Jenmfren

Hello all! I live in north west Tennessee, and I would like to purchase a banana plant for my mother, and I was hoping you all could help!! I would like a tree\plant that actually produces bananas. I do not want a 20 tree in her yard though... Someone suggested an Ice Cream Banana Plant, but I really am having a hard time finding information! Any suggestions appreciated! Thank you!!http://www.bananas.org/images/smilies/bananas/08.gif

Illia

If you get an Ice Cream, good luck on the search - Most end up the Namwah variety actually, but Namwahs are excellent!

What zone are you in? Do you plan to keep it outdoors all year?

caliboy1994

There are many choices. If you want something short I would go for Dwarf Orinoco/California Gold or Dwarf Namwah. You might have a shot with Raja Puri as well. But if you want fruit in your zone overwintering is mandatory.

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TNAndy

I live in East Tennessee, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. I have fruit growing on my Super Dwarf Cavendish. However, it is not planted in the ground. Edible bananas cannot survive the freezing temperatures of our Tennessee winter. You have three choices: 1) Plant your bananas in the ground in the spring, dig them up in the fall, store them in a cool space below 50 degrees F for the winter, repeat. 2) Plant your banana in a large pot. After the last frost date in your area, bring it outside for the summer. Before the first frost date, bring it inside and place it close to a South-facing window or sunroom. 3) Build a greenhouse to protect your banana from the freezing cold.

Choice one seems like an awful lot of work to me. Option three could get expensive.

My banana is in a 24 inch diameter container--it's actually a plastic half-whisky-barrel liner. When full of moist potting mix and with a banana growing in it, it's quite heavy, so I mounted it on preservative-treated 2X12 inch stock and put 3 inch casters underneath. The height of casters, container, and fully-grown banana totals almost 6 feet tall.

Good luck with your search.