southlatropical

I have Red Iholene, and I think I remember reading that it will make bananas a little faster than others. Is that true? What other varieties are quicker to make fruit?

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the flying dutchman

It was told to me that Misi Luki is one of the fastest from flower to fruit.
Maybe someone who grows it can confirm this?




Ron

harveyc

Jon (pitangdiego) wrote to me that Kanderian (also called Kandarin) has a 10-12 week ripening time, so I bought one a couple of months ago. BigDog has one, but I don't think his has fruited yet based on the last discussion I had with him.

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southlatropical

In addition to flower to fruit, I was also wondering about how long to flower. The bananas are killed back each year by frost (zone 9), so which varieties are quickest to flower once the weather warms up. The only time my bananas (unidentified banana) flowered the weather got cold before the fruit developed.

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bananimal

I asked this question of the Banana Tree Nursery guy in Easton, PA. Cause I lived in NJ back then - real short warm season. He said the Dwarf Orinoco has the shortest growing season - plant to fruit - without a doubt. That was over 25 years ago, and I'm still getting fruit in less than a year from that corm I bought long ago.

However, I live in south Fla now, and things are very different. Of the 11 starter plants in 1 gal pots I planted in the spring this year only the Dwf Orinoco has fruit. The flower popped a month ago. No body else has raised the flag yet and the Pitogo and Goldfinger are over 14 feet already.

BTW, one of the starters was a Red Iholene. It got sick and croaked, then resurrected via a pup - so can't track plant to fruit for this type.

BTW, again, got 12 DO pups in pots right now and some are large. Want one, or two?

Dan

southlatropical

I'm in zone 9a and I've been growing this unidentified variety for about 8yrs now.

I never bothered to learn anything about bananas until recently. They were free and I liked the look of them and the shade they provide during the summer. I used to cut them back every winter after the first frost. About 2yrs ago one of them sent out a flower and started to make bananas but the cold weather stopped them short. I would certainly like to try the DO if you have extra. I could send you one of these unidentified pups, or I also have what I think is Ornata.

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pitangadiego

Tough question. Depends on cold tolerence, length of season, etc. The more cold sensitive they are, the shorter their effective growing season is. If they are slowing down at 60 degrees, and another variety continues till it gets closer to 50, it has a longer season. Some are slower to wake up on the Spring end of the cycle. This year, we had relatively cold and wet weather in early April (after a relatively warm winter - exceot for 2-3 days in January which were pretty aberrant), and many of the bananas didn't really hit their stride till Mid-July, as a result. As a comparison, for me, Sweetheart as been through 3 genertions (and it pups closer to flowering of the parent than many) in less time than Mysore has been through 2 generations (and it pups sooner). Kanderian does grow relatively fast, and ripens for me in 10-12 weeks (cuts 3-4 months off the ripening time of most). Hard data will be hard to come by.

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Encanto Farms Nursery
http://encantofarms.com
We Be Bananas
http://webebananas.com

NANAMAN

sweetheart is the quickest to set fruit that i have tried. It also ripens faster than other varieties that i have grown.

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Going Bananas

BUMP
Another point for the sweetheart
FHIA-3 as the shortest growth cycle.

hydroid

I live in similar zone as you and the best luck I've had so far is winterizing my Dwarf Namwah. I get fruit most years. Three bunches hanging right now.
Bo

Mark Dragt

Of all the threads you have brought back to life, this one should have the most relevance to a lot of members. One should note that just because a plant is a short cycle in south Florida, does not mean the results will be the same in my zone 8. Some of these plants need more heat to get them going in the spring than others. So if short cycle plant "A" needs more heat than plant "B", in a lower zone there cycle could be close to the same. We should remake this thread by zones. Members from each zone can report on which plants fruit the best with their growing season. Then future new members could be more selective on the plants they grow. I have one plant that I know I will probably never get fruit from, a Tall Red also called a Morado. It would have to flower early spring to get ripe fruit mid winter. Only reason I grow that plant is so I can see if it will get 18 feet tall in my zone. And it looks cool. Thanks for knocking the dust off this thread.

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Mark's Banana Forest Paradise

Going Bananas

Thank you Mark!
Although a lot of classic members don't post much anymore,
"been there done that" kind of phase, I guess.
Alot of what they went through, we as newbies still talk about.
I find the threads search and photo gallery search very usefull.
Im lost in there more often times than the main thread
because its something you really want to read
and pertains to what Im needing answers to.
The similar threads also hooks you in even further.

Going Bananas

We have to make a distinction between
plant to flower and flower to ripe fruit ready to eat.
I think the original poster wanted the
full cycle from plant to ripened fruit.
FDutchman then talks about fastest
from flower to ripe fruit(ripening).
I guess PitanDiego was correct:
"Tough question. Depends on cold tolerence, length of season, etc."

We need to break it down to what zones
theyre being grown in.
Please chime in and let us know.

Cheers

Mark Dragt

Yes,yes,yes.
Split up by zones. Maybe made into a sticky so it stays on top. Maybe people could add at what point the named plants started pupping. For instance. I have a Orinoco with 4 pups. It's only 2 feet tall. Is that normal? If another member posted different results, then you could break it down by other factors. Amount of sun, fertilizer, watering,pot size,etc. What month did it flower, how many leaves, how tall,etc? In the lower zones it would be important to know how the plant was over wintered to achieve the results. This could be a great resource to help more people become successful. This could be really fun!

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Mark's Banana Forest Paradise

Going Bananas

liveoakgardens

Veinte Cohol - shot these yesterday. I am located 30 minutes south of Lafayette.

Richard

Actually we're just tired of intentional harassment and juvenile behavior from a small set of members.

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Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

Going Bananas

That cant possibly be me??
Im a new kid on the block!
I dont have enough experience to be
opinionated, hard headed
and question the veterans in here!
Thankful for all the learning experience
and a little drama and intrigue
makes it interesting I have to say!

barrie

I've got a rajapuri here in UK...have waited patiently for 11 months for twenty fruit to ripen...the night temperatures are now dropping to 7c (45f) but I can't transfer the banana to my greenhouse until October so I assume the young fruit will soon abort. Bit of a waste of time growing edible bananas in UK!

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barrieboy