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View Full Version : How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?


banana13
07-06-2013, 09:56 AM
Hello. I have a mystery banana in a pot that i think is orinoco, but want to know weather it is dwarf or not. Isn't there some way to tell using the leaves, using some proportion of length to width? Any help appreciated. THanks.

andy17
07-06-2013, 10:24 AM
Hello. I have a mystery banana in a pot that i think is orinoco, but want to know weather it is dwarf or not. Isn't there some way to tell using the leaves, using some proportion of length to width? Any help appreciated. THanks.

Hi banana13, sometimes it's hard to tell whether a banana is a dwarf or tall variety when it's young. The most reliable way to tell is to let the plant flower, as this will tell you for sure the plant's max pseudostem height. But generally, you can tell by the distances between leaf stems. Dwarf bananas tend to be stockier and more stout than their tall versions, and the spacing of the leaves is much closer. I believe the dwarf orinoco gets to be about 6-7 feet whereas the tall orinoco gets to be about 11-13 feet. That's a huge difference, so the difference in leaf spacing should be really clear. Hope this helps!

Here's a picture by gabe15 showing the difference between super dwarf cavendish and dwarf cavendish:

jack hagenaars
07-07-2013, 11:45 AM
dwarfs have a funny little hat and big boots:ha:

banana13
07-07-2013, 01:41 PM
dwarfs have a funny little hat and big boots:ha:

Strange, mine has the boots but doesn't have the hat!! what is it then, semi dwarf?!?

sunfish
07-07-2013, 03:43 PM
By the size of it's hands

LilRaverBoi
07-08-2013, 12:44 AM
Let it grow....then you will be able to tell.

caliboy1994
07-08-2013, 03:22 AM
Short petioles are usually a good indicator.