john_ny

Some years ago, I had a friend who lived in Jacksonville, FL. The house was a rental, and I guess the landlord, or someone else, took care of the lawn. (I don't think she even owned a lawnmower.) The house had a very large fenced backyard that was, basically, just a large field of grass. However, in one back corner, along the fence, there were some plants growing. I asked what they were, and she said that she didn't know because she never went back there. I walked out to take a look, and it was a small mat of bananas and, in the middle, was a large stalk of fruit, ready to be cut. I got a knife and cut them.
Now, as far as I could determine, these plants got watered when it rained, never got any fertilizer, never got any cold protection. The fruit was full size, and nice tasting.
Does anyone have any idea what variety could grow under these conditions?

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John

magicgreen

Well John since it was Florida........It could of been A N Y H I N G !!! I mean...you know.....Floooreeedaaaaa. Mind you iam like a newborn to tropical plants, but everything Ive read so far, tells ME that Florida is theeeeeee place to be to grow these babies. Somebody probably just threw it on over there in the corner of that yard and with all that pretty weather there, it just grew! Good luck with this one! LOL MG

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

john_ny

I just thought that Jacksonville is pretty far north in Florida. It certainly is not Homestead, or Key West. It can get pretty cool there.

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John

mskitty38583

in jacksonville fl it can get to 30 degrees sometimes a little lower. and also it depends on where in the yard you put your plants. ie.. close to a wall, north ,south,east,west, near pavement or out in the open.it also depends on the canopy of other trees. how do i know this?? im from jax. sometimes people get plants as gifts and they think the plant has died and throw it out in the yard. winter comes, leaves cover it, and wala spring comes and you dont know what the heck you got growing in your yard. so that is one explanation of how things that you dont plant end up growing in you yard. that happened with one house we lived in. the people before us had carved pumpkins and threw the seeds in the side yard when we moved in, we had pumpkins growing. i thought pumpkins would grow in fl...guess i was wrong.

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bencelest

Yes, I used to live in Mayport that's next to Jacksonville and it could get pretty nippy out there.
Can you describe the fruit and the height of the banana?
Bananas can grow "wild" without any care as in the islands. Once planted they are on their own. No watering or fertilizing. All the natives care is the fruit when it ripens. But the bananas grow very healthy.

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Banana Nut

mskitty38583

i know where mayport is...hang out at the beach much?? we did! glad to see im not in nowheresville by myself. i love mayport.

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Rmplmnz

I would guess Orinoco as this is the most common dooryard banana in Florida..I have been given so many Orinocos over the years described as everything from Strawberry Bananas to Burros.

magicgreen

Boy o boy I havent been anywhere . I didnt think it got cold in Florida! Iam learning so much from this site!

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

Bch Grl

J'ville gets very cold!!!! sometimes into the teens, but that is rare and not usually till Jan or Feb.

I have seen it in the low 20's for 3 days ina a row(at night).

But as I drive around J'ville(for work) I see lots of Bananas!!! and they thrive with out help. But Mskitty is right, we have lots of micro climates, Ocean, River, trees, walls, etc. Could be anything!

Margie
(Mskitty...we find out tomorrow!!!!! Go Gators!)

mskitty38583

wooosaaaaa! i know you rite!!how ya been beachgirl? that hisman is gonna look good sittin on his wall!!! hey i got 2 more yrs of school. give or take a few months..then ill be at the gator bowl myself!!you do know students get a discount for tickets. i was watching csi miami, and the first thing i see....nanna trees everywhere!its great.

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bigdog

Yeah, it can get cold in Florida, but it is relative, lol. Jacksonville is far from the coldest spot in Florida though. Gainesville is colder as far as absolute lows go, I believe. But the coldest 'hole' in Florida that I know of is Crestview! I have seen temps there go into the teens almost every year. I'd still take it over my climate though, lol!

I would agree with Rmplmnz that it is probably an Orinoco mat. By far, still the most common banana in Florida.

mskitty38583

hey well thats good the orinoco is the most popular in fl. when i move back i just go nana ranglin in my neighbors yard! NOT. lol. beachgirl, you watch wwe? ps michael hayes was on wwe tonight. hey bigdog, my sister lives in gainsville, yesterday morning she said it was 32 degrees outside. she never paid attention to the nana trees in town till i started talking about them. now everywhere she goes she says she sees nana trees and calls me bad names.

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john_ny

Benny- As for a description of the fruit and plants, it was a while ago. As best I can remember, the plants were about 12 -15 feet tall, and the fruit looked and tasted like store bought.
As for getting cold in Florida; I'm a retied Naval officer, and when I was going to flight school, in Pensacola, in the panhandle, we got snow once. It didn't last very long, but it was enough that some folks made a snowman.

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John

bigdog

My Grandfather was stationed there during WWII, and he lived there till he died in '97. Grandma still lives there, and Grandpa is buried on the base. Love Pensacola!