lornem

Looking for input on your 4 best tasting varieties that can be grown in a 12 foot tall greenhouse. Specify if lots of fruit or small quantity per plant. Ty.

Gabe15

12ft really narrows it so much that you're gonna be somewhat pigeon-holed into choosing varieties that can fit in there and actually make any fruit at all, and taste is going to have to be a secondary consideration, and is of course totally subjective anyway.

In reality, if you are successful and the plants are happy, even a Dwarf Cavendish can make fruit which is far superior to any imported Cavendish, and it's a very small and productive plant, so I wouldn't discount it. Dwarf Brazillian can make excellent fruit, the plants can get quite large over time in the tropics, but they should be fine for the first cycle in a greenhouse, and it's brother 'Raja Puri' is also worth considering though it seems to more frequently suffer from bunch choking under some conditions. Dwarf Namwah is also a nice choice because of its compact size, and the fruit is of decent quality and can get quite sweet.

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lornem

12 feet is not set in stone. Could go up to 16 feet if options make it worth it but heating costs increase with expanded volume.

Richard

Keep in mind that the listed height of a banana is the pstem height at time of fruiting, not the overall height of the plant -- which is typically 4 to 5 feet more.

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pitangadiego

None of the best tasting bananas will fit in your greenhouse, with the possible exception of dwarf Namwah.

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Tytaylor77

Goldfinger, dwarf namwa, dwarf Brazilian, gran nain (produce 50lb bunches) growing in ground for me, Veinte cohol, dwarf Orinoco (easy to find) Best tasting in that order (I like sweet less mushy bananas. All produce great for me except gran nain which is hard for me to get through winter in ground here. Last year was my first one to fruit.

I haven't tasted raja puri but I would include it for sure. Beware it's hard to get. Took me 4 tries to get the real RP. Way better to get corms from someone who has fruited their plant. If you order TC you may end up buying a RP and getting a 17' mystery banana. Then your greenhouse would need a sun roof. Most any banana that produces you will have leaves touching the top at 12'. They can be cut or bent down with little to no harm. Good luck and do lots of research. Especially on the place/person you buy your plants from. We have some awesome Canadian members that can tell you trusted sources.

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raygrogan

Just a dumbass idea, not something I have tested. Could you dig a hole for the plants - ei, grow each mat in its own well, while you the grower walk around at ground level 4 feet above. Make harvesting easy ....

sputinc7

Paggi is my favorite and it's not too tall, if you can find one. Nick Naranja may still have one. SH 3640 isn't very tall, either and many claim it's one of the best tasting. If I were you, I would make it 18 feet...if you can.

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Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

beam2050

yes, but it depends on the maximum high level of your ground water and drainage. of course these things can be over come.

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