Dartolution

Hi all,
I have been lurking around reading for a while, and thinking about which cool/cold hardy banana I'd like to try growing for fruit.
I ended up settling on a Gros Michel Dwarf Namwah.
It arrived today, and was quickly unboxed.

I am in central/south Alabama zone 8a.

Potted for now, but may plant next spring.
Thoughts, tips, tricks, suggestions?

I've tried multiple times to upload images here, but have never been successful no matter what I do

Iowa

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Growing Musa Orinoco since 1993 - Added 2018-Basjoo, Zebrina' Rojo, Ensete Red Abyssinian - Added 2019-Goldfinger - Added 2020-Kokopo (Short Cycle), Double (Mahoi), Highgate, Super Dwarf Cavendish - Added 2021-Pisang Ceylon(Mysore), Musa Margarita, Ensete Ventricosum - Added 2023 - Siam Ruby

JaredZone9a

I don’t see the typical place to upload images on the bottom? I’ve been on several message boards for years and it’s much easier on other sites. Looks like you have to drop a link/URL which requires image hosting like photobucket or similar I believe.

FWIW...I’m a member of a Houston, Tx Reef Aquarium forum called Marsh-reef.org They have a excellent website developer who can help out if you need him I’m sure. He’s very good. His name is Greg. Let me know if you want to revamp the site a little for super easy picture uploading. Not sure what your budget is here, but it might be worth it if it’s decent price. Easy picture uploading make a forum come alive!

Akula

A dwarf namwa is an excellent choice for your grow area. You should also try a dwarf Orinoco. Gros Michel is a more temperature sensitive plant and is gonna be a a problem unless you have a greenhouse with winter heating.

JaredZone9a

I went with a dwarf Namwa in 9a. :-) i’m hoping it’s going to be a strong little plant.

Dartolution

Sorry I should have been more specific.
It was purchased through grosmichelbanana.net.

Its a Dwarf Namwah pup about 8 inches tall or so.

I tried to rescale it and attach.

Attached Images

GMDwarfNamwah17MAY2021.jpg (1.75 MB, 14 views)

Yug

Good luck with the nanner!

edwmax

As Akcula said the GM is a very temperature sensitive plant and not really suitable for growing in zone higher than 10. .... I have one growing in zone 8b. It dies back to the ground every year and late starting to grow in the spring. Because of that it has never fruited. I fully expect a hard freeze to kill the GM. ........ The Dwf Namwah is a good choice to grow. Also try dwf Orinoco, dwf Brazilian, dwf Raja puri, FHIA 1 & 18 and a few others.

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edwmax

That appears to be a TC plantlet and is very difficult to grow. Keep it out of direct sun and mist the leaves for extra moisture to compensate for low humidity. .... Good luck on growing iit.

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Dartolution

I did assume it was a TC plant.
Humidity here is typically pretty high - 70% currently.
Its under the patio in dappled light out of direct sun.
I am not sure when to up-pot it however, of it I should leave it to continue to root in the nursery pot and then up-pot.
Suggestions?

Also, can these little guys handle fertilizer at such a young age? Organic? Sul-Po-Mag?

75north

I've heard Gros Michel is really not suitable for growing above zone 11A because it starts to take leaf damage in the mid-40 degree range. This hasn't stopped me from giving it a go in zone 9b (perhaps 10a these days?)

I overwintered mine in a pot last year but it's in the ground now so I'll see if I can get lucky. I'm interested in how it compares to D.Cavendish in terms of cold tolerance. I suspect this is something that people on here have experience with but I've had a hard time really finding any solid information posted online.

75north

I don't have the most experience with TC plants but here's what has been successful for me in the past:


-Put it in a slightly bigger pot, no bigger than a 1 gallon. If the pot is too big it will retain too much water for the plant to handle, but it needs to be bigger than the nursery pot so that roots have room to grow. I've found that a good potting mixture is ~30% perlite/30% coarse sand/40% compost.

-Start it in a sunny window for the first month or two. That should be better for growth than being outside in the shade.

-For the first couple months use a spray bottle to mist both the soil and the leaves. When the plant is young it doesn't have the ability to uptake much water through its small root system. This can also help keep the area around the plant humid while it stays inside the house.

-After a couple months if it's growing nicely you can move it into a bigger pot. The stress of replanting is better in the long run than the plant becoming root bound in a small pot. You can start spraying a diluted liquid fertilizer at this stage.

-From 2 months you can start easing them into taking outdoor sunlight. Preferably start in spots that get morning sun then progress to areas with dappled light in the afternoon. Even at this stage you'll have to watch out for full afternoon sun as it can easily burn the leaves.

-At about 4 months they seem to be ready to take full sunlight, I've found. I planted a few in the ground at this stage and they took off no problem.


I'm sure this isn't a perfect guide but it has worked well for me in the past. Hope it helps!

JaredZone9a

I’m assuming you mean below 11A? I’m a newbie, but I was thinking the scale is better if the number is higher.?

75north

Hah you're right. I was looking at a USDA zone map of Florida when I typed that, so in my mind "above zone 11a" = north of zone 11a. It definitely needs to be grown in zone 11a conditions or higher.

So that means that in theory at least, essentially the only places in the US that you could plant a Gros Michel in the ground and not have to worry about the cold getting to it are Hawaii and the Florida Keys.

edwmax

Your reference is for "Commercial production" of GM bananas. I believe a few of the Hobby growers on the forum has fruited the GM in zone 10 & 9A (Orlando & Tampa southward) when they had a very mild winter. .... There was a study back in the 1930s (????) for commercial production of GM bananas in Florida. Their conclusion was the GM was not suited for use in Florida and other varies were better.


My GM keeps coming back each year, but no fruit. I guess with the climate change, a winter is coming where the temps are 78 & 80 deg all winter and then I;ll have GM bananas to eat. .... ha....

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75north

That gives me some hope! I've looked for that info on here but haven't seen anyone say they've gotten GM fruit in Central FL.

Interestingly, the UF guide on bananas says flatly that Gros Michel does not produce in Florida, strangely making no distinction for the vast differences in temperature experienced in the north and south of the state. I don't know the extent of their testing but it worries me that they don't even mention having success with it hundreds of miles south of where I am.

JaredZone9a

Won’t be long and our zones will all go up one. :-) My 9a might turn in to 10 soon. Even with my other hobby of keeping Acropora coral (hardest on the planet) the reefs are starting to bleach around the world due to increasing temperatures.

hdynad

I grow both. Dwarf Namwah is an excellent choice. Strong banana and it is one of my favorites for taste. Dwarf Namwah is also an excellent
pupper at least for me.. Now Gross Michael was so hard to get going, 3yrs before it was over 1.5ft, fragile. As a matter of fact I almost discarded her but due to how much she cost I decided to give her 1 more year. Year 4 she shot up and gave me a flower late in the year, didn't get to try the fruit not enough time to mature. It was also the 1st year gross Michael finally gave me several pups. Sometimes you have to be patient with some of these harder to grow varieties. And that is not my strong point. Both varieties made it in the ground over wintering even with the texas freeze apocalypse .

Happy growing
Darla

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sddarkman619

You got that from me. I would up pot it to a slightly bigger bot no larger than a 1 gallon at most. This was in a green house so acclimate it to sun slowly over the next few weeks or month. Morning and after noon sun but no midday direct sun. Don't overwater it and let it dry out a bit between watering. Moist but not wet. Let the root system really take hold and once it gets root bound in that gallon pot you can then go bigger.

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sddarkman619

TC plants are NOT hard to grow especially if they've been planted already and hardened off as mine have been*usually*.
Her namwah will be fine as long as it's not overwatered and is allowed for the root system to get really established. which is not really hard to do.

If they were really that hard to grow, I would not be in business today.

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