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View Full Version : "Ice cream" banana cold hardy?


banana berserker
01-04-2008, 07:22 PM
In the spring Im going to buy my first banana tree (actualy its considered a perrenial). I want an ice cream banana tree, but i want to make sure its cold hardy. Im a nooby and dont know a lot about bananas.

Bananaman88
01-04-2008, 11:25 PM
Berserker,

I haven't personally grown Ice Cream but from what I have read it is somewhat "cool hardy", meaning maybe zone 8-9. It isn't cold hardy like Musa basjoo. Let a few other people weigh in with their opinions and see what they say. I think there are several here who grow this one.

buzzwinder
01-05-2008, 01:01 AM
Berzerker, where ya from, zones help alot with figuring out hardiness, I'm in 4-5 N. Illinois 8 miles from Wisc. border. I seem to be in a pocket that can be 4 or 5, depending on mother nature and how she feels at the moment:nanadrink:

banana berserker
01-05-2008, 02:01 AM
hey guys thanks for the info so far im in central valley in california zone 9 so most bananas would like here but this winter its gotten colder than ever so this spring i want cold hardy and though ive herd dwarf cavendish are good trees ive seen somebodies cavendish and ice cream that have gone through the same winter, the ice cream looked great while the cavendish look dead.

bencelest
01-05-2008, 01:56 PM
I am in zone 9 and I have a lot of dwarf cavendish pups that are growing beautifully inside my covered patio. In fact all of my bananas including the double mahoi are doing real nice in my patio. So if you are interested PM me. I live in Salinas.

harveyc
01-06-2008, 06:26 PM
In the spring Im going to buy my first banana tree (actualy its considered a perrenial). I want an ice cream banana tree, but i want to make sure its cold hardy. Im a nooby and dont know a lot about bananas.

I see you are up near Rocklin on the map. You should put that in your profile as it will be easier for more folks to help you. I don't know some of the other members I see located just south of you but Microfarmer is not far away and you should probably go pay him a visit. Maybe he can sell you a so-called "California Gold" pup since they fruit reliably in our climate. I'm further south down in the Delta, but our climate is pretty similar. This year has not been that gold, actually. Last year was much colder in January and so was 1990. We had 20F at our place last January and my Ice Cream died but my two Dwarf Orinoco and one Raja puri had pups come back from the corm after the pseudostems died from the freeze. I don't see anything that has died yet this year. You might also try a Dwarf Brazilian. They have such a stout pseudostem that it may be what helps them seem to be pretty hardy. Joe Real from Davis thinks his is hardier than his California Gold.

Good luck and welcome to the board!

karunasagar108
01-06-2008, 10:43 PM
I am growing an Ice Cream banana under an oak canopy and it just survived 27F easy. I have 7 other verities in the same area and the ice cream lost the fewest leaves to freeze. Though it could be due to many different reasons, it sure seems hardy to me.

harveyc
01-06-2008, 11:06 PM
I am growing an Ice Cream banana under an oak canopy and it just survived 27F easy. I have 7 other verities in the same area and the ice cream lost the fewest leaves to freeze. Though it could be due to many different reasons, it sure seems hardy to me.

What were the other varieties?

I'm not saying it isn't hardy, but it didn't survive our 20F last January while others did. I thought it was hardier than some of those but mine wasn't.

karunasagar108
01-07-2008, 09:25 AM
The Ice Cream is hardier then the sweetheart, a dwarf red banana, just about as hardy as the apple it is close to, and more hardy then a dwarf cav. Also, the ice cream seemed to get less damage then the raja puri planted near it

lloyd
01-11-2008, 09:20 AM
After the first winter - plant in ground 12 months - where temps occasionally hit 25F I had a bloom May 1st. The following winter - by records not one bit colder - they died slap to the ground. Go figure! But the same thing happened to four other varieties, the only exception being the dwarf Orinoco.

MediaHound
01-11-2008, 12:06 PM
http://www.bananas.org/wiki/Musa_Ice_Cream_%28Blue_Java%29

microfarmer
01-11-2008, 03:01 PM
So far my Ice Cream, in the ground, heavily mulched with horse compost, with nothing more than fried leaves folded down, and a lawn-n-leaf bag on it, (with no other protection) is still green and standing tall. If it's still alive, I won't know 'til spring.

I also have Cardaba, Cheesmanii, Mysore, Goldfinger, Manzano, Dwarf Orinoco, CA Gold, and Zebrina all standing tall and green, except for CA Gold and zebrina, which are standing short and green.

Last year was much worse with alot more nights below 32 degrees...in a row...

Tropicallvr
01-11-2008, 08:12 PM
In the spring Im going to buy my first banana tree (actualy its considered a perrenial). I want an ice cream banana tree, but i want to make sure its cold hardy. Im a nooby and dont know a lot about bananas.

Are you set on Ice cream? If I was starting on my first banana I'd do dwarf orinico, Dwarf brazilian, and maybe Musa 'Belle'. But if your ready to shell out a few bucks for a cold hardy edible, Musa "CA gold" would definatly be a good choice.

bigdog
01-11-2008, 09:45 PM
I can give you a good idea of how cold-hardy the corms are after this winter! I am unintentionally testing three mats of Ice Cream in the ground by intentionally not digging them up this year, lol. For the past couple of years, I have tried to overwinter the pseudostem under the house, but each year the center leaf always rots out on me. So I get pups sprouting from the corm every spring, which doesn't help me get fruit! I got tired of them being so darn unproductive that I just decided to let them all die. I couldn't imagine doing that to a banana just a few years ago, but I find it much easier to throw excess corms away these days. So anyhow, I'll give a full report in the spring!

:dreadlocksnaner:

mskitty38583
01-11-2008, 09:51 PM
bigdog i live exactly 1 and 1/2 hours from you! if you dont want your icecreams i will drive to knoxvegas and i will dig them up so you dont have to! lol. i aint to proud to dig. haha lmk, ill make the drive. ill even bring dirt to fill in the holes!( good dirt):bananarow: :bananarow: :2790: you just say when!

troy NH
01-15-2008, 10:18 PM
I think you will be pleased with the Ice Cream Banana. I have them up here in Z6 Southern NH. I do overwinter them in the basement. I bought one last year from mail order and it was delivered at 4-5" tall. By October it was about 8 feet. So be aware they grow very fast in the right soil.

banana berserker
01-20-2008, 05:07 PM
Are you set on Ice cream? If I was starting on my first banana I'd do dwarf orinico, Dwarf brazilian, and maybe Musa 'Belle'. But if your ready to shell out a few bucks for a cold hardy edible, Musa "CA gold" would definatly be a good choice.

im not "set" on ice cream but it is very appealing

banana berserker
01-20-2008, 05:11 PM
I don't know some of the other members I see located just south of you but Microfarmer is not far away and you should probably go pay him a visit. Maybe he can sell you a so-called "California Gold" pup since they fruit reliably in our climate.

Maybe...

KYpalmer
09-12-2012, 01:29 PM
Are you set on Ice cream? If I was starting on my first banana I'd do dwarf orinico, Dwarf brazilian, and maybe Musa 'Belle'. But if your ready to shell out a few bucks for a cold hardy edible, Musa "CA gold" would definatly be a good choice.

Was reading along and happened to come across this. Very helpful indeed, but could you shed some light perhaps on the Musa Ca Gold and where to shop around for nice cold hardy edible bananas? Thanks in advance.

venturabananas
09-13-2012, 12:21 PM
Was reading along and happened to come across this. Very helpful indeed, but could you shed some light perhaps on the Musa Ca Gold and where to shop around for nice cold hardy edible bananas? Thanks in advance.

Don't bother with CA Gold. It makes Orinoco-type fruits, which are only OK. Get Dwarf Namwah, which is probably just as cold hardy and makes better fruit that ripen faster.

KYpalmer
09-13-2012, 01:38 PM
Don't bother with CA Gold. It makes Orinoco-type fruits, which are only OK. Get Dwarf Namwah, which is probably just as cold hardy and makes better fruit that ripen faster.

I don't know much about bananas other than I love eating them and my wife makes some very nice banana bread LOL. Is dwarf namwah a fav or yours? What's the differences other than prices and one ripens faster? This does help me in looking at different species and I say thanks for that. I just want to narrow down to the cold hardiest and something nice and edible rather relying on stuff from the store :-(

venturabananas
09-14-2012, 11:22 AM
I don't know much about bananas other than I love eating them and my wife makes some very nice banana bread LOL. Is dwarf namwah a fav or yours? What's the differences other than prices and one ripens faster? This does help me in looking at different species and I say thanks for that. I just want to narrow down to the cold hardiest and something nice and edible rather relying on stuff from the store :-(

Yes, Dwarf Namwah is a favorite of mine and many other folks for its combination of hardiness, shortness (i.e., manageable height), consistent production, and tasty fruit. I don't have a hardier banana in my yard, and that includes Orinoco, which "California Gold" is a sport of. If you want to sample Orinoco fruit, which will be the same as CA Gold fruit, you may be able to find a market that sells "Burro bananas" -- they are the same thing. I don't love them, though they are very good for cooking. I don't think it is possible to beat Dwarf Namwah for the combination of cold hardiness and nice fruit -- better than the store bought bananas for sure.

KYpalmer
09-14-2012, 11:43 AM
Yes, Dwarf Namwah is a favorite of mine and many other folks for its combination of hardiness, shortness (i.e., manageable height), consistent production, and tasty fruit. I don't have a hardier banana in my yard, and that includes Orinoco, which "California Gold" is a sport of. If you want to sample Orinoco fruit, which will be the same as CA Gold fruit, you may be able to find a market that sells "Burro bananas" -- they are the same thing. I don't love them, though they are very good for cooking. I don't think it is possible to beat Dwarf Namwah for the combination of cold hardiness and nice fruit -- better than the store bought bananas for sure.

Excellent. Yes, I did some research last night for a couple of hours between chatting to other banana folks and I'm slowly deciding on a caligold, namwah and possibly a sweetheart I think its called. Ill have to go to my international store to see what they have, if I thought about it I could have last night while picking up some tea......but owell LOL can't win them al everyday. Cheers for the info. Helps a lot.

venturabananas
09-14-2012, 12:03 PM
I should probably stop bashing "California Gold"/Dwarf Orinoco (they are the same or very similar). I just fried up an Orinoco banana from my yard, and it was pretty darn good. Not nearly as good raw, though.

Haven't tried Sweetheart, but given its parentage ("Orinoco", i.e., Bluggoe was one parent), I bet there are tastier ones out there that would do well for you. But that is pure speculation. If you end up going with Sweetheart, let us know how it works out for you.

sunfish
09-14-2012, 02:49 PM
There is always a better tasting banana.It will be the one you don't have.

venturabananas
09-14-2012, 05:53 PM
There is always a better tasting banana.It will be the one you don't have.

So true. :ha:

BigBananaBoy
09-15-2012, 01:32 AM
Don't bother with CA Gold. It makes Orinoco-type fruits, which are only OK. Get Dwarf Namwah, which is probably just as cold hardy and makes better fruit that ripen faster.


OK Mark just for bashing our Cali Golds, Sunfish and I will be secretly planting Cali golds all over your front yard tonight while your sleeping with signs that say "I LOVE CALI GOLDS My FAVORITE BANANA In THE WORLD!:08:

sunfish
09-15-2012, 07:38 AM
OK Mark just for bashing our Cali Golds, Sunfish and I will be secretly planting Cali golds all over your front yard tonight while your sleeping with signs that say "I LOVE CALI GOLDS My FAVORITE BANANA In THE WORLD!:08:

Right on

Dalmatiansoap
09-15-2012, 09:11 AM
OK Mark just for bashing our Cali Golds, Sunfish and I will be secretly planting Cali golds all over your front yard tonight while your sleeping with signs that say "I LOVE CALI GOLDS My FAVORITE BANANA In THE WORLD!:08:

Wow! Guerrilla gardening, count me in!
:woohoonaner:

venturabananas
09-15-2012, 10:52 AM
OK Mark just for bashing our Cali Golds, Sunfish and I will be secretly planting Cali golds all over your front yard tonight while your sleeping with signs that say "I LOVE CALI GOLDS My FAVORITE BANANA In THE WORLD!:08:

Dang! Well, I'll I guess I'll just have to retaliate by planting Dwarf Cavendish all over both your yards and post a big sign "Cavendish: it's the only banana worth eating!". :ha:

BigBananaBoy
09-15-2012, 12:20 PM
Dang! Well, I'll I guess I'll just have to retaliate by planting Dwarf Cavendish all over both your yards and post a big sign "Cavendish: it's the only banana worth eating!". :ha:

I will have to put my Anti Cavendish Protectors on High Alert for suspicious activity.... :ha:

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr201/bigtony66/Banana%20Plants/SmileBaby-Rott.jpg

And for the smaller Peeps We have:

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr201/bigtony66/Banana%20Plants/Ill_Get_You.jpg