View Full Version : SoCal grown Bananas: tastes & maturation times
Richard
06-24-2015, 12:43 PM
Here's some of my experiences with growing bananas in southern California - San Diego specifically zones 9b and 10b. Other SoCal members please chime in!
The maturation times are from pup to harvest and only for buds emerging spring-summer. For buds emerging other times (and fruit maturing through winter) add about 6 months.
Namwa -- tall, medium, and dwarf: 18 mo., large bunches, fruity flavor.
Brazilian -- tall, medium, and dwarf: 18 mo., small bunches, mild subacid flavor.
Orinoco -- dwarf: 18 mo., medium bunches, strong subacid flavor.
African Rhinohorn -- 2 years, small bunch, good cooking in green stage but difficult to ripen to fresh eating stage.
Cavendish -- dwarf & super dwarf: 18 mo. medium bunches, bland flavor. The SDC fruit size is tiny, hardly any flesh within peel.
1000 Fingers: 18 mo. 1000's of tiny fingers with negligible flesh between the peels.
Pisang Ceylon: 18 mo., medium-large bunch.
"Temple Banana": 2.5 years, small bunch.
PR-Giants
06-24-2015, 03:21 PM
The African Rhinohorn photo that you posted was definitely not an African Rhinohorn.:lurk: Your bunch had about 70 to 80 small fruit.
Here's what they should look like. :waving:
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=51083 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=51083)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=51747 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=51747)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=57173 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=57173&ppuser=12081)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=51290&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=51290)
Here's some of my experiences with growing bananas in southern California - San Diego specifically zones 9b and 10b. Other SoCal members please chime in!
The maturation times are from pup to harvest and only for buds emerging spring-summer. For buds emerging other times (and fruit maturing through winter) add about 6 months.
Namwa -- tall, medium, and dwarf: 18 mo., large bunches, fruity flavor.
Brazilian -- tall, medium, and dwarf: 18 mo., small bunches, mild subacid flavor.
Orinoco -- dwarf: 18 mo., medium bunches, strong subacid flavor.
African Rhinohorn -- 2 years, small bunch, good cooking in green stage but difficult to ripen to fresh eating stage.
Cavendish -- dwarf & super dwarf: 18 mo. medium bunches, bland flavor. The SDC fruit size is tiny, hardly any flesh within peel.
1000 Fingers: 18 mo. 1000's of tiny fingers with negligible flesh between the peels.
Pisang Ceylon: 18 mo., medium-large bunch.
"Temple Banana": 2.5 years, small bunch.
Going Bananas
06-24-2015, 03:48 PM
PRG
This site is for SoCal growers.
I guess Richard made this thread
to exclude your comments & opinions...unfortunately!
Great idea for a thread!
Ill be keeping an eye on this as more
SoCal members chime in.
Thank you!
PR-Giants
06-24-2015, 06:33 PM
PRG
This site is for SoCal growers.
I guess Richard made this thread
to exclude your comments & opinions...unfortunately!
Great idea for a thread!
Ill be keeping an eye on this as more
SoCal members chime in.
Thank you!
unfortunately the expert banana
growers in SoCal 'sunfish' (http://www.bananas.org/member-sunfish.html) & 'momoese' (http://www.bananas.org/member-momoese.html)
don't post much anymore
while doing research on the Tigua
I read it was the fastest growing
banana in SoCal & someone else
wrote it grew well in San Jose
Gabe15 also posted on that thread
I figured if it was that fast in SoCal it'll
do well in other parts of the US
those Cali reports really helped:lurk:
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=51479 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=51479)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=51047 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=51047)
Richard
06-24-2015, 06:35 PM
PRG ... I guess Richard made this thread to exclude your comments & opinions...
Nobody is excluded. I'm hoping people will post information relevant to SoCal banana growers.
:08:
I was searching around for information Going Bananas has been asking about and found it buried in threads of other titles, etc. If I have time before going on vacation I'll re-post some of it here. Probably faster though for SoCal folks with their information "on the tips of their fingers" just to type it in.
Richard
06-24-2015, 09:37 PM
In terms of suitability, here's a post from 2011 regarding Santa Ana winds.
Here in West LA I have lost several tall plants over the years to the Santa Ana winds, broken in half like toothpicks. Check my gallery for Red Jamaicans and you'll see the damage.
Richard
06-24-2015, 09:44 PM
Here's momoese again, talking about his experiences in West Los Angeles.
Here in So Cal it takes 6-7 months from bloom to ripe fruit.
PR-Giants
06-25-2015, 07:33 AM
There are many different bananas and they have different flavors and different ripening times.
The Tigua, Iholena subgroup, in San Diego bloomed on March 12 and was ripe on June 3, the bunch was huge.
83 days is still very long compared to the time it takes in the tropics, but for San Diego it's
much better than waiting 6-7 months from bloom to ripe fruit.
Here's momoese again, talking about his experiences in West Los Angeles.
PR-Giants
06-25-2015, 07:37 AM
I'll have to go back and check when my bananas bloomed. I am pretty sure I've got some that have taken 8 months or more.
WoW...8 months or more.
Richard
06-25-2015, 02:05 PM
Here's some information from Mark (venturabananas (http://www.bananas.org/member-venturabananas.html)) about his Orinoco in Ventura CA.
Orinoco ripe 1 year later (http://www.bananas.org/f2/orinoco-ripe-1-year-later-16937.html)
sddarkman619
06-25-2015, 03:09 PM
Hey Richard...
Monday the 29th I am having 144 gros michels sent to me.
They are FINALLY ready.
I updated my thread but I think you and I chatted in a PM?
Be in touch.
Larry
Richard
06-27-2015, 12:44 PM
Another informative post from Mark:In Southern California, 2-3 years from TC is good, from my experience and what I've heard and seen from others. In fact, that's what I'd expect from plants started from pups, too. In good conditions (e.g., not too close to other plants). Without a greenhouse, you can't expect tropical rates of growth in our climate. Most varieties grow extremely slowly, if at all, during our winters, especially those with all A genomes like the Cavendish varieties.
Don't expect estimates of time to flower from plants grown in different climates to apply to yours. And don't even expect relative differences among cultivars to apply, because different genes can respond to climates differently. But experiment and tell us which do best for you.
Of course, PR-G makes good points about all the kinds of things that can affect growth. I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who gets bananas to fruit faster or make bigger bunches, regardless of climate.
PR-Giants
06-27-2015, 04:47 PM
2 weeks of similar temps in 80's should result in similar root growth.
Good healthy roots will increase the plants growth rate.
http://www.bananas.org/f312/grow-more-stimulant-21366.html
GB
Growth rates depends on more than who
can dump the most fertilizer and hormones
on their plant, aeration plays a major role.
This pup was planted in a pot of river sand (a.k.a. clean course sand) and after 14 days it shows good root development. Only water was added as needed, no fertilizer, no growth hormones, no magic. Roots need the proper amount of air & moisture to maximize growth. When these roots reach an area high in organics the above ground growth takes off. .
Now some folks will point to my climate in the tropics as the reason for the quality roots and that 14 days of temps in the 80's is rare in the States or wherever.
Williams pup - April 26, 2013
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=52982 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=52982&ppuser=12081)
Williams pup - May 10, 2013
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=52983 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=52983&ppuser=12081)
Richard
06-25-2017, 12:50 AM
I thought this thread would be useful to newer members of the forum, so I'm reposting the original subject.
Here's some of my experiences with growing bananas in southern California - San Diego specifically zones 9b and 10b. Other SoCal members please chime in!
The maturation times are from pup to harvest and only for buds emerging spring-summer. For buds emerging other times (and fruit maturing through winter) add about 6 months.
Namwa -- tall, medium, and dwarf: 18 mo., large bunches, fruity flavor.
Brazilian -- tall, medium, and dwarf: 18 mo., small bunches, mild subacid flavor.
Orinoco -- dwarf: 18 mo., medium bunches, strong subacid flavor.
African Rhinohorn -- 2 years, small bunch, good cooking in green stage but difficult to ripen to fresh eating stage.
Cavendish -- dwarf & super dwarf: 18 mo. medium bunches, bland flavor. The SDC fruit size is tiny, hardly any flesh within peel.
1000 Fingers: 18 mo. 1000's of tiny fingers with negligible flesh between the peels.
Pisang Ceylon: 18 mo., medium-large bunch, good to excellent flavor.
"Temple Banana": 2.5 years, small bunch, bland flavor.
luisport
06-25-2017, 03:40 AM
Well i can contribute with my experience of our extreme winter. This year we got the coldest ever temp on my region of -6.5C and i only lost two banana plants, the dwarf cavendish and the dwarf red. Even my lacatan started to sprout last week! One important thing is that even with this low temp our soil never freezes, our day temp are always positive and we never got snow acumulation.
Zacarias
07-09-2017, 06:51 AM
Richard,
I see you mentioned that post Cavendish and Brazilian or Namwah are 18 months. Yet I know Cavendish don't do that well in San Diego compared to Namwah and Brazilian. So, how come they are all 18 mo? Do you protect Cavendish more? Thanks.
Z
Richard
07-09-2017, 09:10 AM
Richard, I see you mentioned that post Cavendish and Brazilian or Namwah are 18 months. Yet I know Cavendish don't do that well in San Diego compared to Namwah and Brazilian. So, how come they are all 18 mo? Do you protect Cavendish more?
I don't protect my bananas. In my experience all three have the same maturation time but the taste of Cavendish is not as good compared to the other two.
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