JaredZone9a

Interested to hear what most people prefer. :-)

JaredZone9a

Also need help on which fertilizers to use for my first two plants.


Went with two dwarfs from Florida Hill Nursery. Cavendish and Namwa.


Let me know. I wanna get these two off to a decent start.

smeash

You can use a balanced fert such as triple 10 or triple 13. Banana fuel is a good fert, but pricey. Look at the fertilizer info sheet here on the banana wiki.. good info there. Depending on if you bough tissue culture plants, or established pups, you may or may not want to fertilize just yet.. TC plants need some coddling for a few months, and very light if any fert.

JaredZone9a

Is there a good place to buy this online or locally? I think I may have got some TC’s. Not sure. I think I remember them saying really small size.

Backyard Banana Joe

I have tried Manzano (Apple), Tall Namwa, Dwarf Cavendish, something I think is Raja Puri (but I have the real deal that's going to ripen soon), Orinoco, and my least favorite was the Cavendish. It was over-wintered on the stalk, which probably made them taste more like nothing but it still wouldn't be my favorite variety (not cold hardy). My all time favorite is Manzano. The bananas have a apple-banana-ey flavor that is outstanding. So, so good. Tall Namwa and Raja Puri are also excellent, Orinoco being more of a cooking banana, but still I like eating them out of hand.


But the truth of the matter is..... Your favorite variety is the one that you are eating now! In was told this when I first started growing bananas because I wanted to know what the best varieties were.... And was always frustrated when people said this.... But it's true!! Your favorite variety is the one that you are currently eating!

JaredZone9a

Sounds like you’ve grow and tasted quite a few! What dwarf would you recommend for my zone? I want them to survive the winters, but I’m not sure what to expect or do. Sounds like the Cavendish would definitely need to be put in a pot and brought inside if you wanted it to get anywhere.

Can you leave the Dwarf Namwa’s out all winter in the ground?

Akula

My climate conditions and grow zone are identical to yours. I've had great luck with Tall Namwa and Raja Puri (which is very similar to Dwarf Brazilian). I successfully fruit about 65% of my tall namwas each year. I got a dwarf namwa last summer so this year will be the the first chance to get a harvest so cannot confirm its ability but it should be the same as tall namwa but much easier to manage. Build your collection/plantation using namwa (dwarf or tall) as the dependable core producer and then move out into the more difficult plants from there is my advice.

I have fruited and eaten the following: namwa, raja puri, pisang klotek, dwarf orinoco, and an unknown variety(tu'u ghia?). Namwa, Raja Puri, and Dwarf Orinoco are dependable producers. Pisang Klotek (mysore variety) was the tastiest followed by the Unknown (tu'u ghia?) but those two are difficult to fruit and not very dependable in our area.

Good luck!

JaredZone9a

Thanks for the advice man. Do you leave the Namwa all winter, cover them, or bring them in?

Akula

All my plants are out in the yard year round and I cover with frost cloth during the winter. Winterization is a pain but it pays off in our zone.

JaredZone9a

Ok, I’ll do that too. I really want them in the ground. :-)


I bet the frost cloth gets expensive. Especially for the tall species. Can’t imagine trying to cover anything over 10’.

smeash

You can find some really bug rolls online.. granted they will be 200 or so dollars, but will last a long time and cover a ton of plants.
Im in 9a as well and even my dwarf cav stays in the ground under cloth. The only one I kept indoors was my AEAE

JaredZone9a

Do you think a Dwarf Cavendish will make it in our zone.?

cincinnana

You would be hard pressed to kill your plant.....so your good.

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cincinnana

Even if there was a freeze setback most of your plant will sort themselves out in a few weeks..
You are in a great transitional zone where plants adapt to fast changing weather.

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hdynad

I use fruit fuel and it does well for me. Out of all the bananas I grow as far as taste goes Namwah, Dwarf Brazilian & Pitago are my number 1 choices. Although their are many great tasting bananas that many have mentioned but those are my faves. To date!
Happy growing,
Darla

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Currently growing, , DGM Highgate, Blue Java, Dwarf Red, Dwarf Brazilian , Ensete Glaucum, Pitogo, Hoa Moa, Raja Puri, Thai Black, VG Chaing Rai, Manzano, Praying Hands. Yunnan, Hawiaan Crown, Dwarf Red Plantain

JaredZone9a

I just bought 2 bags! Glad to hear it works well. :-)

wm

How about dwarf namwah? Have you grown that. Don't see it on your list but hoping it's just not up to date...wendy

JaredZone9a

Yeah that’s one of the main bananas that I’m trying to grow and I’m gonna try to grow another cold hardy banana That taste good.

This rain though I feel like I’m in a tropical storm right now!

Kostas

From the varieties i have tried(Sucrier, Cavendish, Dwarf Cavendish, Bluggoe, Kandrian, Orinoco & an unknown from Borneo), i would say Sucrier and Kandrian were the best, followed by the Bornean variety & Bluggoe

But i have to say you always enjoy best the ones that are ripening on your banana right now!

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''To try,is to risk failure......To not try,is to guarantee it''

Mudturkle

My absolute best was Iholena Tigua from our place in 9B. Orange fleshed and sweet! Second place, dunno. Maybe like they say, the one you are eating. Dwarf Orinoco seems to be the most dependable for me to fruit with the least care. I am planting them everywhere now. At home 8B, Dw. Brazilian and Raja Puri fruit pretty regularly, but since I'm lazy and don't do winter protection I haven't gotten any to eat. They seem to make bunches just before winter and don't have time to mature. Surprisingly I had Dw. Red fruit at our house 8B. But also surprisingly it blew over and I didn't get them. I definitely need to build something to prevent bananas from folding over with the weight of the stalk. Dw. Orinoco is the exception. They fruit at eye-level, no problem.

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Central Texas Zone 8B and Gulf Coast zone 9B: Raja Puri, Dw. Brazilian, Dw. Orinoco, Dw. NamWah, Dw. Cavendish, Dw. Green?, Dw. Red? Iholena Tigua, Veinte Cohol, Misi Luki, Pisang Raja.