robguz24

I still think "Little Shop of Horrors" when I see the huge bud emerging

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robguz24

I only have Hawaii-grown fruit to compare, but the rajapuri I've had are good, not great, and the Orinoco I'd say are worse. flavor of rajapuri is good to my taste, sort of like a DB, but with a chewy, weird texture like a namwah, but off-putting to me, while I like the similar texture in the namwah. Orinoco has a fluffy texture to me and a somewhat bland taste. They are however, big fruit and impressive, and supposed to be very good cooked. Assuming SDC tastes like DC, it's much like a grocery store cavendish. If you like those, I'm sure you'll like home-grown cavendish.

All are certainly good enough to grow at home and be enjoyable and even with the bananas I like less, I still like having variety.

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Lemmysports

Andy17, I forgot to answer your question about how high my DC fruited. Both were around 5' pseudostems, maybe 8' to the top of the tallest leaf.

andy17

I was really interested in the Veinte Cohol, but it seems that a lot of members have had mixed results with it. One thing that seems to be pretty sure is that it's great for fruiting regularly if it can survive the winter.

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andy17

Thanks Rob! This is really helpful! I've probably asked you this before, but what are your favorite varieties and recommendations? I've found a Pisang Ceylon for sale from an ebay user who bought a batch from Agristarts, which I would love to get, but they're a big plant right?

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venturabananas

It's a tall plant: 12-15' of p-stem, up to 20' to the tops of the leaves.

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venturabananas

My impression is that it really needs tropical-like conditions to do well. So, if you can time it right, Veinte Cohol can do well in SE USA, where summer is hot and humid. But then you need a greenhouse to keep it happy the rest of the year. With my year-round, cool coastal conditions in CA, it grows at a snails pace in summer and nearly dies each winter. And it seems like the jury is still out on flavor. Maybe some of the members who have them fruiting this year will gives us their opinions.

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andy17

Whew! That's definitely too big for the space that I have, but it definitely a beautiful plant! Do you think the Rajapuri is worth the garden space? Also, is it in the same family as the Brazilians?

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venturabananas

Yes, it is a good plant if you need something small. It is in the same subgroup as the Brazilians (Pome subgroup). It has the advantage of being smaller than Dwarf Brazilian. It has the disadvantage of having fruit with poorer texture than DB, but the flavor is very similar.

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Richard

Buy a 4 foot hat rack and hang banana bunches from the grocery store on it.

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andy17

hahaha! That definitely might be easier!

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robguz24

My favorites for me in my growing conditions.DB, Mysore, and Gros Michel and kind of tide for top 3. Namwah is after that, and some I've tried as "High Noon" Likely SH3640, were also quite delicious. I'm sure any of the Mysore variants like PK are excellent to. I still have many verities, just in my own yard to try for the first time someday.

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venturabananas

Regarding favorites based on flavor, as is often said, there's no accounting for taste. For example, I prefer the varieties with a little tartness, whereas when I give one of those to my neighbor, she says they are too sour and doesn't like them at all. She only enjoys bananas that are sweet with no acidity. So Andy, you need to think about what kind of fruit flavors you enjoy. If you don't like a little tartness, you won't enjoy Brazilian, Mysore, and Rajapuri, for example.

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andy17

Thanks Mark, that's a very good point. I haven't tried a whole lot of varieties yet, so I guess I'm still at the stage of figuring out what kinds I like best. The creamy, classic banana kind is definitely a favorite, which I guess would be like a cavendish or Gros Michel? I've also had a tangy, apple like kind that was sold for a short time about 6 years ago that was really good too, maybe Goldfinger? Are there any other sweet/creamy banana varieties other than cavendish? Thanks!

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Richard

When you say "under 6 foot", do you mean the pseudo-stem or the leaves as well?

If you mean the pseudo-stem, my choice would be dwarf Namwah for both taste and production. It will need to be in a 25-gallon pot and in your zone stay indoors from mid-fall to mid-spring. My guess is that it would take 3 years to maturity and fruit.

If you mean the leaves and everything under 6', I'd stick to grocery store bananas.

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venturabananas

Yes, lots. With about 1000 varieties of bananas out there, there are lots that would meet that description -- and lots that wouldn't. As a general rule of thumb, with lots of exceptions, the varieties with all A genomes (Musa acuminata), the AA's, AAA's, AAAA's will tend to be sweet and creamy. Examples would be "Baby Bananas" (Sucrier subgroup, AA genome), red bananas (AAA genome), and FHIA-17 (AAAA genome). And there are plenty of bananas with some B in their genome (Musa balbisiana) that would also meet that description, but most of the tart ones have some B in their genome (e.g., Mysore: AAB; Brazilian: AAB; Manzano: AAB; Goldfinger: AAAB).

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andy17

Thanks Richard, this is really helpful. Yes that's a good question, I forgot to clarify that in the OP. Definitely the pseudostem height. As long as the plant is under 10 ft., it should be good. A 25 gallon pot is totally doable--I think my limit is 30 gallons practically to move in and out. What do you think is the best method to overwinter containerized bananas?

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andy17

Thanks Mark, this is really helpful!

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caliboy1994

You might not want to try with an AA or AAA in your area unless you plan on bringing it inside though, they hate the cold. If you don't mind a bit of a larger plant with 6 to 8 ft of p-stem, why not try Dwarf Namwah? If you let them ripen enough they are extremely sweet with absolutely no tartness.

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Figaro

I grow a number of figs along with the bananas (and several other tropicals). The reason you don't see the flower on the fig tree is that a fig fruit, itself, is actually an inside-out flower.