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View Full Version : U.S.A. Bananas : Truth or Adoption?


Eric
08-01-2009, 12:01 PM
To add to the seemingly endless list of nanners I've encountered, I recently checked into (thanks Cowboy) a species called "Texas Star" & one called "Carolina King". Both are reputed to be great south & southwest nanners but when I surf the net, all I can find is bits of info & two, somewhat shady, nurseries that even know they exist. Strange.
Are they True N. American species or simply other species Renamed. Would appreciate any info and/or insights into this mystery (and a good place to procure them, if possible).

Here they are (what little info I could find):
1. TEXAS STAR
Discovered in Wichita, Texas. Survived the record winter 1983-1984 freeze of 16 degrees F to return the following summer & actually produce a crop.
Plant grows 6-8 feet tall & produces (what appears) a Chiquita sized nanner. Grows fast in May then flowers & produces bananas in early fall.
2. CAROLINA KING
Appears to be 16-20' tall & hardy in Zones 7-10. Appears to produce large, yellow bananas & sexy women in bikinis (interesting ad :o).

If anyone knows anything about these, I'm very interested in them (I didn't say the bikinis... but who knows :)) and would sure like to clear up this mystery & buy some.
Thanx

Richard
08-01-2009, 12:11 PM
"Discovered in Texas" means that they were found growing on someone's property -- and not in the sense of being native plants. Bananas are thought to have originated in the present-day area of Burma and Thailand, then taken to India, and then from there on to many regions of the world.

A few members here have the varieties you mentioned. If they have pups, you will probably hear from them privately to avoid an onslaught of inquiries!

Eric
08-01-2009, 04:12 PM
"Discovered in Texas" means that they were found growing on someone's property -- and not in the sense of being native plants. Bananas are thought to have originated in the present-day area of Burma and Thailand, then taken to India, and then from there on to many regions of the world.

A few members here have the varieties you mentioned. If they have pups, you will probably hear from them privately to avoid an onslaught of inquiries!

Yeah, I know :). I tracked the trail of bananas from that region to 10th century Europe to 16th century W. Africa, then to S. America via Portuguese sailors. That's why I found it hard to believe that they could be American nanners.
And I'm very certain these 2 were simply renamed after "discovery" :ha: in the U.S.
If anyone does have these cultivars, I would give a Lot to get hold of them. Will be watching for any PM's on the matter.

Also, any info concerning their original classifications would be very much appreciated.

Richard
08-01-2009, 04:45 PM
The finders of these plants might have been correct to rename them -- especially if they had been growing, adapting, and mutating for generations. On the other hand, the "finders" might just have been lazy! It would be interesting to obtain genetic information on these cultivars at the very least.

Eric
08-01-2009, 06:33 PM
Didn't stop to remember just how mutable bananas can be. They could easily be adapted North American species. I found nothing in the Wiki. Might be a good idea to have them there for the benefit of others who might want to grow them.
Will keep looking & attempting to procure them.
Just hate wasting a good nanner :)!

Gabe15
08-01-2009, 06:40 PM
Those 2 shady nurseries are part of TyTy Nursery, in Ty Ty Georgia, they are notoriously bad. There are a few postive stories about them out there, but the overwhelming majority of them are negative. There website is quite laughable really, hard to tell if its a nursery or a terrible modeling agency TyTy Online Plant & Fruit Tree Nursery: The Nursery at TyTy (http://www.tytyga.com/) . They have something like 10-15 different names they operate under with different websites, possibly different locations too but all basically the same. Im not sure how they were setup, but they had one of the worst ratings and the most negative feedback of any nursery on Daves Garden Watchdog before they were forced to take down the reviews due to some threat of suing I think. The only positive reports that used to be on the watchdog site were posted by employees of the company trying to make it look like there were actually happy customers. Guide to Gardening by Mail, Mail Order Gardening, and Catalogs (http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/), there still may be traces of them on the site though, so look around, or just Google Tyty Nursery and you will see what kind of reputation they have (Is TyTy Nurseries legit? - Georgia Gardener Forum - GardenWeb (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gagarden/msg0814415010072.html)).

As for the plants, I don't know what either of those varieties really are, but the names were made up by the nursery and the plants are likely something that is commonly available, possibly just Orinocos (since they are pretty hardy, very common and seem to be gain new names easily). The pictures and information on their websites is so poor that you cant tell what the plants actually are. They often have terribly photoshopped photos of different varieties, photos that dont even relate the plants at all, and nonsense information.

Bob
08-01-2009, 06:43 PM
You have to admit the"pomegrantes" thing a while back was pretty entertaining. If I had a nursery I'd at least use spellcheck:ha::ha::ha:

Richard
08-01-2009, 06:47 PM
Didn't stop to remember just how mutable bananas can be. They could easily be adapted North American species.

Eric: maybe you know this already, but "species" and "cultivar" are two different things ... check it out:
Species - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species)
Cultivar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar)

Eric
08-01-2009, 06:53 PM
Hi Gabe, Bob,
I checked with TyTy Nursery. While info was incredibly primitive (when not entirely absent) it did appear that one could purchase a wide variety of hookers of every possible description :ha: :ha: !!
I was afraid if I inquired by mail (to TyTy), I would get more info on the bikinis than I would on the plants!
Bob, if you should get a nursery, be sure & send me a list of the girls...... uh...... er plants you'll be offering :o.
(must've been a great tonic ya had before dinner, tonight)!

Richard: Thanx. I was well aware, just don't like over-typing :).
And thanx for the links! Luv Wikipedia!

Richard
08-01-2009, 07:00 PM
O.k. then, you might enjoy this thread: http://www.bananas.org/f9/wanted-models-ty-ty-nursery-5544.html

Eric
08-01-2009, 07:19 PM
O.k. then, you might enjoy this thread: http://www.bananas.org/f9/wanted-models-ty-ty-nursery-5544.html

Exactly!! It's just a bunch of vulgar, sexual, & disgusting junk on a site that obviously has no moral fiber whatsoever and no intentions of ever doing any good for anybody whatsoever...
I think it's filthy, obscene, & damn
I sure wish they'd change those fotos, I've already seen them a thousand times, at least....
New Photos, New Photos, I demand New Photos!!

Actually, ROFLMFAO very likely for the rest of the weekend!!

TommyMacLuckie
08-02-2009, 12:52 PM
So they named a banana Texas Star?

How original.

Like the Florida/Alabama/Georgia swamp mallow (Hibiscus coccineus) they named Texas Star?

Musa 'Bordelon' is named after 'first being discovered' in Bordelonville, LA. But it's not from there, of course. I'm guessing just like everything else in Louisiana, the banana was named after a town that was named after or in honour of someone from Europe, usually France.

CESAR
08-02-2009, 02:35 PM
I think youre right Tommy, Bordelon is a french name...

Salutation to cousins in Louisiana

Friendly
CESAR


Ive got a Musa Bordelon to my place, I think to Louisiana when I wacth him.

Hope there is someone to send TEXAS STAR in Europe, just to help us to think about TEXAS.

Eric
08-02-2009, 02:55 PM
Salut Cesar :),
I just finished planting a Bordelon corm. It's the first time I've ever tried to grow a banana plant from a corm. Jack Daw gave me some expert advice - Thanx again, Jack! Bob, in New Jersey, sent me the corm - Thanx again, Bob!
As soon as I find a Texas Star, and it makes pups, I will be sending a pup to Europe. You will learn more about that, later, from Jack :).

cowboyup4christ
08-03-2009, 07:30 AM
I have found one person who has Carolina King on the outer banks of NC. Have sent an email to them to inquire about pups. no answer yet. this is a thread in a blog I found
http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/ncm/index.php/2007/07/25/bananas/
But I also found this
Dwarf Cavendish banana tree - banana plant http://ep.yimg.com/ca/Img/trans_1x1.gifDwarf Cavandish some call it 'Carolina King' ....these banana plants get 5 to 6 ft. and produces wonderful sweet tasting fruit A vigorous banana tree with wider green leaves. One of the more common banana plant varieties in the USA. It is often seen container grown in back yards and botanical gardens alike. These banana trees have large bunches of almost full sized sweet smooth fruit. Will take short freezes easily. 6 ft tall at maturity. Zones 8-11 A vigorous banana tree with wider green leaves. The most popular greenhouse banana, will bear bunches with up to 90 bananas, each slightly shorter than the “grocery store” varieties. Juvenile leaves will have some reddish-purple markings, but later leaves will be all green. It is often seen container grown in back yards and botanical gardens alike. We ship a Beautiful healthy 14" banana plant.
from this site
Banana Trees Banana Plants (http://www.greenhousebusiness.com/bananaplants.html)

This site also states that the Cali gold and Texas star are the same as the Dwarf Orinoco
Who knows if they know what they are saying or not.

Eric
08-03-2009, 08:13 AM
Wow!
Thanx a million, Cowboy :) ! That's some great footwork! That description for Dwarf Cavendish / Carolina King sounds exactly like DC. Will definitely check that as far as California Gold, Texas Star, & Dwarf Orinoco go, especially since Orinoco is at the top of my list of new Bananas to get.
Gotta remember though, Orinoco is a little vague in itself since it was just a name assigned to Banana plants growing along the Orinoco river in Venezuela.
Thanx for the links, too! Will definitely send an email, myself :).

Jack Daw
08-03-2009, 01:35 PM
Cowboy: I don't think DC is Carolina King, because they could just use it to get some attention and sell the DC as somthing that many people would love to have. Anyone of you guys going for a ride to NC? :D

Eric: All right! Yeah, rock'n'roll. ;) :02:

cowboyup4christ
08-03-2009, 01:44 PM
I am already there but I am going west toward the mountains this week was down east last week.

CESAR
08-03-2009, 01:47 PM
Hi everyone,


So, if I understand well, Texas star and California king dont exist as cutivars.

Sht. I had a dream...

Jack Daw
08-03-2009, 01:51 PM
Hi everyone,


So, if I understand well, Texas star and California king dont exist as cutivars.

Sht. I had a dream...
Dream on, they can still be much more resistant strains of one cultivar. ;)
It's good to have dreams. I will definitely put them along with Californias to the test.

cowboyup4christ
08-03-2009, 01:59 PM
The Carolina King was a banana plant that was grown in the Sandhills and Coastal regions of NC. around the early 1900s and earlier. but seem to have dropped off the map of cultivatars today so they may be like other plants they were just replaced by another plant.

CESAR
08-03-2009, 03:03 PM
Yve changed your avatar Eric, too bad it was a nice picture you had...

Good night everybody its 10 PM here time to go to bed, time to dream...

Enjoy your evening,

See you in bananas paradise tonight...

Eric
08-03-2009, 08:05 PM
Yve changed your avatar Eric, too bad it was a nice picture you had...

Good night everybody its 10 PM here time to go to bed, time to dream...

Enjoy your evening,

See you in bananas paradise tonight...

Salut Cesar,
Temporairement.... Don't want people to have to look at me Too long :ha: !
I will likely change it back, tomorrow. Bonne nuit, mon ami :). Doux Reves!

I'm certain Jack's right. Bananas are Very mutable plants & fairly adaptive. Given decades of mutation & adaption, Texas Star & Carolina King Very likely contain a unique genome. As for myself, I'll be looking for nanners of Exactly that name - And Hopefully wind up with both :) !

Richard
08-04-2009, 12:40 AM
... As for myself, I'll be looking for nanners of Exactly that name - And Hopefully wind up with both :) !

This thread might interest you: http://www.bananas.org/f15/still-think-tx-star-cant-handle-6051.html

Jack Daw
08-04-2009, 01:34 AM
I'm certain Jack's right. Bananas are Very mutable plants & fairly adaptive. Given decades of mutation & adaption, Texas Star & Carolina King Very likely contain a unique genome. As for myself, I'll be looking for nanners of Exactly that name - And Hopefully wind up with both :) !
You know, in the end I'm lucky I'm so young. Give it 3 decades and I will be able to overwinter edibles outside. Either they will mutate, or we won't have so harsh winters. :D
Whoaaa. :02: No really, I'm slow right now, but once I get more nanaas with superior hardiness and have lots of plants, the experiments will start. :waving: Lots of them, lots of cultivars...

sbl
08-04-2009, 05:41 PM
GreenEarth Inc is where I have ordered my bananas--they seem to be pretty good and reputable. The problem with common names is that anyone can give a plant a new name. I have read that the CA Gold is a variant of Orinoco that was found to be exceptionally cold tolerant. My Orinocos have survived some pretty extreme cold (the corms) with record cold here of 7F and 10F in 1990 and 1983 respectively. I have one blooming now that made it thru mid 20s three times last winter without protection.