Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Apparently they want to move the commercial banana belt further north!

Georgia banana-experiment

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Interesting article, Erlend... I was down at the Bamboo Gardens a little over a month ago and the site is pretty impressive. One of our own members is another one that is in this study. Hope they see this and give their two cents on it... Again, thanks for sharing the article...

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

really intressting! i see that the P-stems survived it, in which zone is this ?

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Daen,
If I am not mistaken, it is a zone 8b. Someone correct me if I am wrong...

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Brilliant, loving it
I cant believe they didnt have the funding to keep it going.

whats a 'frank unknown' then frank? LOL

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

LOL, I was wondering the same thing! I've got a couple of 'Frank Unknowns' here at the house myself, LOL!

The project is still going strong. The SPS had a meeting down there a couple of months back, and Dr. Richard Wallace had a really nice presentation on some of their findings. They also have some nice ornamental hybrids that they have created that will be released sometime next year, I think. This ongoing study is why the cultivar 'Veinte Cohol' has suddenly become so popular! Not too sure about its cold-tolerance, but it ripens a bunch of fruit in about 45 days or so, and can complete a fruiting cycle from a 2-3 foot (pseudostem) pup in the spring.

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Woah, I gotta get me one of those!!!!

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Yes...The Bamboo Gardens, the only one I know...is located along Hwy 17, slightly south of the city of Savannah, not far from tidal marshes & would be close to Zone 8b. Winters can be eratic ...more befitting a straight Zone 8 in the occaisional winter? I am waiting for a couple of Veinte Cohul, which won't show up 'til mid-summer. If you are interested in buying one of these nanners,...Going Bananas, in Homestead, FL sells them. They had a run on the plant recently, so a wait may be necessary.

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

That's cool, about time someone went all out like that.
Those hybrid ornamentals sound interesting also.

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

You should have seen some of them during Dr. Wallace's presentation. They were unbelievable!!! Be ready to have your socks knocked off when they come out, hopefully, next year....

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting study.

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Wow. I just may be able to fruit a banana using that variety. Put it in a pot outside in the late spring, bring it in during early fall. Then store it with light etc. in the basement over winter and have it fruit the next summer.

Now to find a way to get several of those into Canada.

Allen

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Interesting i hope they get more funding mabe we banana heads sould fund a study what do you all think really how much could it cost and what zone would be ideal id love to grow bananas for a living how about you all?:bunchonanas:

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

I am sure you really didn't mean, "how much could it cost"... I would be afraid to ask... I do good just to support my nanner habit at home, much less someone else's addiction...

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

I live about 7 miles from there and pass by it everyday going to work. The "Bamboo Farm" as its called by locals is about 50 acres and currenty run by the University of Ga, It was originally used as a research site to see if paper could be made from bamboo fibers.

They have hundreds of different varieties of plants growing there. They grow strawberries and allow folks to come in and pick their own and then sell them by the pound. Some of the bamboo on the roadside must be 40-50 feet tall. I haven't been inside the place in years, but now I'm gonna have to stop in soon and see what varieties of banana they have.

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

i think it would cost a lot! hey when you go to the bamboo place, can you take pics of the bamboo, if you dont mind. i have been looking for some and there is a spefic kind i want. just dont know the name, but id know it if i saw it. thanks in advance.

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Pauly you have a shot at growing bananas for a living with the temps down there. Fertilizer and water could be expensive but .......

Allen

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

On a slightly related noted, its becoming apparent that 'Viente Cohol' is possibly an Inarnibal group member, this is better known as the "40 day bananas", the fruit ripens in about 40 days from emergence and the plants themselves are quicker to flower it seems. 'Senorita' and 'Pisang Berlin' are both in this group as well, I have both but they are too young to say anything about yet, they should be in the ground by August though and then I can see how they grow.

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

Are u Kidding Allen if i tried to grow naners here Clark County water district would surely sew me they do every thing in their power now to Keep people for having a yard and so far I'm having a bit of tribal with the sun burring my William hybrid
its funny about the sun you would thing naners could take the hot sun since there mostly grown in places that are nearer the Equator were the sun is most intense well i can still dream maybe all move to a place and start a naner plantation would be cool to develop a naner that transports well and that doesn't taste like those nasty Gran nanes they force us to eat
:woohoonaner:

Re: Interesting banana hardiness-project in Georgia
 

that is true....but on the otherhand when the nanas grow in the wild they are usually under a canopy of other trees. so pretty much they only get filtered light. unless they are on a nana plantation. and im sure when they put out a new pup it burns up too. so there are a few things we can do...let the leaes burn and pray that the new leaves coming out have an spf of 45...or shade screen the whole yard (who can afford that)... or grow them under a canopy...me i want to see if they have an spf of 45. lol!

p.s. i understand the water co giving you !@#$. let them tell me this summer im not to water outside plants. ill take a 1 gal milk jug and put it in the ground next to my nanas. poke holes in the sides of the jug, and cover the whole thing but the opening with mulch. and fill it up with water and let it go. where there is a nana it will get watered.