Hobo62288

Hello everyone, I'm Bryan from zone 7a-b in NC, wanted to say hello and just make my presence known on this forum. I'm a fruit lover who's been a member of a few other forums for a little bit but am really just now getting into bananas. I bought my first and only one from Wellsprings last year, an Ice Cream, but just recently read that it's probably not an Ice Cream which is truly disappointing. First time I read the description of an Ice Cream banana I wanted to try one desperately. I've never had a real banana, grocery store apparently doesn't count if descriptions of the difference are true. Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning all I can as fast as I can and will surely have my share of newbie questions but I'll do my best to research before asking. Thanks in advance for any help and putting up with me

HMelendez

Welcome to the banana gang!...

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Kat2

Bought a purported IC? Consider yourself duly initiated. A few members here have actual Ice Cream pups if you truly want one. Me? I'm content to pick up what I find on the side of the road (nearly certainly Orincos--today I purchased a Burro banana so I can get a taste of what's in my future) or little unnamed pups at flea markets and such. Today I chatted with a woman at a garden club plant sale; she grows 2 types which are not Orincos. She's invited me to dig up a couple of each and will share cuttings from her garden. I'd have to check but I think that will bring me up to 14 different musas including a DC. Have yet to get a flag leaf but I'm having a lot of fun.

Welcome!

PS Please edit your profile to show where you live. It makes it much easier for other members to address your questions if they know your zone and its particulars.

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Hobo62288

Awesome, thanks. I'll def fix up my profile. I don't think I've ever seen any bananas (edible at least) for sale locally (flea markets or nurseries) but it would be fun to get different bananas, especially if your not sure which variety it is. Watching it grow and trying to figure out the little details which could tell ya what it is. Anyways, thanks everyone for the welcomes. I always enjoy new forums on fruit that are full of good people. Thanks again.

Kat2

Asian or Hispanic markets are the best place to find types other than Chiquita. Not always but it's a start.

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cincinnana

And the best start for your area.......Kat is correct....not to much in your area...

keep digging ....

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Hobo62288

Well thanks for the help. At least I have forums and online vendors. Well sometimes I believe they are a curse to my wallet but I still appreciate them nonetheless. Thanks everyone for the welcomes and help.

Snarkie

Hi Bryan-

Welcome to the Banana Express.

Fellow Carolinian here.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Snarkie

Try Lowe's, Bryan. I bought some Musa basjoo there last year, but they may have other varieties as well. Wait, I do remember something called a giant red banana from Monrovia.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Hobo62288

Thanks, I'll have to try checking all the stores within driving distance I guess. Seems to be a lot of difference in plants from one store to the next, even if only 30 minutes from each other. Good to see another Carolinian on here BTW.

Snarkie

Yeah, HD is like that too. Huntersville store has palms, but no windmills this year (closest to Lake Norman too, where everyone would go to buy palms for million $+ homes). University location quit carrying palms two years ago. Wendover location had a nice selection, including windmills. It's stupid; it really is.

They stock the stores by demographics, but gimme a break.

Your best bet will be to go to a single location, ask for the manager, and ask him to look up what stores have bananas. It will save you all that driving. Don't let him tell you he can't do it, either. If he wants to be stubborn about it, then ask him who the supplier is. They'll have all the records of what went to which store. I went through this several years back over some Cryptomeria japonica. I finally IDed myself, showed the idiot my badge and ID, handed him a business card and told him it was for the Preserve. THAT'S how I found out how they REALLY operate.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Hobo62288

Wow, nice. Good info, I appreciate that. I'm assuming most will try to be stubborn but finding out the supplier should be easy enough, I think. Any idea what I'm most likely to be able to find locally, as far as fruits? I've heard/seen papayas and guava at a store not too far off and I assume figs and bananas would be a possibility but anything else that you've seen or know of?

Grannycore

Welcome! Being in a similar zone (8a/7b line, north of Atlanta) I would recommend trying to find accurate plants if you can. Coming out of my first year experimenting with overwintering bananas, I've found the ones I really trust - raja puri, Orinoco, namwah, ice cream, etc are coming out of winter storage reliably as they were reputed to do, where as the ones that I kept that were labeled by unreliable sources and turned out to be god-knows-what have been utter failures and a big waste of energy. Lesson learned. I will be happy to share later this year if I have extras.

Snarkie

That's going to vary from store to store, and why we have all of these headaches. There is no rhyme or reason sometimes, as to which location gets what. It makes you want to pull your hair out when dealing with someone whose Latin doesn't extend beyond E. pluribus unum.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"