trebor

Ice Cream (Blue Java)
FHIA 01 (Goldfinger)
Namwa

This is a question
These are 3 cool tolerate desert bananas that I am aware of. Are there others being grown North of lake Okeechobee Florida that do well in a cooler environment.
My reason for asking is my friend want to get into some bananas in his back yard . I want to suggest banana plants that will do well in his area . Plantains also

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If ya can't eat it, it ain't growing in my back yard !

Abnshrek

My namwah's / IC look better than my orinoco that has 6' of p-stem.. :^)

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caliboy1994

Orinoco is hardy as well. You might want to give Raja Puri a shot, it survived the SoCal winter and bounced right back like nothing happened. And also maybe Saba?

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Abnshrek

I think D. Braz would do good too.. :^)

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blownz281

All mine in my sig will survive winters here,testing Cavendish,Siam Ruby since I have spares. GM is growing inside so don't count that one

trebor

looks like Raja Puri and D Braz Will also be added. l guess 5 Will be enough . He has a pretty large area so maybe he Will do well.. great soil up there.. close to him 10 minute ride is a pretty big cattle ranch . so he Will not be doing to much fertilizer buying ..
Thanks for the input .. its nice to be able to ask experienced folks.

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If ya can't eat it, it ain't growing in my back yard !

Illia

Praying Hands, Saba, Thousand Fingers

Nicolas Naranja

Kandrian is cold hardy, but I would only recommend it for looks

Since most frosts in Florida are radiational, I would suggest taller varieties.

Gran Nain, FHIA-17 and Dwarf Superplantain took an absolute beating during cold weather.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

Abnshrek

I can say in my experience that 1000 Finger does grow as fast as the other 2 listed, I'd grow. :^)

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hydroid

My experience has been that the Goldfinger is not that cold tolerant for my area, but they always come back every year. Namwah has been pretty cold tolerant for me also.
I always recommend Orinoco as a beginners plant because they seem to be tough and durable under most extreme conditions and it always helps if a first time grower has success (like the old timex commercial) "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking". I've also had very good luck in cold with Saba. Hope this helps.
Bo

Jose263

My experience with varieties I have in order of cold tolerance - best to worse
T.Orinoco - ok nanas - very tall pstems - 14-16' not easy to winterize- long ripening time
T.NamWah - great nanas - 2nd season - 10' pstems
Goldfinger - no nanas yet - 1st season in ground - 7-8'pstems
RajaPuri - slow grower - no nanas after 3 seasons - 5-6' pstems
D Cavendish - slow grower and cold tender-no nanas after 3 seasons
All of above survived winters with insulation. 26F lowest
I have potted Cali Gold, D Brazilian, Blue Java(maybe), Dbl Mohai - hoping these are going to survive in ground next season. or i'll be buying more winterizing materials.
Whoever suggested Siam ruby -Also have a potted Dwarf Red and Siam Ruby - definitely not cold tolerant - leaves fried in low 40s other night.

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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

Illia

lol Yeah Siam's are a terrible choice for anyone who doesn't have hot summers nor decent winters. Rule of them, never go with red anything in the cool/cold unless it is an Ensete sp. (or in my case, I want to try out an odd banana that looks red once ripe but is an ABB type.)

I'm personally curious if anyone has experience with FHIA-3 (Sweetheart) in the cold.

wildcoffee

[quote=Nicolas Naranja;211159]Kandrian is cold hardy, but I would only recommend it for looks

Why only for looks? Does it not taste good? I planted it last year and it certainly has grown tall, but no flowers yet.

Erica