Quote:
Originally Posted by banana-monkey-banana
RandyGHO - So at least in general, do bananas usually ripen/bloom in summer, autumn, early winter or late spring in USDA Zone 8?
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I could be wrong because I don't live in zone 8, but I think the answer is that they hardly ever ripen in Zone 8 without protection because the plants or bunches get killed by freezes. In that zone, there are probably more blooms in late summer - fall because you've had several months of good conditions for plant growth, but these get killed by winter freezes. If you can get a plant to flower in spring, you could get ripe bananas in fall. Otherwise, without greenhouse-style protection, you will never get ripe fruit.
They will bloom in any season provided they are big enough and actively growing. They are not inherently a seasonal plant -- you need to provide adequate conditions for a non-seasonal, tropical plant in a non-tropical environment. If you had them in a temperature-controlled greenhouse -- i.e., constant temperature -- they would bloom and ripen any time of year. I think there is evidence they would bloom a bit more in spring and summer, probably because there are more hours of sunlight to drive photosynthesis and growth.