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Bulborum
12-31-2018, 05:11 AM
Couldn't find an answer for this question but maybe overlooked some answers :2738:
Are there Cold hardy good tasting dwarf banana's
I read a lot about hardiness but just a little about the taste
A friend send me this list I should try in my Facebook veggie group
John wrote private:
Hi Roland, I noticed you asked me about bananas
I did ask my expert friends
Here is what they replied
In this order,
Dwarf Orinoco
Raja puri
dwarf brazillian
dwarf namwa
The question are there more good tasting (Seedless) varieties
I am in Normandy zone 8a/8b and want to grow them in a 2.5 meter high poly-tunnel with just a small heater for emergency if there is a few days extreme cold
Also I have to find a trustworthy address here in France , Holland or Belgium for plants or seeds
Thanks in advance for any help :nanadrink:

Roland

cincinnana
12-31-2018, 10:15 AM
Couldn't find an answer for this question but maybe overlooked some answers :2738:
Are there Cold hardy good tasting dwarf banana's
I read a lot about hardiness but just a little about the taste
A friend send me this list I should try in my Facebook veggie group
John wrote private:
Hi Roland, I noticed you asked me about bananas
I did ask my expert friends
Here is what they replied
In this order,
Dwarf Orinoco
Raja puri
dwarf brazillian
dwarf namwa
The question are there more good tasting (Seedless) varieties
I am in Normandy zone 8a/8b and want to grow them in a 2.5 meter high poly-tunnel with just a small heater for emergency if there is a few days extreme cold
Also I have to find a trustworthy address here in France , Holland or Belgium for plants or seeds
Thanks in advance for any help :nanadrink:

Roland
Here is a start.
Go to the website mentioned and pick and choose which might be right for you.
Even though a plant is called a dwarf does not mean it will be smaller than the plants listed.

There are a few threads you can find in the forum search also.

http://www.bananas.org/193518-post75.html

Bulborum
12-31-2018, 10:25 AM
Here is a start.
Go to the website mentioned and pick and choose which might be right for you.
Even though a plant is called a dwarf does not mean it will be smaller than the plants listed.

There are a few threads you can find in the forum search also.

I found a lot which can handle cold but hardly info about the taste different varieties have
For sure it's a good excuse to visit Corsica
Not just for the Banana's but also for the food
Special if you drive into the mountains in this time of the year (Winter)
In the tourist season it is horrible the first kilometer near the coast

Roland

sputinc7
12-31-2018, 10:26 AM
Orinoco are cold hardy but not very tasty if you want a sweeter dessert type banana.
Dwarf Brazilian and Dwarf Namwah both still get up to 11 feet (3.35 m.) tall plus leaves, so you know. Just some handy info.

Richard
01-01-2019, 02:59 AM
Location: France zone 8a/8b

Fruiting bananas are hardy outdoors year-round in zones 13-14.

Some cold-hardy edible bananas are hardy outdoors year-round down to zone 9b.

Anything below that is either marketing or someone that is incorrect about the definition of their USDA cold-hardy zone:
"average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones" - typically computed over 10 year periods.

Bulborum
01-02-2019, 10:36 AM
Fruiting bananas are hardy outdoors year-round in zones 13-14.
Some cold-hardy edible bananas are hardy outdoors year-round down to zone 9b.

Seems I am dreaming about something which doesn't exist yet :0491:
Maybe if I retire I will make a terrace a few meter deep as conservatory so the earth-warmth keeps it free of frost and is high enough to grow good tasting banana's
Till that time it seems better to enjoy dwarf banana's for their leaves
I will start with the varieties advised by my friend

Roland

Richard
01-02-2019, 01:06 PM
Many members here grow their bananas in large pots -- outdoors for 2/3 of the year and indoors for winter.

Bulborum
01-02-2019, 04:20 PM
Many members here grow their bananas in large pots -- outdoors for 2/3 of the year and indoors for winter.

I have a storing problem Richard
My poly-tunnels are just 2,5 meter high
Calculating 0,5 m for the pot and 30 cm space from the plastic leaves just maximum 1,7 meter for the plants
Planting them in the soil gives me half a meter more
Have to think for a solution or just real dwarfs

Roland

Richard
01-02-2019, 07:06 PM
Super Dwarf Cavendish would work there.

cincinnana
01-02-2019, 08:36 PM
Seems I am dreaming about something which doesn't exist yet :0491:
Maybe if I retire I will make a terrace a few meter deep as conservatory so the earth-warmth keeps it free of frost and is high enough to grow good tasting banana's

Roland

Here is a thread you might find of interest from a member in zone 6a.

http://www.bananas.org/224017-post1.html

Follow the thread ....in post 47 plants are named which are grown in the sunken poly tunnel.

In fact any posts/threads Greenfin has started are pretty interesting and inspirational.
This forum member has fused aquaculture and bananaculture in a few sunken tunnels.

http://www.bananas.org/262102-post1.html

Greenfin Gardens (http://www.greenfingardens.com)

Bulborum
01-03-2019, 11:19 AM
Here is a thread you might find of interest from a member in zone 6a.

http://www.bananas.org/224017-post1.html

http://www.bananas.org/262102-post1.html

Greenfin Gardens (http://www.greenfingardens.com)

Fantastic links
Less deep as I presumed was necessary
Have to find out if I can realize that here in my front-garden
Could be a nice summer project
Thanks for those links

Roland

Tytaylor77
01-09-2019, 01:21 AM
Musa Raja Puri is what I would try first. Excellent tasting banana. Very tough and fairly cold hardy. They are one of the better Musas for going in and out of dormancy. Which is another problem you would face! Some go dormant and end up sending a pup vs pushing the same pstem. Like cavendish, etc. Musa Raja Puri average about 5’ tall and during winter you could fold all leaves down. If needed you could plant them in a slightly sunken “pits”. But if you could keep the lowest temp above 30f-32f or so you should be fine.

2 layers of plastic would make it really easy on you! I know is like 2 greenhouses but with 2 layers in zone 8b it would never freeze.

I’m a researcher and I’m very interested in your results if you try this! Please keep me i formed.

Good Luck! Anything is possible if you do the required work!

Bulborum
01-09-2019, 02:52 AM
Musa Raja Puri is what I would try first. Excellent tasting banana. Very tough and fairly cold hardy.

Thanks for that Ty
Sounds as a very good idea with the two layers
I have an old frame from my previous little smaller poly-tunnel
Seems I have some work to do coming summer :2140:

Will try to find the Musa Raja Puri
Do I need a plant or can it be grown true from seed

Roland

JonesPumpHouse
12-09-2019, 08:06 PM
The digging the trench the cover is a great idea I'm in zone 8B southeast Georgia it's my first season watching my plants in the winter so I'm just let seeing how they are affected I like the trench idea right on thanks

Bulborum
12-10-2019, 03:42 AM
Update:
I found (bought) 3 small Musa Raja Puri
They were potted in a 5 liter pot
One didn't survive , it rotted very slow away
The trunk with roots survived an other 5 months without doing anything
After collecting it I saw that it was rotted too inclusive the roots (does that happen more often ? )
The other 2 plants look well and one made already an offshoot
Hope to find next year time to dig my trench
Coming spring I will re-plant the 2 in 32 liter pots and see what happens

Roland

SoCal2warm
12-10-2019, 06:26 PM
I am in Normandy zone 8a/8b
There are some bananas that are borderline edible (but not really good eating equality) down to 8b, maybe 8a with a little bit of protection, but that is in climates further south. In Northern France you likely will not get enough heat for your banana plants to do well, or overcome the winter.

It may be worth trying, but only if a high probability of failure is acceptable to you. (If you do try, some light protection over the winter, maybe being up against a house, is highly advised)

Again, do not expect any fruits like something at the supermarket from these varieties, they're going to be full of big hard seeds, not have much flesh, and especially in cooler climates may not reach full ripeness (if you're lucky enough for them to fruit in the first place), and will be of inferior flavor.

Some varieties possibly worth trying are:
Orinoco
Sikkimensis
Thomson's Edible
Helen's Hybrid

As for wanting a dwarf variety, sorry but that's just asking too much, you're already asking too much wanting a banana that could survive through the winter outside where you are and produce fruits that are anything close to edible.

You might look at other strategies, like growing bananas inside a grow tent indoors under artificial light, or overwintering bananas by digging them up and storing them in a basement during winter.

Maybe build a tall frame around that banana that can be disassembled, and provide some electric heating on a thermostat when the temperature goes below freezing.