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Old 05-01-2009, 03:12 AM   #3 (permalink)
chong
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Location: Seattle, WA
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Name: Chong
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Default Re: Still Think TX Star Can't Handle Zone6? - How About Zone 4?

Hello Ronald,
Yes, the TX Star is the banana that is promoted by the Ty Ty Nursery in the town of the same name in GA. Yes, they claim that it did come from Wichita Falls, TX. I believe that the CA Gold also came from that part in TX. The stories of the sources of these plants are so similar that you'd suspect that they are the same plant. However, there are some members here that may be upset if you did imply that. So I won't go there. Yes, also, there's been a lot of bad press on TyTy Nursery, but as I stated earlier, I've gotten reasonably good experience with them.

Some people have said that the Texas Star is in fact an Orinoco. I would disagree to the extent that they say that they are one and the same. I believe that it could be a mutation from the Dwarf Orinoco or Dwarf Brazilian, though the Dwarf Brazilian is not as cold hardy as the D. Orinoco. Many people who own CA Gold have said that perhaps it is a mutant of the Orinoco, also.

One thing that I can piece together is that they both appear to be of the Bluggo type of banana from the region of Rio Orinoco in South America. Both promoters of each plant claim that they got them from TX(separately), from a Mexican farmer (separately), who each brought the plant from Mexico.

Here is a picture that I got from my archives, which in turn came from the GardenWeb site:

(L-R) CA Gold, TX Star, and CA Hardy

The picture is no longer available at the GardenWeb forum that I got it from, but I think it was someone named Jon from TX. I wish I could find the picture that showed the fruits from the different plants.

Yesterday, I posted an update of the plants I ordered from TyTy Nursery last September 2008:
Surprise Texas Star Banana shipment from Ty Ty Nursery
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