Intro me
 

First post here. I am a farmer in New Zealand. I've been playing around with hardy fruiting bananas for nearly 20 years. Currently I have let my plot go a bit following three years of drought, and accumulating more children.

I had about 30 cv.s of banana at most, but lost most of them as they didn't perform in my frost-free but heat-deprived climate. Currently I still have Misi Luki, Pacha Naadan, Ducasse, FHIA-1,2,18 in the ground outside, and several dwarf cavendish cv.s, rajapuri, dwarf orinoco, mahoi under plastic to see if they can perform.

My plot in better days;

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Welcome! Great forum here, if you have any questions, there is probably someone here that can answer it.

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Welcome to the site, You'll love it

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Welcome from Croatia
:woohoonaner:

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Welcome Bennz to Bananas dot org, from South Florida!

Thank you for sharing the pictures. How does the FHIA 18 do for you?

I do not grow this one as the fingers are suceptable to breakage when they near full ripening. Also they need to be cooked. I prefer a fruit that can be eaten fresh or cooked, while disease resistance is a must. I do grow FHIAs 1, 2, 3, 17, 23, 25, and SH 3640, as well as many others.

Is Black Sigatoka a problem there?

Thanks again for the pictures and welcome! :2239:

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Welcome from SE Indiana U.S.:woohoonaner::woohoonaner:

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wow the bananas lookin good Welcome from Fresno,California

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Hello & Welcome :^)

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Thanks for welcome everyone.

Caloosamusa, no Black Sigatoka here. NO Yellow Sigatoka either. Actually no banana diseases at all, the advantage of growing tropical fruit in a temperate area. FHIA-18 has not performed well for me, FHIA-1 and 3 in particular are far better here. FHIA-17 grew very fast, but failed completely in its first year for no obvious reason. FHIA-23 struggles on. ABB types are best in these cool areas.

FHIA-18 doesn't need to be cooked(???). It's grown commercially as a desert fruit in Australia.

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Welcome to the site! Sounds like you have quite a bit of experience in growing bananas. I think you'll enjoy it here....lots of stimulating discussions and great information passed around. If you have questions, just ask. People are very helpful here!

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Welcome Bennz!

From Central Texas, Zone 8a!!!

Glad to have you with us!!! :) ~Cheryl

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Hello and def Welcome! Thanks for sharing the photo. It looks like total Paradise!

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Welcome aboard, Bennz, from Oklahoma :) ! Awsome garden, Thanx for the pic! I'd Luv to have our back yard lookin like that! Wow! It's a friendly & info-packed site, here. If ya have any questions about using the forum, just ask!

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Good evening Bennz,

The FHIA 23 struggles here also. It has been a great disapointment for me. FHIA 2 seems to be one of the best cultivars in our section as FHIA 17 and 25 are slow growing. The best one I've experienced is SH 3640! It grows well and is not greatly effected by Black sigatoka and the fruit, well check out my avatar and photo gallery. I really am impressed by it!

FHIA 1and 3 grow well but the fruit is not comparable to SH3640!

Good growing and best wishes! :2239:

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Welcome from France ...Curiously i was just looking for infos about Pacha Nadaan ,specially Ducasse...I think you have a lot of things to share...

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My understanding is that Pisang Awak (Ducasse) and Pacha Nadaan are both from Thailand, and are both about the most cold tolerant bananas that I know of, which produce very good fruit. Pacha Nadaan is my best banana for outside fruit production. This bunch in picture was produced on a plant which had had no maintainance for over 2 years (heavy suckering), was covered by Kenedia and Dipogon vines, and produced this bunch during the worst drought we have seen in this part of the country for 125 years. Very good, considering.

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Great info for us...Thanks ,it seems that these two species to be good candidates for acclimation in temperate zones!!