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Yug
03-30-2011, 11:45 PM
Today I purchased a small potted banana from Wal-Mart. On one side it had a tag reading 'Lady Finger', and on the other side it said Manzano, true Apple banana. I thought those were all different types. It looks different from the other young banana plants I've seen since it has a lot of pink on the pseudostem. Can some experienced folks shed some light on whether these are all the same or not? I already have something called a Dwarf-Apple (just today I noticed the first pink tip of a 'pup' poking about 1 1/2 inch out of the ground :woohoonaner: ) and I'm curious to see if this will have about the same fruit, or not.

cherokee_greg
03-30-2011, 11:48 PM
I ran into this allot probally mislabled.

Yug
03-30-2011, 11:57 PM
I ran into this allot probally mislabled.

They had 5 pots of 'em, all labeled the same way. A 6th one was merely an Apple banana.

venturabananas
03-31-2011, 12:40 AM
Yug, it is a Manzano. See the following document:

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/nelsons/banana/BananaSynonymsHawaii.pdf

According to this document, the main banana called "ladyfinger" in Hawaii is Manzano, or true Apple.

Your "dwarf apple" is more commonly known in the mainland US as dwarf Brazilian.

To my tastes, you have two real winners, which are quite distinct from each other.

Yug
03-31-2011, 03:45 PM
Yug, it is a Manzano. See the following document:

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/nelsons/banana/BananaSynonymsHawaii.pdf

According to this document, the main banana called "ladyfinger" in Hawaii is Manzano, or true Apple.

Your "dwarf apple" is more commonly known in the mainland US as dwarf Brazilian.

To my tastes, you have two real winners, which are quite distinct from each other.

That page is a good source of info - I'm going to have to save it.

Much thanks!:08:

Gabe15
03-31-2011, 04:34 PM
Ladyfinger refers to many different cultivars depending on where in the world you are, its a very confusing name. I would agree though that in this case, it is likely 'Manzano', but with such an unreliable source you can never really know for sure until it flowerrs.

Be careful with the Hawaii info as only in Hawaii are the Brazilian types called "apple". On the mainland and elsewhere, "apple" is normally in reference to other types of bananas. If you got a 'Dwarf Apple' in Hawaii, it is 'Dwarf Brazilian', but if you got a 'Dwarf Apple' on the mainland, it could easily be a different type.

Yug
03-31-2011, 10:27 PM
Ladyfinger refers to many different cultivars depending on where in the world you are, its a very confusing name. I would agree though that in this case, it is likely 'Manzano', but with such an unreliable source you can never really know for sure until it flowerrs.

Be careful with the Hawaii info as only in Hawaii are the Brazilian types called "apple". On the mainland and elsewhere, "apple" is normally in reference to other types of bananas. If you got a 'Dwarf Apple' in Hawaii, it is 'Dwarf Brazilian', but if you got a 'Dwarf Apple' on the mainland, it could easily be a different type.

Thanks!

The dwarf Apple did come from Hawaii. What did you mean about not being sure until the Manzano flowers? What does one look for?