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View Full Version : What is your favourite banana plant and why?


sverrirb
09-23-2012, 10:13 AM
So what is your favourite banana plant to grow and why? Is it the fruit? Is it ornamental values or is it simply you bond specially well to some variety?

2woodensticks
09-23-2012, 01:01 PM
for speed my Orinoco's...color has to be my jamaican dwarfs...anticipation has to be my praying hands{first time}fruit is hands down any red skinned fruit,just love it but cant always find them...but over all it will to be well all of them of course...

sib
09-23-2012, 06:25 PM
Mine is the Saba banana because mine got chewed up twice by my Great Dane puppy. Two years in the row the poor plant lost all but maybe one leaf which was also pretty chewed up. The plant was around 2-3 feet tall and every time it looked like a gonner and came back again. Last year and this year for the first time ever it grew without any damage from my dane who is now 4 and much better behaved. It is now as tall as our house (rambler) and has 6 big leaves. It put forth it's best growth this year. I am very happy with it but stressed now because it will not fit in the house for the winter anymore and I will have to chop it a bit to fit inside. I live in WA state.
Sib

Illia
12-03-2012, 04:52 PM
You're in WA state and grow Sabas? That's awesome. I love seeing more locals growing edible type bananas.

I don't have enough experience yet to name a true favorite, but so far really it's any unusual variety. Although Namwahs are the toughest out here in my experience, I love the anticipation of odd ones like Thousand Fingers, Praying Hands, etc. I hope to get to know the beauty and anticipation in Red Kru and Ae Ae as well.

Edited to add - Come the time, we'll see if maybe Velutina would be my favorite. It's a wildtype species, seeded, grows fast yet small, is very hardy, has amazing pink fruit, . . . I just have yet to figure if I like the taste.

edzone9
12-04-2012, 04:33 PM
Anything Plantain , PR Dwarf Plantain :08:

island cassie
12-04-2012, 05:57 PM
A really good cultivar of Orinoco when the fruit is left to ripen on the plant until the skin goes orange - takes some beating! Just delicious! After that I guess the Tall Red and the Orito are neck and neck - Manzano is great too. All of the above are superb when left to ripen on the plant (I keep banging on about this, but folks cut the bunches too soon). I leave mine until the fingers start to turn yellow on the plant, then I cut them down and wait some more. Of course they then have to be eaten speedily, but the improvement in flavour makes it worthwhile.

ron_mcb
12-04-2012, 09:13 PM
A really good cultivar of Orinoco when the fruit is left to ripen on the plant until the skin goes orange - takes some beating! .
probably the only person past zone 8 who dosent think orinoco is poisonous.. don't know why I like orinoco and most any plantain.. When they look like theyre rotting on the outside they are just right on the inside. I mostly eat them raw.

Abnshrek
12-04-2012, 09:16 PM
probably the only person past zone 8 who dosent think orinoco is poisonous.

maybe they get frozen.. :^)

trebor
12-05-2012, 04:51 AM
MANANZO for flavor .. If I can keep them on The plant allow them to turn yellow. Pick a few to eat. The flavor is incredible .. The skin tends to split if there is excessive rain wile ripening so you need to keep an eye on them daily at that time.
Double Mahoi because of the double bloom :)
Jamaican Reds for color
If ya can't eat it, it ain't growing in my back yard !

Abnshrek
12-05-2012, 11:15 AM
If ya can't eat it, it ain't growing in my back yard !

Now that's the truth.. :^)

Tampa-K
12-05-2012, 07:10 PM
So far the Dwarf Cavendish because it is the only one that has provided fruit so far.

Yug
12-05-2012, 07:23 PM
I'll reserve judgement until I have tasted all the ones I'm growing.

cheson74
01-02-2013, 04:30 PM
Dwarf Brazilians. Tastes great and very vigorous. However, i cant wait til the Mysore fruits. I hear it also taste great. Second would have to be the Dwarf Namwah.

Julian
01-04-2013, 11:18 PM
Dwarf Brazilians. Tastes great and very vigorous. However, i cant wait til the Mysore fruits. I hear it also taste great. Second would have to be the Dwarf Namwah.


Did you get your Mysore from Ko'olau? Mine has BSV, and it's not really thriving. I took it out of my yard before any of my other plants got it. It's at my work place, so I am still caring for it.

cheson74
01-05-2013, 05:09 PM
Did you get your Mysore from Ko'olau? Mine has BSV, and it's not really thriving. I took it out of my yard before any of my other plants got it. It's at my work place, so I am still caring for it.

No I got it at Walmart. It sent up its first pup already.

robguz24
01-05-2013, 07:01 PM
I'd have to say Dwarf Brazilian also. Easy to grow, and still about the best banana I have tasted. Maybe a boring choice because they are probably the most common banana where I live. But in this case it is for some very good reasons. Some other bananas I've tried are extremely good (Namwah, Gros Michel, Raja Puri, Mysore) but I get tired of them after a while. I can eat Dwarf Brazilians every day and still enjoy them. They're a staple in my home. Now once I start getting SH3640s, that may be another I could enjoy every day.

Julian
01-05-2013, 11:45 PM
No I got it at Walmart. It sent up its first pup already.

Mine has a pup also but, it's got these ugly lines running down some leaves. The plant was about five feet tall when I got it, but I cut it in half. It started showing signs of BSV after I transplanted it. Gabe said that BSV is not that big of a deal, but it sure is ugly. I think Walmart and Koolau get there plants from the same nurseries on the Big Island. Glad that yours is doing better than mine.:08:

cuban007
09-12-2014, 11:01 PM
Imho Manzano and Misi Luki are excellent tasting bananas.

Lau
09-13-2014, 12:19 PM
I like Namva (Pisang Awak) and Ice-cream, because they are so reliable and produce every year. Jamaican Red and Dwarf Giant are beautiful plants and the fruit is very yummy, but it takes a long time to produce fruit. DC and my large unknown banana were my first plants very healthy well established and the bananas are good too. The rest of my bananas plants haven't produced fruit yet, so I could have a new favorite some day.:goteam:

Timtim
10-31-2014, 04:29 AM
Lady Fingers and Apple Bananas here which are absolutely divine however a pain to grow. I am not giving up though!

City Farm
08-11-2015, 07:00 PM
So what is your favourite banana plant to grow and why? Is it the fruit? Is it ornamental values or is it simply you bond specially well to some variety?

Bring home the bananas. . We love them all!:goteam:

siege2050
08-12-2015, 02:07 AM
Tall Orinoco for their size, ability to store so well dormant, and they grow great in Oklahoma heat, and clay. Species type would be zebrina, it doesnt even look like a real plant if you get one grown well, and it is prolific, and Thai Black for its rapid growth rate, and looks great in full sun. If it proves to really be cold hardy in my zone 7, I will like it even more. My Bordelon is starting to look pretty nice also.

hydroid
08-17-2015, 11:35 PM
I like the Saba for shear size and hardiness, although I hear Kandrian is even bigger. I like the Namwah for a reliable fruiter and fairly tasty.

Mark Dragt
08-18-2015, 12:12 AM
No fruit yet, so this could change. Namwah for its looks. Truly Tiny for its ability to through pups. Orinoco because, well my good buddy Al gave it to me.

PR-Giants
08-18-2015, 08:16 AM
My favorite banana plants to grow are the Hawaiian & Pacific cooking bananas. They're incredibly easy to grow but here the niche market for the fruit is too tiny to make it worthwhile.

Lau
08-18-2015, 10:01 PM
My favorite banana plant to grow is the Namwah. They are delicious, easy to grow and will bloom in any size container.:woohoonaner:

Richard
08-20-2015, 11:42 PM
Local environment is a key factor. I'm about 60 miles SE of Susan Lau (http://www.bananas.org/member-lau.html). Namwa is also a great performer here and the taste is well above average. I've currently got 169 fingers ripening.

Yuri Barros
08-22-2015, 05:55 PM
My favorite is my Praying Hands............

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=58446&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=58446&ppuser=11331)

But also Nanners.............