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View Full Version : Any other Vermonters growing bananas?


WendyJane
11-14-2015, 07:45 PM
Just started my banana obsession with a dwarf cavendish. It arrived two weeks ago, and I have seen three new leaves growing thus far. It is in a sunny window, hoping to survive the winter indoors. Any other Vermo terms out there with banana plant, or am I the only cold weather grower?

Snarkie
11-15-2015, 11:04 AM
Not sure about Vermonters, but JP is just north of you in Quebec. Lotsa members growing nanners in Canada, Alaska and norther Europe!

It seems to me there was a thread awhile back, about who has the furthest northern-growing banana.

Tytaylor77
11-15-2015, 07:34 PM
One Hundred Banana Trees in Iceland | Iceland Review (http://m.icelandreview.com/news/2014/11/12/one-hundred-banana-trees-iceland)

This is pretty cool. I ran across it awhile back.

Snarkie
11-15-2015, 07:45 PM
One Hundred Banana Trees in Iceland | Iceland Review (http://m.icelandreview.com/news/2014/11/12/one-hundred-banana-trees-iceland)

This is pretty cool. I ran across it awhile back.I know they are starting to raise bananas and tomatoes there, in greenhouses heated by geothermal springs. Due to lack of sunlight, it takes two years for the trees to fruit. They are predicting that in a few years, Iceland may actually be an exporter of tomatoes!

Parallax
12-06-2015, 07:44 PM
If I wanted to grow a single banana plant for my own consumption and I live in a cold, wet place, what would you all recommend? Is there a plant that could grow indoors, without a tremendous amount of sunlight or heat, that doesn't get too tall and that produces bananas that taste good? If so, there's a spot next to the staircase in my home that might be perfect for it. We're buried in the woods so don't really get any direct sunlight but there is a skylight over the foyer so it's the brightest part of our home.

cincinnana
12-07-2015, 05:03 AM
If I wanted to grow a single banana plant for my own consumption and I live in a cold, wet place, what would you all recommend? Is there a plant that could grow indoors, without a tremendous amount of sunlight or heat, that doesn't get too tall and that produces bananas that taste good? If so, there's a spot next to the staircase in my home that might be perfect for it. We're buried in the woods so don't really get any direct sunlight but there is a skylight over the foyer so it's the brightest part of our home.

A plant will not thrive and produce with the conditions you described.

A banana plant is a very tropical plant and to have it grow one must duplicate those conditions.
A good source of information can be found on Youtube; some of videos will describe the conditions you will need to replicate.

Parallax
12-07-2015, 11:59 AM
A plant will not thrive and produce with the conditions you described.

A banana plant is a very tropical plant and to have it grow one must duplicate those conditions.
A good source of information can be found on Youtube; some of videos will describe the conditions you will need to replicate.

Thanks for responding to my question. My guess is it would be inordinately expensive to reproduce those conditions. Light wouldn't be that hard. LED bulbs are very efficient. But heat would be a real challenge.

Snarkie
12-07-2015, 12:06 PM
Dwarf Cavendish with a grow light and a heat mat. What do you think Mike; any other options?

Parallax
12-07-2015, 12:10 PM
Dwarf Cavendish with a grow light and a heat mat. What do you think Mike; any other options?

Thanks. Are Dwarf Cavendish bananas any better than those bought in the store? My goal is to move beyond the banality of industrial-strength bananas that taste like they were manufactured in a plant along the New Jersey Turnpike.

Snarkie
12-07-2015, 12:16 PM
Thanks. Are Dwarf Cavendish bananas any better than those bought in the store? My goal is to move beyond the banality of industrial-strength bananas that taste like they were manufactured in a plant along the New Jersey Turnpike.Cincinnanna can answer that question for you, as I'm only into the ornamentals.

Anything growing along the Jersey Turnpike is going to taste like the Land of 10,000 Stinks smells, so I would assume that even a banana grown in a nuclear hog lagoon would taste better than anything from Jersey.

Kegas76
12-07-2015, 01:25 PM
But its the Garden State...

Snarkie
12-07-2015, 01:35 PM
But its the Garden State...That's because it has a Rosenbloom on every corner! :ha:

Jeez, I hope people from out of the area get that...

Parallax
12-07-2015, 01:52 PM
My wife's there now, visiting family. So many people in that entire region from Boston to D.C. Whenever I'm there, I'm always wanting to return home.

Snarkie
12-07-2015, 01:54 PM
Why? I moved out of there 32 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. :2722:

Parallax
12-07-2015, 01:56 PM
By home, I mean Washington state. I left the east coast in 1985 and haven't looked back.

Kat2
12-07-2015, 02:46 PM
Do you grow tomatoes or just shade plants? I have large trees on my property and quite a bit of shade; my bananas get about 4 hours of direct sun daily. Yes, I realize I'm in a hotter climate but light is light; bananas like it very much. Mine haven't produced yet and probably would prefer more blazing sunshine but they're very healthy; they'll fruit when they're ready. We have a couple of members growing bananas in Washington; I hope they'll chime in with suggestions for you.

Snarkie
12-07-2015, 03:15 PM
By home, I mean Washington state. I left the east coast in 1985 and haven't looked back.Now THAT makes sense!!!

Parallax
12-07-2015, 10:59 PM
Do you grow tomatoes or just shade plants? I have large trees on my property and quite a bit of shade; my bananas get about 4 hours of direct sun daily. Yes, I realize I'm in a hotter climate but light is light; bananas like it very much. Mine haven't produced yet and probably would prefer more blazing sunshine but they're very healthy; they'll fruit when they're ready. We have a couple of members growing bananas in Washington; I hope they'll chime in with suggestions for you.

I hope so too. Our yard gets maybe an hour of direct sunlight and the weather is frequently dreary so I'm guessing this would be an indoor adventure.

Mark Dragt
12-07-2015, 11:54 PM
I would at least grow a Basjoo outside. Not going to get any fruit from it, but also can leave it in the ground with protection. Most other would have to be stored indoors for winter. I have a few Orinoco pups if you want to try one in the spring. I have a mystery banana plant that I think is a Dwarf Cavenish. You are welcome to one of those as well. I grew 10 different banana plants this last year. I grew them all in pots. Now they are all in the garage sleeping for the winter. So I will have more available for the taking next season.
:nanadrink:

Parallax
12-08-2015, 12:11 AM
I would at least grow a Basjoo outside. Not going to get any fruit from it, but also can leave it in the ground with protection. Most other would have to be stored indoors for winter. I have a few Orinoco pups if you want to try one in the spring. I have a mystery banana plant that I think is a Dwarf Cavenish. You are welcome to one of those as well. I grew 10 different banana plants this last year. I grew them all in pots. Now they are all in the garage sleeping for the winter. So I will have more available for the taking next season.
:nanadrink:

That's really generous of you. I wouldn't want anything that's not going to produce bananas because, for me, that's the point. But I'd love to try something that might. Does a Dwarf Cavendish taste any better than a supermarket banana? Are Orinoco pups small enough to produce while in a pot under a 9 foot ceiling?

Mark Dragt
12-08-2015, 10:06 PM
Last year was the first year that I put any real effort into growing bananas. No fruit yet. No flower yet. So as far as taste I do not know. Will it flower and fruit in a big pot? I think so. Will the fruit get ripe before winter? It will if you get the flower in the spring. For success I am going to put my money on some short cycle banana plants. I have two plants now and am going to purchase more in the spring. Short cycle plants have a shorter flower to ripe fruit time. If you have a tall enough heated greenhouse, than you could grow a lot of different banana plants and be successful. With our crazy weather I would encourage you to grow many different plants and see what works best for you.
:nanadrink:

Mark Dragt
12-08-2015, 10:30 PM
That's really generous of you. I wouldn't want anything that's not going to produce bananas because, for me, that's the point. But I'd love to try something that might. Does a Dwarf Cavendish taste any better than a supermarket banana? Are Orinoco pups small enough to produce while in a pot under a 9 foot ceiling?

I believe these Orinoco plants flower at about 12 feet. Maybe a little shorter in a pot. I think the Dwarf Cavendish flowers around 7 or 8 feet. Maybe less in a pot. Now something you must know is that plant heights are pstem heights. That does not include the next leaf coming straight up out of the middle of the stem, before it finds its spot on the sides of the plant. So if you want to grow indoors the Dwarf Cavendish would be your best bet. I hope this helps, and I hope I can get you some plants.:nanadrink:

Parallax
12-08-2015, 10:52 PM
I believe these Orinoco plants flower at about 12 feet. Maybe a little shorter in a pot. I think the Dwarf Cavendish flowers around 7 or 8 feet. Maybe less in a pot. Now something you must know is that plant heights are pstem heights. That does not include the next leaf coming straight up out of the middle of the stem, before it finds its spot on the sides of the plant. So if you want to grow indoors the Dwarf Cavendish would be your best bet. I hope this helps, and I hope I can get you some plants.:nanadrink:

Thanks so much, Mark. How high would the ceiling have to be to make a dwarf plant work?

Mark Dragt
12-08-2015, 11:06 PM
Thanks so much, Mark. How high would the ceiling have to be to make a dwarf plant work?

My dwarf plants are still realy small. I have not got one to full size yet. Maybe someone will chime in that grows the Dwarf Cavedish to fruiting size. I just got mine late in the summer. I also have a Truly Tiny that would never outgrow a indoor location. Fruiting this plant is hit and miss.

Parallax
12-09-2015, 02:32 AM
My dwarf plants are still realy small. I have not got one to full size yet. Maybe someone will chime in that grows the Dwarf Cavedish to fruiting size. I just got mine late in the summer. I also have a Truly Tiny that would never outgrow a indoor location. Fruiting this plant is hit and miss.

If fruiting is hit and miss and it's likely to taste like a store-bought banana, wh do it?

geissene
12-09-2015, 12:35 PM
Its a labor of love... I'd like to get bananas from my plants, but its always going to be cheaper to buy the fruit.

Parallax
12-09-2015, 01:33 PM
Its a labor of love... I'd like to get bananas from my plants, but its always going to be cheaper to buy the fruit.

I don't mind spending more and I don't mind the work. Gardening is deeply satisfying, with a spiritual dimension. But I'd want to have a decent shot at producing something and have it taste good. Can anyone tell me if a Dwarf Cavendish grown at home, if one can indeed get it to prosper and fruit, will taste better than an industrial-strength store-bought Cavendish?

Mark Dragt
12-10-2015, 11:17 PM
Its a labor of love... I'd like to get bananas from my plants, but its always going to be cheaper to buy the fruit.

Yes it is a labor of love. For me it's so rewarding watching them grow. They grow so fast when the weather is sunny and warm. I do expect to get bananas at some point, but weather or not they get ripe before winter, we will see.
:nanadrink: