lkstapleton

Has anyone had any experience with 'Carolina King'? When I search Google, I only see two places to buy it, and one is Ty-Ty, and I don't want to do that.

The other is J.D. Anderson. Has anyone bought from them, and if so, was your experience good?

Finally, J.D. Anderson says that it's not sure whether Carolina King is a variant of Cavendish, or possibly just Cavendish? Does anyone here know?

I'm interested because it is listed as being among the most cold tolerant.


Lisa

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ron_mcb

im sure carolina king or queen is just a made up name given to a known cultivar like a certain other cultivar that was renamed and hyped up.
if you are ordering anything that comes from these people or know of anyone who is offering anything that comes from these people be careful.

reliable source of texas star

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chong

Anyone selling Carolina King bought their original stock from the Double Tee Nursery in GA. That would include JD Andersen and Stokes. While the latter two may have impeccable credentials (I'm not saying that they do, just that maybe they might, I will not say one way or the other), their credibility on this particular plant is reliant on the credibility of their supplier. By that I mean that since there are a lot of questions raised by some of the members here recently as to whether the actual varieties that are shipped are consistent with what were ordered, one might question whether these secondary vendors received the appropriate varieties from their supplier.

My own curiosity for a true TX Star overcame the allegations about the reputation of the vendor, that since I've never had problems with them in the past, I finally placed an order from them. My recent experience is no different than in the past. The only question that remains is that whether in fact I received what I ordered. I will only find out for sure after the plant fruits. So far, it is performing well in that one of the plants survived last Winter and is growing extremely well. If it survives this next Winter, as big as it is now, there's a great chance that it might bloom next year. Survivability of Winter is only one criterion, of course. And it has only survived one season. So, I have some more waiting to do.

ron_mcb

some people have very negative opinions on these people based on the way they were treated over the phone after thier order was botched.. my order was botched with these people and i was thinking it was maybe an isolated and unfortunate incident.. i was also not given the best customer service over the phone either.

i know for a fact that their knowledge about their product is limited and they compensate for it by being rude and or making unreasonable excuses.

im only giving an honest opinion based on ordering experiences and a few personal meetings with these people. use caution when obtaining any product ever marketed by these guys ..
this goes with every time you make a purchase from virtually anyone nowadays.

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Jananas Bananas

Very interesting!

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Jananas Bananas

blownz281

How about a picture of this banana? Thanks

lkstapleton

TyTy claims these are pictures of Carolina King:
Carolina King Banana Tree, Banana Tree Varieties from TyTy Online Plant & Fruit Tree Nursery

But considering their record, I am not sure whether to believe it.

Lisa

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chong

Some of the pictures with tall pseudostems could be the CK. The plant in photo with the lady with the red bra looks more like the Dwarf Orinoco. Carolina King fruits look like standard grocery bananas. Having said that, I believe most of the photos are there just to sensationalize the ad. Years ago, before the internet, their magazine ads were somewhat more informative. I still remember the description they gave of Carolina King was that the plant was discovered growing in a plantation in North Carolina, which purportedly, was planted in the late 1700s, and continued to produce fruits, thus giving hope for extending the range for growing bananas in the North.

If you are really interested in this variety but leery of this particular source, then your only alternate is to literally try to find the original source that they got them from, or find someone who is actually growing them in North Carolina. Otherwise, whether you buy it from them or other commercial sources, it wouldn't make any difference since these other sources got their stock from TTN anyway.

TTN named this variety, just like they named TX Star. So, if you want "Carolina King" you will just have to buy it from them or these other nurseries that got it from them. Any other source will definitely not be the same plant. I think the bigger question is whether Carolina King actually has the properties that they say it has. Therein is where your faith is challenged.

lkstapleton

I'm kind of thinking that I would rather stick to some of the other plants on the cold-hardy list, at least for a while. So I'm thinking of Thousand Fingers, which is clearly a real variety, and I already have Dwarf Orinoco and California Gold, which are supposed to be pretty cold resistant. Someone near me has also fruited Goldfinger, so I will probably try that one, too. I'm in San Jose, CA, and so here the question isn't so much whether it will live or survive--I think a lot of them will hang on here--but whether they will produce fruit. I've asked fellow Silicon Valley CRFG members, and so far, DO, CG, Goldfinger and Dwarf Cavendish (in pots, with winter protection) have fruited for people here, and not much else. So I think I'll stick with a short list of extra hardy ones for now, though I will experiment with Thousand Fingers, Kandarian, and when Veinte Cohol, when it's my turn on the waiting list.

Lisa

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chong

I have seen some fruiting bananas in San Jose, although I don't know what variety they are. I have seen some Dwarf Cavendish with fruit in Santa Rosa and Bodega Bay, back in the mid-80s. I think that being coastal helps tone down the effects of low temperatures. Do you get much frost in your area?

lkstapleton

Yeah, I think that I maybe even ordered from them or one of their aliases once, years ago, when I think that they were doing business at a Florida address. Never got the plants, even after follow-up phone calls.

These days, I think they give themselves away with the cheesy models. Nobody else does that in the gardening world, at least not with sexy models. Usually, if there's a person at all in garden ads, it's either a proud grower or a little kid next to the sunflower to show that it's as big as her head.

Lisa

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lkstapleton

Yes, usually once or twice a year it gets down into the twenties, at night. Then it shoots back up to 40s or 50s in the day, so we rarely have prolonged cold. Only once do I remember us ever getting below 20 degrees F, and that was a freeze in 1990 that they're still talking about in CRFG here. So I think I'm in zone 8B or 9A.

At CRFG's demo orchard there are bananas growing in the open, unprotected. I think they've only borne good fruit a few times; usually, the fruit get almost ready, but don't make it all the way before a cold snap.

Lisa

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chong

If you think that TTN's price on Ae-Ae is high, have you seen what they're going for on eBay? There's a member here that sells them on eBay, and that the same price she's asking for on a BuyItNow. Ae Ae Banana Plant Live RARE Hard to find Older plant - eBay (item 350243834202 end time Sep-22-09 20:26:44 PDT)

Oops! I just checked the TTN site and their price has gone up $100! Last year, when I ordered some TX Stars, they were only $150.

chong

Lisa,
If you're leery about TTN, here's a different source:
Live Banana Plant 'Carolina King' Fruit Tree Plant 1gal - eBay (item 310160485756 end time Sep-06-09 1413 PDT)

I've ordered from this company before. They are in So. Cal. - JD Anderson Nursery. Give them a call if you're ansy (Phone: (760) 723-2907). Talk to Dan, one of the owners.

blownz281

Its a cavendish from what I have read,and people have just given it that name Carolina King. SO who the heck knows...

ron_mcb

jesus christ, allah,sellasie i,and budda !!! there is a woman in a bra on their site now??? these people are getting worse. next they will use hardcore porn to sell plants...... then dont dare look at banana ads

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lkstapleton

Yeah, the TyTy and Aaron's site kind of look like Fredericks of Hollywood had leftover pictures from its "Tropical Trollops" summer catalog and decided to sell them to these weird little nurseries.

I think that I'll wait and see if JD Anderson gets enough experience with their plants in the next year or two, and see what they say. They seem honest, and even said in their description that they haven't had enough experience with it to know if it's a variant of Cavendish, or just Cavendish.

I already have six fairly cold hardy varieties, and I think they'll keep me busy learning how to grow them, at least for the next year or so.

Lisa

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lkstapleton

Oh, and they're nothing if not obvious. Check out the description page for Golden Rhino Horn at Golden Rhino Horn Banana Tree, Banana Tree Varieties from TyTy Online Plant & Fruit Tree Nursery. It's a guy, looks like a teenager, in his underwear, with a "strategically placed" banana.

Lisa

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cowboyup4christ

They have been in the sandhills of NC. at least since 1910
http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/ncm/ind...07/25/bananas/
so they may be a type of Cavendish, but they have been around for a while and are more than likely not grown as much anymore. who knows but i would really like to find someone who grows them and try one or two just to see.

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Richard

Hey Lorax, do you have any pictures of the "Carole King" Banana?

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