sman87

Hey everyone, I recently got interested in bananas over this past year and wanted to try growing some nice varieties this year. I have a few questions id like to know more about, but first I will give you a general description of where I live.

-Northeast Ohio 6a/5b boarder I live on a lot of land and farm area.
-Couple of ponds on my property bordering my woods, with open sunlight southward
-Abundant fertilizer readily available free as well

I was wanting to know what would be my best choices of bananas to get ideal growth and size in my area. I already bought 2 Basjoos about a month ago and are doing well in a grow tent I set up for the winter in a room in my house. What determines how large pseudo-stems can get height-wise and girth-wise? Is it amount of sunlight, fertilizer? Id like to pick a few more types to plant this coming spring that can really fill out well in a growing season. I have no problem digging some up for the winter to protect them too. Id like to set up an area for growing around my pond it should get lots of summer sunshine but also breaks of shade as well. Any info to get me started in the right direction would be great! With so many types Ive seen talked about around the forums Its hard to choose lol

pushak513

Mekong giants MIGHT over winter there. once they get a bit of pstem on them they will grow as fast or faster than bajoo and I think they overwinter better myself. Are you looking for ornamental or fruit types you could possibly eat?

venturabananas

Genetics, nutrients, sunlight, and water. Genetic potential sets the upper limits. E.g., Saba can get massive, Super Dwarf Cavendish will stay tiny. Most others are somewhere in between. Saba in a bad spot, poorly cared for will be smaller than one in an optimal spot that has been pampered.

Probably just about all varieties will do well for you over summer. It's the rest of the year that will limit you and you'll have to decide how much effort you are willing to make (e.g., do you love your bananas so much you'll build a greenhouse for them, or will you dig them up and store them in a cold cellar?).

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sman87

Thanks for the advice guys.
@pushak513 I like the ornamental type for sure like the basjoos and hearing more about the Mekong sounds like something I'd def like to look into. Yet I'd love to possibly havest some nice bananas if I put in some effort for their care. The tricky part will be my winter I could overwinter in my house but I know a lot of editable bananas get fussy with transition

@venturabananas that's good to know I can get a good general growth out of most varieties out here. you are right, overwintering will be my concern I could lay them dormant in my basement. Will most pstems die back regardless? Like wintering something like 6 to 8 feet? Would any varieties be able to maintain their integrity without rotting? I've seen that you have to keep moisture to a min. There's also a chance my local nursery can overwinter bananas in their greenhouse for a fee. Lol I'd imagine I'd have to haul them there in my truck bed at the end of summer lol

LilRaverBoi

I would say basjoo and mekong giant are two that could possibly overwinter with protection. Other things that will probably overwinter well would be orinoco, musella lasiocarpa and ensetes (maurelii, glaucum, etc).

You can do just about anything if you have the space indoors for overwintering (dormant or growing). I have had success with quite a number of varieties here in zone 5....as have many others on this site.

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Chance1945

Do you have a reliable snow cover through the winter? If so that can increase your choices of what you grow, especially if you add a good mulch before the first snow.

I planted several this past year and left them in the ground just to see what would make it. This year though I'm not sure we've even had a freeze, just a couple of days with frost that burned all the leaves. Here we are in the deep of winter and some of mine are pushing out new growth. I should have a new leaf completely unfurl on one of my Thai's, or Nam Wah.

sman87

Yes snow cover is pretty widespread for a prolong time in the winter the past few years I can remember. From the first frost till about Christmas it seems to be mostly dry with some snow, yet from that point on till spring snow hits heavy and hard with thaws and flooding in between. It's not uncommon to have 10 degree weather one part of the week and have 55 degrees by the weekend in Jan and Feb. I assume because of standing water from snow melt I will have to pick a site not prone to water-logging. I bet i could build soil mounds up with topsoil I have to create drier beds for them.