Minpat

We live in the Kansas City area and have this banana tree. It's been kept in basement over the winter and my husband planted it in the ground in May of this year. It now has some bananas that started growing a month ago. The tree is about 20 feet tall now.
1) what kind of banana tree is it?
2) will the fruit have time to ripen on the tree?
3) can a tree like this survive the winter outside?
Thank you!

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Botanical_Bryce

Looks skinny for 20 feet tall but looks orinoco to me. Looks closer to 10 or 12 foot by the thickness of that top.

Minpat

You are probably right about the height, it just seems really tall! Thanks for the information!

geissene

Hi there,

I'm not sure what type of banana you have, but I hope the fruit ripens before the first frost. Your sunlight is decreasing and temperatures are falling so the ripening process is slowing down.

I had an orinoco that flowered and fruited last year and the fruit never ripened. Under ideal conditions, it may take 90+ days for the fruit to ripen. So you need to get timing just right.

My gut feel is you will be able to cut the fruit before first frost and have some that may ripen indoors.

Some things you can do to speed up ripening: Remove the flower or remove some of the smaller bananas. Both ideas sound horrible for plant aesthetics but it might help you get something to ripen.

Good luck!

Erik G
near Philadelphia

Minpat

Thank you!