Illia

So first I must ask, are these two really the same?

Second, I have to ask, are they worth it (for me)? The flavor and the high reputation through the forum sound amazing, however, I live in zone 8 (not sure if it is A or B, temps change each few decades) and I overwinter my bananas from about October to April. Now, I hear that these take over 20 months just for the fruit to ripen, so I must ask, is that true, and does that automatically make it not even worth trying in my climate?

I'm new to growing bananas, so I don't know how much of the ripening process is required to be on the live p-stem and how much can just be hung in a non-freezing room. So, if it takes more than 7 months for a variety to ripen, does that mean I need more than 7 months of frost-free environment to get worthy bananas?

momoese

It takes about 6 months to ripen here in So Cal depending on the season. I think the bunch could be cut down and brought inside to ripen after 4 months or so. They just need enough time to fill out a little. It might have an affect on the flavor and texture though.

caliboy1994

Based on my experience with BSV and Mysore, go with Pisang Klotek or Pisang Ceylon.

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Illia

So, the two are not the same?

Would I really need to worry about BSV though? Unless of course the plant I purchased already had it, I'm pretty much in an area one could never find any pests/virus/diseases when it comes to bananas.

I'm glad to hear of the 6 month ripening period. I really hope someone else can chime in and confirm ripening to happen in less than 9 months.

kaczercat

well I was reading something on We be bananas and there is only one or two small differences between the two the hight and I think resistant to BSV. I have a mysore and it's doing great! no, like me you don't have to worry about BSV. as the plant matures the colors in the leaves/p-stem are beautiful. As for the taste people have said Mysore is one of their top favourites.

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Matt

harveyc

Realistically, it's not very practical to try to grow bananas for fruit in your climate, IMO. Still, many of us do things for the challenge and that is much of the fun of it. Besides the time for getting a bunch to ripen, it takes many more months for the plant to get to the point to produce a flower to begin with. Most of my bananas have taken three years to fruit and that's in USDA zone 9b. The first year is getting established and get to maybe four feet tall or a little more. The next year they might get tall enough to flower but that is less than ideal for me since it would be late in the summer or early fall and the bunch would never develop/mature. Ideally, at the end of the second year it is large enough to be close to flowering and will flower by June. For all of this to happen, the plant must withstand the two winters and stay alive, albeit with all of the leaves killed from frost/freezes. In your climate, the chances of a killing freeze are much greater, though the corm of some varieties would survive. If you are able to add big amounts of insulation somehow (some people have put wire cages around the pseudostem and filled the cage with leaves while another hobbyist from Utah built foam boxes around his plants and heated the enclosure with a light bulb), you might be able to do it but you would probably be better off with some type of Orinoco.

I'll soon post a photo of one of my California Gold (probably a form of Dwarf Orinoco) that is beginning to flower. It threw out maybe four leaves before the flower bud emerged so it will be a bit hard for the bunch to develop properly. Still, I had another unknown variety that flowered back in March or so and has no leaves but is looking fairly good.

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Illia

Oh, I'm aware of the long road ahead, but I feel it is worth it. The Bananas are grown in an unheated greenhouse, so temps inside usually fall no less than 28 degrees. I plan to move the bananas out and overwinter them in a separate building though, so, I'm aware that in doing so I will certainly lengthen my growing out to a few years. My concern is running into the end of the year long before the fruit are even mature enough to cut down.

Already growing D. Orinoco.

harveyc

Then I think it's worth a shot since their growing environment is better than zone 8.

Have you fruited your Dwarf Orinoco?

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harveyc

By the way, as a point of reference, my 3' tall Psiang Klotek withstood 35 nights of frost and one night down to 22F (briefly) which is a lot worse than what yours would be facing in your unheated greenhouse.

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Illia

Not yet, I just got it this year. The first fruit I'm expecting will be late winter/next spring from my Velutinas. Those I'm going to bring indoors to grow all winter, as they're small enough.

Kostas

The genome of BSV is integrated in the genome of Mysore subgroup cultivars so they dont need to be infected from another plant,they already have it but in an inactive form that cannot be transmitted to other plants nor does it cause any harm to the banana. Under certain circumstances though,these integrated BSV sequences can be activated and the virus start expressing itself. From then on,the virus can be transmitted and it is affecting the health of the plant negatively, with streaked leafs meristem death,failure to flower or smaller bunches. Once activated,the virus rarely goes back to inactive form and the plant should be considered as infected from then on. There is no cure other than a few treatments developed to treat this virus in tissue culture so the plant should ideally be killed and disposed of to avoid the risk of spreading the disease through mealy bugs.
Fortunately,most plants never express the virus and never become infectious but its not too rare for a ''Mysore'' to develop BSV either. Pisang Ceylon is supposed to never express BSV and Pisang Klotek has so far a clean history among the members growing it. They are all very attractively colored,more so than other bananas and i have found them to be more leaf hardy than most varieties. I dont know about pseudostem hardiness though relating to other cultivars.

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Illia

So, is there anyone out there that can shed some light on how long it takes either to ripen? I know plenty people here grow Mysore.

momoese

emegar

Harvey,

I'm curious to know more about your Pisang Klotek and the kind of winter you describe it surviving. Did you give it any protection? Did the pseudostem start off the winter at 3 feet? I ask because I planted one I purchased from Jon which was about that height last fall, and it almost immediately rotted to the ground under much warmer conditions than those you describe. About half the corm survived the winter, and it has just now resprouted for me. I'm not sure why it suffered such a setback here in 10a.

James

momoese

It happens James. I've been nursing a dwarf red for 2 years that has rotted several times. It's always been in a container with soil that's more perlite than anything else so it's really baffling to me.

Darkman

My PK survived the winter in an unheated insulated pool house that I just left the lights on on cold nights. It really isn't growing very well this year still in a pot. My DR under the same conditions were just a corm when they were potted and placed in the room.They sprouted in the room and are growing nicely now that they are outside but still in the pot.

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Illia

I saw that, replied to it too with thanks, I'm now asking if anyone else can also confirm it for me. I know bananas can vary a little, so I hope I'm as lucky as you.

momoese

It sounds like you should have no problem in your greenhouse. My PK's survived the low 30's and Harvey and others have shown some cold tolerance as well. I think the longest any bunch has taken to ripen on the plant in my garden was 7 months and that was a Jamaican Red. It's a great looking and tasting banana so I say go for it!

harveyc

emegar, sorry for missing your question directed towards me a few months ago. It's already been addressed somewhat by momoese (rot causes). My PK had zero protection. The pseudostem was maybe about 3" in diameter. It had been planted in the ground in the spring and got a slow start and not the best of care so it didn't grow a lot but was pretty well established when winter came last year. Although I mix compost into my heavy soil when planting it doesn't seem to be enough and I need to install a more effective automatic irrigation system. I've done what I have time for and my results are okay with a total of 7 bunches of fruit this year, though some are too late to mature and one is a basjoo.

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venturabananas

Emegar, I had exactly the same experience with a couple of different banana varieties of which I planted newly separated pups in autumn. In short, don't do it, at least in So Cal. It is not consistently warm enough for the plants to grow fast enough to outpace root and corm rot during the cool, wet winter. Established Pisang Klotek and Pisang Ceylon plants (e.g., planted as pups in late spring or early summer) have no problem surviving winter here.

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