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View Full Version : Variety suggestions for a newbe?


conurecolor
05-14-2009, 12:58 PM
OK, so I am looking to diversify. I have what I believe to be Orinoco bananas. They grow like weeds, all I have to do is water them. The bananas are 6"-8" long, angular, fairly thick skinned, and delicious! However, they are too tall for one spot in my yard so I'm looking to plant something smaller.

I need some suggestions...

1) Reasonably small sized, under 10-12ft max.

2) Good tasting and good amount of fruit. Quick growing and fast to bear fruit would be a plus, but not a necessity.

3) Interesting to look at, something a bit unusual.

4) Some cold tolerance (Zone 9-10? Temperate overall, hot summer, cold almost-to-freezing nights a couple times in the winter) I had leaves die back on my plants but everything grows again.

So I am thinking Dwarf Red may be a good choice for me. Do they really have orange flesh fruit? How is the taste?

I am also curious about Ice Cream and Thousand Finger varieties. I realise they are taller than the dwarf, but I have another spot to plant something, maybe. Can anyone tell me what they're like, how they taste, etc?

Any other suggestions? Favorite varieties?

THANKS!

lorax
05-14-2009, 01:15 PM
Dwarf Red is a good choice; the fruit has red peels and a sort of pale pinky-yellow flesh, and excellent flavour. There will shortly be a picture of a fruit salad in my gallery that has slices of Limon and Red on it; the ones that are more yellow are the Reds. If you like the Orinocos, these also come in Dwarf, as do most of the other cultivars (including Ice Cream).

Manzano is also very tasty and doesn't get crushingly tall.

I'd like to make other reccomendations, but I'm reasonably certain that the cultivars I'd be talking about aren't in the States yet. (For example, Oritos are a fantastic cultivar that goes to about 9' fruits heavily and quickly, and tastes amazing, but I have no equivalent cultivar name for the States and no export permit for here.)

Gabe15
05-14-2009, 01:42 PM
Most people find Dwarf Red to be slow and very sensitive to cooler temperatures, so as far as hardiness and quick returns go I would not recommend it.

Dwarf Cavendish and Gran Nain are always rewarding where they can grow well. Although some of the collectors may feel that they are boring and too common, they are very productive and still make great fruit.

If you really like the Orinoco but the size is an issue, than go for the Dwarf Orinoco. Same fruit just on a much smaller plant that is 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the tall Orinoco.

conurecolor
05-14-2009, 02:05 PM
The Orinoco came from a friend who bought 2 unidentified pups and then was moving and said "here, you can have 'em!" So I had no idea what I was getting or that I'd end up with 15'+ plants that reach over the house roof. It wasn't so much "really liking" them as planting pretty small leafy pups and discovering that they grow into monsters and bear fruit. LOL

How sensitive is dwarf red, really? If it dies when night temps drop below 40F or something, that would be no good... I don't mind a slower growing plant, my current ones can take a while to fruit and ripen.

I don't want to plant cavendish, I can go to the supermarket to get those. I want something a little more unusual. And small-ish. And different than what I have...