what banana is this? blue java?
 

these bananas are growing great at a friends house in newcastle.

they don't know what variety it is, i think it might be blue java by the blue tinge on the unripe fruit but i'm no expert.


the fruiting stem is forming about 2.5m high

thanks all

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

It looks like a Blue Java to me. :woohoonaner:

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

Pisang Awak, aka Namwah, aka "fake Ice Cream". Not Blue Java.

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

The pictures are really small, any chance of a blow up?

Venturabananas, I am curious what makes you think it is Namwah rather than Icecream?

Trying to educate myself since I have Icecream (or so I believe at least) from 3 different sources
:ha:

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

There's at least a couple of threads about this that you could find the details if you do a search. If your "Ice Creams" were TC plants from a supplier in the US, they are probably Pisang Awak, and not the true Ice Cream. My sense is that whichever Pisang Awak cultivar it is, it has been sold in the US as "Ice Cream" from so long that most people think that is what the real Ice Cream (Blue Java) actually looks like. The real Ice Cream has a bunch in which the hands are more loosely packed and the fruits are usually much more blue in color than those in these photos.

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

From memory the real Blue Java also have a little larger fruit.

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

Ok, thanks.

If I ever get fruit it will be interesting to see how it looks. I will post pictures here for sure. But tonight we will have another low of 25F so have to see if my plants outdoors will survive that. They are heavily covered but still...

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

Here are a couple of real Blue Java / Ice Cream. If you search the photos on this site, the vast majority that are labelled as Ice Cream / Blue Java are not, they are Pisang Awak.

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Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

Ok, as far as I can see the difference is in the amount of fruit and the length of the fruit. Anything else that is different?

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

When you see them side by side, Blue Java are definitely more blue than Pisang Awak -- at least the ones I've seen. Gabe says he's seen legit Blue Java that weren't all that blue. Longer pedicels on the Blue Java, from what I've seen. Bracts are more pink on Pisang Awak than Blue Java.

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

wow

thanks for all the replies.

just for info, we are in Australia here and not the USA. We have very tight restrictions on home banana growing.

from my research it seems what you have called pisang awak is called duccasse in australia also known as sugar banana, again brief knowledge but that is what one website said???

it's defendant not a duccasse from the pictures i found of duccasse, couldn't find any labeled pisang awak. The banana's had a greater degree of blue silver coulor when they where younger.

This is one of the very few places licensed to supply people with banana plants in australia. do you think the plant they are selling as blue java is infact a pisang awak, because that might settle the confusion.

Blue Sky Backyard Bananas | Banana Plants for the home and garden

THANKS for enlarging my picture also :nanadrink:

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

dboo, you've convinced me that I was wrong and those are the real Ice Cream / Blue Java. The photos on the website of the place they were obtained from show the real blue java. Like you say, given the much tighter restrictions on importing and distributing bananas in Oz, you are much more likely than we in the US to get a correctly identified plant.

Pisang Awak is a subgroup that includes cultivars like what you call Duccasse or dwarf Duccasse, and we call Namwah and dwarf Namwah.

Let us know how those Blue Java taste.

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

thanks for all the help,

here are some more pictures which will hopefully demonstrate how the three bunches are successively bluer as they younger







thanks for all the help friends

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

I didnt realize the tighter restrictions on banana plants in Australia, but the good thing about that is that it probably is correctly ID'ed as an Ice Cream banana. But looks like you will be able to taste it soon and know for sure. I hope my Ice Cream banana turns out to be correctly ID'ed, but the problem is that many people sell plants incorrectly ID'ed in the US.
Looks like a very healthy bunch of fruit! Those are going to be some very tasty bananas

Re: what banana is this? blue java?
 

dboo, yes, those photos definitely show it is the real deal. The Pisang Awak "Duccasse" fruits are a light green when small, unlike the quite blue young Blue Java fruits shown in those photos.

Alex, you won't be disappointed with the fruit of your plant even if it isn't Blue Java. The Pisang Awak "Ice Cream" that is so widely available in the US makes very nice fruit and is a tough plant. It is either the same or very similar to the Pisang Awak "Misi Luki" that Pitangadiego and some others view as one of their best all around plants, considering hardiness, fruit production, taste, etc.