Seamus

Hi everyone, I joined the site today because Im determined to grow bananas that I can eat... of course I live in an area that doesnt fit the mold.

Colorado, 5B BUT... our heat here is different, yes, its not humid like Neb or TX or GA etc but many full sun plants get fried here and then the winters, well, no we dont get 100 feet of snow but we do get a bunch, its not humid etc etc etc.

Heres the question:

is there a banana that I can grow in the ground that produces fruit that we can eat that I can get through the winter and get to fruit in say 6 months of being outdoors?

I know there are people who grow them in green houses such as the Colorado Permaculture Institute etc... but... is that what Im stuck with? dont read that wrong, if I need to have a dozen dwarf cavendish plants and keep them potted and in the sun room thats fine, I was just hoping to find something I could freak my neighbors out with

Funkthulhu

I think it's hilarious that you think Nebraska is humid. . .

Welcome and good luck!

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Seamus

lmao. is it not? I was there once, 23 years ago for a family reunion, we were between Sioux city and Sioux falls or something like that - in July for the 4th, 600 ppl and a giant river, way over 100 f and yeah, like 8000% humidity. Had to get in the pool to dry off.

Greg Jordan

I'm in Longmont CO and have been growing bananas about 10 years, I haven't found any fruiting bananas that are even close to hardy here. I do have a blooming DC now though.
Greg

Illia

Nebraska isn't humid. Humid is Washington, the Carolinas, the southern states, and FL.

But anyway, welcome!

The only banana hardy enough for your zone without much protection is the ornamental Basjoo, whose fruit is small and heavily seeded. If you want to grow good edible bananas successfully, which I always recommend anyone do, you should consider a greenhouse or moving indoors or in a cool (not freezing) dry place for the winter. And just in case of accidents. . . Try cold hardy and dwarf varieties. Namwah, Brazilian, Orinoco, California Gold, Goldfinger, and Rajapuri are all short and somewhat hardy bananas that won't die in a light freeze, but should still be given TLC anyway. And, if you want bananas before winter - Veinte Cohol is a variety that though most definitely not cold hardy, will give fruit before the season ends if gotten in the spring.

If you want to freak your neighbors out, which I LOVE doing over here, you can grow the bananas outdoors until right before it gets too cold, then erect a greenhouse or a protective structure over them for the winter, then uncover them the next frost-free date. And, in that case, definitely choose a more cold hardy type so it endures the winter better. My Namwahs can handle 28 degrees without any protection and still have a live P-Stem. They come in both dwarf and full 12-14 foot sizes.

Seamus

Thanks Greg, what do you grow them in? Im assuming outdoors but I may be wrong.

Illia - have you been to CO? we have zero % humidity here... not kiding, zero. Ok, maybe 10% .

Thats what I was thinking, I have a greenhouse, sunroom and space in the house though we dont keep it that warm inside during the winter. and, if you saw my yard you would understand why I say that my neighbors wouldnt be freaked out if I erected a giant cold frame/mini greenhouse for a tropical tree. : ) They would just be freaked out by a 20 foot tropical tree in the yard... They all stop by and ask "whats that" and when they find out Im planting cheeries or blueberries they all say the same thing "you wont get any fruit, the birds will eat it all"... ok, Im eating pie right now with fruit we grew that the birds didnt touch because they have seeds everywhere to eat. and when I tell them Im growing tobacco plants I get "it wont grow here" ok, smoking some cavendish I grew, cured and wet kilned so to speak to perfection. and so on, with the solar dehydrator etc etc.

I dont know everything by any means but I do research the hell out of stuff and do things people tell me I cant because I think its funny when it works out. So, from my research, reading everything here I can and talking with a couple people via pm I have concluded that A. getting fruit may take some time and some serious effort but can be done and B. to do so will require me to grow them in an environment I can control temp wise and nebraska I mean humidity wise

I intend on going the dwarf route like you said Illia, growing maybe 8-10 plants and keeping them warm enough in winter to not have to over winter them. While it does get quite cold here we have more sun than almost all other states and where Im at we have excellent southern exposure, in the green house and sunroom I am building rocket mass heaters and can even build planters in between the exhaust pipes to keep the planters warm. Think cob covered planters 3 feet high 5 feet wide with a 3 feet wide space and how ever long I want them to be, so a planter that 3 ft high, 3 ft wide and say 15 feet long. I dont know, its an idea, maybe 4 high and 4 wide and 12 feet long. If I did that I would be able to keep the "ground" at 80 f and bring the air temp up to close to that.

Anyways, it seems that the dwarf varieties are the way to go and if I want fruit its a longer process because the temps will still be a little lower than perfect, same with humidity and light. does that sound about right?


thank you all for your time and insight, I really appreciate it.

Seamus.

robert0514

This may be quite a wild suggestion but musa bordelon can fruit within 6 months of dying to the ground (you would need the corm up and replant it every spring) however the fruit quality varies from plant to plant but they are possibly edible.

Seamus

Thank you Robert, I will certainly look in to that.

LilRaverBoi

Bordelon is ornamental and has seeded bananas....not what you want.

As far as the humidity goes, I live in Iowa and it's pretty hot/humid here during the summer. There are worse places as far as both heat and humidity goes, but if you are used to dry heat, humid heat is MUCH different and more oppressive.

Now, about the bananas. I would say you have about zero chance of overwintering anything outdoors that produces edible bananas in zone 5. So your next options are growing in pots or growing outdoors in the ground during summer, and overwintering indoors during the winter. I've been overwintering indoors for years and it can be difficult depending on what you have for windows in your indoor growing space (south windows are best). Some varieties do not tolerate this well either (my super dwarf cavendish has been notorious for always restarting from pups every winter which eliminates the possibility of fruit). Pests like spider mites can also be a big issue during the winter.

My advice would be to try dwarf varieties that tolerate overwintering indoors. A few that I've found to work for me are namwah, dwarf brazilian and praying hands. As stated previously, I've had poor results with super dwarf cavendish. I've heard orinoco overwinters well also. Maybe look into dormant overwintering if you don't have much space inside.

Basically, to achieve edible fruit in your zone requires a bit of work and a lot of luck. I really wouldn't get your hopes too high. I've never gotten a bloom yet and I've been at this for some time in zone 5. Don't let that completely crush your dreams....keep working toward it, but maybe focus on being able to keep them alive over the winter first.

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