense about bananas too, so its not always easy to sort the rubbish from the good stuff.

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blownz281

Gabe

How many types of banana's are actually wild and not man made in a lab/nursery? Thanks

TommyMacLuckie

A Bluggoe.

Ha ha - that certainly is not a Cavendish.

Well then. Now I know! Something new to chew on. Well, now I'm really getting curious so I'm going to do some digging about a few others.

neferset

No worries. You aren't the only one. I was beginning to wonder if there was a desert banana. I know I'd seen the California Gold described as one (on nursery websites, though there seems to be a vast amount of sharing of descriptive text out there) and since you mentioned the Orinoco, I figured that knowing what you meant could clear it up for me. Plus I was worried about my Dwarf Orinocos that recently got a huge amount of rain dumped on them. Thankfully they have decent drainage, but I was wondering just how bad that really was.

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Gabe15

There are many species of wild bananas (around 70 and counting), more are being discovered all of the time. These plants are seeded and what people generally consider ornamental. Edible bananas, what most of us are most familiar with, are usually the results of thousands of years of farmer selection and cultivation and are called "landraces" (Landrace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). There are modern hybrid bananas (such as the FHIA series) which are made by conventional cross pollination between various fertile varieties (not all bananas are able to be used in breeding). Lab made bananas are rarer to come by, very few are commonly available and most are still in the testing stage. 'Super Dwarf Cavendish' however is the result of radiation induced mutation, and 'Little Prince' is the result of unintentional mutation in the tissue culture process, so both of these varieties may be considered "lab made" but maybe not in the way you would imagine.

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blownz281

Wow I would have never thought there was 70plus different banana's !!!!