What do I have to do?
 

Hello there,
I am completely new to this.....I attached a pic of my banana. I got this tree from a friend who lives in Santa Barbara. I planted it in November 03, it is in the ground. I live further north, near San Francisco. My banana is now 13 feet tall and has fruit for the first time. I am excited, but worry that I need to do something to protect it? Can I eat the bananas? The pic was taken 3 days ago, and now it it opening up, I can count almost 10 bananas! I also have 5 little trees around the big one, will they make it through the winter?
I appreciate your help,
Wilma

Re: What do I have to do?
 

Hi Wilma,
There's a bunch of threads in the cold hardy banana forum about overwintering your bananas. Have you seen them?

Re: What do I have to do?
 

Try and keep the plant as warm as possible to let the fruit grow. Plus in the springtime you could go ahead and remove the 5 pups growing around the mother tree and plant them on their own. They should do fine through the winter. It sounds like you have had no problem with the mother plant over the past few years. The mother will only fruit once. Yes you can eat the bananas. They will need time to ripen and grow. Thats cool that you got nanners though. Congrats. Rob:pinwheelnaner:

Re: What do I have to do?
 

I don't see enough in that picture to be certain of an identification of the banana. It looks a lot like my Orinocos in size and bloom color, but I can't see the stem or leaves very well. Definitely edible. Any more pictures?

Paul

Re: What do I have to do?
 

Thanks for all your help. I attached a pic I took this morning. I am really enjoying this! I keep you posted.
Wilma