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View Full Version : blue Java, Ice Cream hardy to zone 7b?


mbfirey
09-03-2009, 05:06 PM
I just bought an Blue Java, or Ice Cream Banana, from a place just south of Charlotte NC with a tag that said it was hardy to 7B- I've read else where that it will survive to zone 8 others say 9-
I was wondering if any one has had success growing them in the zone 7/8 border and if so- if they've given fruit?

thanks

CValentine
09-03-2009, 06:04 PM
Hi mbfirey,

I've been able to grow them pretty well so far this year, but I got a late start.
I will be right along side of you watching to see how well they do(and hopefully fruit!) next year!

I know there are a bunch more people in the 7/8 Zone!
They'll be along soon to help you out! ~Cheryl

LilRaverBoi
09-03-2009, 07:01 PM
I've got mine in zone 6 It does great here...but I wouldn't try to overwinter it outdoors here. Undoubtedly it would die here. I'm not sure how warm zone 7b is compared to here. Let's see if someone in that zone can chime in and give you some good info!

cowboyup4christ
09-03-2009, 07:44 PM
I am in zone 7b/8 and I don't know if I would try to winter outside I have dwarf Orinoco which is said to tolerate zone 7b but I will put them in a small cold frame green house this winter and keep them in pots till spring, then replant in the ground. you can just dig them and put them in a crawl space or basement if you have one as long as they stay above 40 degrees they will stay green I have been told. we will all find out a little more come spring.

fishoifc
09-04-2009, 06:29 AM
Here in coastal zone 8a they make it good with no protection,there is a huge matt down the street that die back to the ground in winter then come back strong.Maybe 7b will just need a little mulch.

mbfirey
09-04-2009, 06:54 AM
My plan for this year is to keep it inside since there's not much time till winter but then put it out in spring- and I'll probably mulch heavy...

JCDerrick
09-04-2009, 11:58 AM
I've put several IC's in the ground this year, some back in April and some as late as July. I am crossing my fingers that with a good mulch they'll come back. Might try and wrap the stem with a straw wrap again - that seemed to help more than I expected last year with other bananas. I may dig one of the smaller ones up, just to be safe. Ultimately, just mulch the base really well if you leave it out - protecting the corm is the important thing.

LilRaverBoi
09-04-2009, 12:04 PM
Yeah, if you have several and don't mind losing one or two, it'd be well worth your effort to at least try it. Dig a few up to overwinter indoors but experiment with a few treatments of winterizing with a few others. If you do, be sure to share the knowledge with the rest of us!

Simply Bananas
09-04-2009, 12:38 PM
Go for it and good luck. I's told by my customers that orinocos make it through some winters if protected in Charlotte, but never heard of Ice Creams. Let us know!

JCDerrick
09-04-2009, 12:49 PM
Go for it and good luck. I's told by my customers that orinocos make it through some winters if protected in Charlotte, but never heard of Ice Creams. Let us know!

Gonna try it with some Dwarf Orinoco's and Orinoco's as well. I am going to have to resist the urge to dig up a pup of each - though I may give in just to be safe.

I am also trying to keep a Saba outside this winter and a Bordelon. No idea what'll happen with those. I have two Red Abyssinian's outside too - both of which I plan to leave in the ground.

Simply Bananas
09-04-2009, 12:52 PM
My friend had no luck with saba, Ice cream and orinoco in spartanburg. I have heard of orinocos making there, however.

JCDerrick
09-04-2009, 01:06 PM
My friend had no luck with saba, Ice cream and orinoco in spartanburg. I have heard of orinocos making there, however.

Guess I def better split a pup then. They are a bit colder up there than we are down here in Cola. I figure I'm probably going to loose some stuff, but I just don't have the room to bring them all in. I have too many other tropicals that take up all my space - plus fighting the insects on the bananas last year was a nightmare, especially the spider mites, yeck.

Blake09
09-04-2009, 02:42 PM
My friend had no luck with saba, Ice cream and orinoco in spartanburg. I have heard of orinocos making there, however.

Hope mine lives (blue java IC), because ime in spartanburg. Alot of much for the winter like 2ft of it maby?

Randy4ut
09-06-2009, 07:09 AM
I'm in 7a/b, and IC's have come back in the past from the corm with just mulch. Don't expect it to produce for you, though... My Saba has returned the past two winters for me with just mulch, also... This past spring the Saba was very slow to get started and did not reach its usual 20+' overall height, but we got down to about 6F a couple of nights this past winter with below freezing for about a 48 hour duration... Hoping for a milder winter this year!!!

Simply Bananas
09-06-2009, 08:15 AM
I'm in 7a/b, and IC's have come back in the past from the corm with just mulch. Don't expect it to produce for you, though... My Saba has returned the past two winters for me with just mulch, also... This past spring the Saba was very slow to get started and did not reach its usual 20+' overall height, but we got down to about 6F a couple of nights this past winter with below freezing for about a 48 hour duration... Hoping for a milder winter this year!!!

Thanks Randy. Thats some great info

ClevelandCATHY
09-06-2009, 03:23 PM
I had ice creams in 3 different places in my yard. They came back from the corm for 3 or 4 years. This spring, none of them came back. Don't know if it was colder, or wetter, or a combo of both.

Blake09
09-06-2009, 03:48 PM
Cant you just dig them up every winter and put them in your basement that way they will fruit in the summer, or do IC have a too deep root system to dig them up?

Randy4ut
09-06-2009, 04:31 PM
Cant you just dig them up every winter and put them in your basement that way they will fruit in the summer, or do IC have a too deep root system to dig them up?

Some bananas do not store well and from mine, and several others I know, IC is one of them. I have tried to dig up and overwinter in unheated garage and under house, but they just fall apart. I have overwintered in my house in a pot, but humidity is a problem unless you run a humidifier full time, at least in my area....

austinl01
09-06-2009, 09:40 PM
I've had the opposite experience as Randy. Back in 2005 and 2006 when I was growing Ice Cream, I dug the plants in the fall and stored them bareroot in the garage for the winter. They came through without any rot or problems for me. The garage stayed above freezing, probably in the 40s. I planted them back outside in the spring in 2006, and they started growing where they left off. I didn't think Ice Cream was hard to overwinter. Maybe I got lucky that year.

jason
09-07-2009, 10:55 PM
I live in zone 7a barely and left some outside for the winter even with heavy mulch and being planted close to my brick house they did not come back,,I dig all of my bananas up and put them under the crawl space of my house for the winter and they all do great. the only banana i would leave outside in zone 7-8 would be the cold hardy fiber banana..

ewitte
09-09-2009, 04:06 PM
After watching my last banana plant die I'm not unsure if the last plant died down to the ground (corm survived) during winther or not. I'm starting to get the impression after temperatures drop making sure it gets absolutely no moisture may be what helps (insulate it, etc).

BTW I'm starting to feel winter the high today is like 82!

Blake09
09-09-2009, 04:20 PM
Same here its ben getting to 78F (46C) or near the 80's (48's) in the day, and in the 60-69F (28-37C)in the night :(

modenacart
09-09-2009, 08:18 PM
Orinoco do great in eastern NC. They come back every year without protection and if I protect the psuedostem with plastic or bubble wrap they survive sometimes too.

mbfirey
09-10-2009, 06:08 AM
Do you get Fruit on your Orinoco here in NC?

modenacart
09-10-2009, 06:13 PM
Yes, I did. I think I have some photos in my gallary but I am not sure.

Jack Daw
09-11-2009, 03:29 AM
Same here its ben getting to 78F (46C) or near the 80's (48's) in the day, and in the 60-69F (28-37C)in the night :(
Of, If it were those temperatures, you would be in tropical paradise. :D Thanks for including the centigrade. It goes like this for your temperatures:
78°F = 25,5°C
80°F = 26,6°C
60-69°C = 15-20°C

The temperatures at which water freezes is 0°C (32°F) and the water boils at 100°C (212°F). Human body has in general around 37°C (98°F).
Btw. We have almost the same temps now. Zone 7b/8a too, but in Europe.

Abnshrek
09-26-2009, 01:21 PM
I have three blue java's and live in zone 8. I have heat tapes (maintain temp of 38-45 F) I will be wrapping around the stem of my plants to keep them @ 4 ft. so they have a head start come february. ( it was 101F 3rd week of feb here 3 yrs ago)