caliboy1994

Petioles for ABB varieties like Namwah, Orinoco, and Ice Cream tend to be closed. I've noticed on my Tall Namwah (labeled Ice Cream) that the petioles tend to open up in hot, dry conditions. But by default, they are closed. I guess that environmental conditions, as well as growing conditions, can affect the degree to which the petioles are open or closed.

The main way to distinguish a true Ice Cream from Tall Namwah is to look at the leaf margins. Namwah tends to have a very pronounced pink border, while Ice Cream tends to have little to no pink on the leaf margin.

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Jose263

My 'not ice cream' (T. Namwah aka Blue Java) and Orinoco both produced this season. The namwah fruit were shorter, full and more tightly packed on the bunch and took an extra month to ripen vs. orinoco. I think i detected a little bluish but that may have been wishful thinking. the T Namwah pups alot - pup leaves have reddish borders and reddish mid stem underside of leaves. I think the IC is all green
I was disappointed to learn I had a Namwah instead of Blue Java- but these nanas are excellent, way better than orinoco - Still hoping to taste a real IC- BJ. but happy with my Namwah.

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Growing: Orinoco, Rajapuri, Dwarf Cav, SDC, TT, Dwarf Red, Dwarf Namwah, Tall Namwah (aka Ice Cream), Dwarf Brazilian, Veinte Cohol, California Gold, Double Mohai, NOT-Goldfinger, Gran Nain, Velutina

venturabananas

If you are like most folks who've tried them both, you will prefer Namwah over Blue Java, so don't be too disappointed in the way things turned out.

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JodoGarden

I've seen some pics in the photo gallery of Namwahs that seemed bluish... could have just been the photo or my monitor, but I will look for those photos again and post them. Here I go guessing again based on other plants... but maybe the bluish hue is greater or lesser depending on environmental factors, like wind for example. Plants produce a waxy layer on leaves as they mature to toughen up for wind exposure, heat etc. Maybe the bluish hue on the bananas has some relation to that? I know someone else will know for sure.

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caliboy1994

Here's a comparison:

Real Ice Cream (from Iunepeace's photo gallery):



Tall Namwah (Misi Luki Awak, pretty much the same thing as Not Ice Cream; from webebananas.com)





As you can see, Namwah types can have some blue on them, but not nearly as much as the actual Ice Cream. Mature Ice Cream fruits also tend to be a lot more angular in shape, while Namwah fruits are more round and bottle-nosed.

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JodoGarden

Good comparison Caliboy. I found the photo I was thinking of... by Worm Farmer... nowhere near as blue as the IC example you posted.


From Worm Farmer's gallery

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caliboy1994

Yep, that's definitely a Namwah type. If it were IC/BJ, the fruits would be much more blue and much more angular.

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edzone9

So Is Mr pitangadiego In The House ?

If So Would Like To Buy A Good Size Blue Java Ice Cream Pup.

caliboy1994

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edzone9

Thank You ! I Just Sent Them an Email..

JodoGarden

Are there any other ID methods for Ice Cream? I found a garden center nearby that has some stock labeled as Blue Java. The plants are $30, but are very stressed... wind mostly. I didn't even go there looking for bananas so I didn't take much time to look at them to see if there was any pink on the leaf or not. I probably would have even taken some photos.. maybe next time. The plants are about 5 feet tall, so I was hoping that I might be able to come up with a short list of ID characteristics as a checklist. I'm sure a lot of nursery stock originates at Agristarts in FL... so that's why I'm being such a nerd about this.

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venturabananas

Not really. It's pretty easy with one that is flowering or fruiting, but not so much before that stage. If it is being sold as "Ice Cream" and there is lots of pink along the leaf margins, it is probably a Pisang Awak ("Namwah").

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JodoGarden

I'll have to take a second look at what they have. I saw some black coloration on the p-stem of their plants... so not sure if I'd buy any of theirs. Other nurseries will have it too, so I'll have to look around and see what the leaf margins look like.

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caliboy1994

Namwah bananas are very good. I just tried a few today, and they're probably the best bananas I've ever eaten. The flavor is very sweet, but with a nice apple-like acid balance. It's definitely worth keeping the plant if it does turn out to be Namwah (which is very likely).

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JodoGarden

I'm def. keeping my Wellspring order, but I wanted to see if I can find a Blue Java locally. It would be an interesting comparison to grow them and note the differences and compare the fruit quality.

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caliboy1994

That's exactly what I plan on doing. Now that I have the actual thing, I'm going to grow it and Misi Luki (another Namwah clone) side-by-side.

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JodoGarden

Here's a close up look at a Blue Java (or is it?). It's indoors, so maybe isn't the best example... but the guy claims that the p-stem is bluish near the top and it does look that way in video... think it really is IC?

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caliboy1994

It's hard to tell for sure, but my actual Ice Cream is a darker green color than that, and has a lot more wax on the petioles, leaf sheaths, and underside of the leaf. This could all be influenced by environmental conditions though. Here's a picture of my plant:



I believe the person who made that video is actually an Org member.

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venturabananas

Who knows if it is Blue Java? A blueish pseudostem is not a way to distinguish a real Blue Java from a Pisang Awak (Namwah).

My guess is that all this talk about "ice Cream" being an awesome banana that tastes like vanilla, etc. is all based on misidentifications, and those comments are all about misidentified Pisang Awak bananas.

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caliboy1994

To me Pisang Awak tastes nothing like vanilla.

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