brandynb988

I've read that the ice cream plant will survive in zone 6 if you take it inside during the winter. How difficult would this be to bring to fruit?

sunfish

brandynb988

Oh ok. So if I wrap it up for the winter and let the leaves die back it'll produce inedible fruit when it regrows??

Abnshrek

No, it may get burnt by frost or frozen and become such. Try & grow an Orinoco (Hardest etible to kill) if you don't kill it try an IC.. You know hone your skills.

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brandynb988

That's what a lot of people have said is a good starter. I guess I jumped the gun a little and got excited about growing my own bananas before I researched it. I think I also ordered a Musa Mekong Giant. That one will probably more ornamental if it gets too big to store.
What would be a good sweet Dwarf variety?

brandynb988

Also, this wasn't directly answered, if the leaves in winter will it still be on track to produce or is it like cutting it? The plant will "reset" itself?

sunfish

In either case the plant does not reset itself

scottu

The only sure way to grow a banana and get fruit where you live is to keep them alive and growing throughout the winter. You need to have, a place with enough height to bring them inside, at least 10 -12 feet, or more. You have to keep the temperature up above 60 or so degrees min, 75 degrees is better, and you need a significant light source, lots of sunlight with some additional light to make up for the short days, or lots of quality grow lites etc. Anything less is reducing your odds and is then joining the learning curve we all are dealing with.

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Illia

Yep, as the first post linked has mentioned through the posts, the main issue is that most banana varieties take a minimum 5 months to fruit and mature properly. So, even if you do overwinter by removing the banana, chances are an Ice Cream (if it is the real deal) would only give you fruit if it flowered first thing in the spring, and if your climate had a long enough growing season with enough heat in the summer. I know that isn't that case for me up here, haha! So, I overwinter my shorter ripeners but the more slow growers I keep in greenhouses or indoors during winter months.

If you keep an Ice Cream (or Namwah) outside in zone 6 it will die, even the root/corm will die. If you protect it well, it will be a little like keeping it indoors somewhere cool to overwinter. It may live (but in your zone, more likely die back to the corm and regrow a new banana the next year) but there's still the flower to fruit timing issue.

So, it's possible, yes, but there's some complications and special care that goes into it. My advice is either having a greenhouse, growing it and appreciating the foliage if you don't get fruit in time, and/or getting a different variety. Dwarf varieties are easier to work with when it comes to moving indoors or growing in a greenhouse, and some of the shorter ripening time varieties you'd have better luck with in any scenario, be it overwintering or growing throughout the winter. But, some of the short ripeners like the famous Veinte Cohol are not cold hardy, so keep 'em safe during the winter.

Pancrazio

Some of the short ripeners?
I thought there was just the Veinte cohol as short ripener. What are the other short ripeners?
I'd love to ry one.
Senorita should be a short ripener but it is practically unobtainable. Kru should be a short ripener but is very very cold tender (so much tender that is practically unusable; even if short ripenining, the days in the year were you don't approach to damage temperature aren't much more than the days needed for ripening.
I'm curious because the long ripening time is maybe one of the biggest problem in obtaining bananas.

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Illia

There's a rather rare variety called Chundillakkunnan that is said to ripen in 3 months, possibly less. Gran Nain is said to ripen also in under 4 months, same with Rose and Goldfinger. This isn't guaranteed with everyone though, and conditions are the big variable. Others that ripen fairly short are Rajapuri and Pisang Jari Buaya. There's others out there too, even short seeded ones like Velutina, which though seeded with little production, will give ripe fruit from a baby plant in 9 months. (ripening time about 2 months)

Rose is cold hardy, don't know how cold. Pisang Jari Buaya seems to be confused with Monkey Fingers from time to time and is said to be cold tolerant but is too rare to really be confirmed, though Monkey Fingers to some is considered one of the hardiest, so, who knows. Gran Nain isn't too tolerant though. Rajapuri is very cold hardy. Not a clue on Chundillakkunnan's hardiness, as it was pretty much publicized as a fast ripener under 2 years ago.

I've no full experience on these varieties yet, this is all on my research. Some of this research is based on tropical growing conditions, so others' may be longer due to stress in bananas from cool, dormant, or cold situations.

Pancrazio

I see. Rose is easy to obtain here, and i'll take a Goldfinger too. Also, they don't become too big, so maybe they are worth a shot. Rose, in particular, seems very pretty. But if rose is an AA i doubt it will be very hardy... i expect it to be like a cavendish, and it would be a good result for an AA clone.
We have 3 months of tropical climate here (62 day/year with max temperature above 86F and hot nights). They may be good for helping the fruit to ripen, if i'm able to get flower early in the season (hard, i know).

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