mckoinld

Ok I have been well and thoroughly bitten by the banana bug. While I want a grove (mind you not just a plant but a whole grove) of every banana known to man, I will settle for varieties that will thrive in zone 9 where I live. I would like to solicit you experiences with the true hardiness of different varieties. I already have several.
They are:
Ice Cream
Black Thia
Kru
Gran Nain
Balbasiana
Dwarf Red ????(from wellspring)
2 unknowns - will get pics maybe yall can ID them for me
Also have Emsete Maurelii, Siam Ruby, and Siam Margarita on the way.

So please suggest away....
I would like to get the edables first then the ornamentals.
Thanks in advance,
Lonie

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GOOOO TIGERS

bencelest

Here's a copy from Tony's post and from Joe Real's bananas from zone 9. He lives at Davis CA zone 9
Joe Real's Cold Hardy List, from most hardy to least:



California Gold
Thousand Fingers
Monkey Fingers
Orinoco
Brazilian
Golden Rhinohorn
Dwarf Orinoco
Dwarf Brazilian
Misi Luki
Mysore
Namwah
Raja Puri
Manzano
Ice Cream
Gold Finger
Dwarf Namwah
Sweetheart (FHIA 3)
Namwah Pearl
Praying Hands
Saba
Cardaba
Williams
Belle
Valery
It comes from his years of planting bananas in his backyard. What works and what's not.
I may add the double mahoi, viente cohol, lacatan, dwarf and super dwarf cavendish at the bottom 3.

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Banana Nut

sunfish

I believe the Kru is the least hardy that you have . Zone 10 and up.

sbl

I think the dwarf red will be pretty sensitive too. Orinoco is one not on you list that is definitely cold hardy in zone 9, dwarf cavendish is also suppose to be good for this area.

damaclese

Siam Ruby, and Siam Margarita no way zone 10 and up they need constant heat even inside in the winter

things on my list that can make it with protection
KM5
Ae Ae
Moa extra protected with cold house
nun of these will make it in a bad year

I set timbers in to the ground and rap them with plastic makes a nice cold house have to do that with my AE AE this year its to big to move now

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coast crab

Lonie;

My siam was just about the same size last year as it is now (picture to the left), and I lost about half the heigth of the pstems last winter. Came back just fine this past spring.

Ice cream is huge and blooming (pics in my gallery), lost only leaves on it last winter. This is my first year with Ensete too, but from what I've seen hardiness seems iffy here - just depends on the winter. I'll know a lot more next spring!

The Gulf Coast and California are two VERY different places, no matter what zones they are.

Russell in Mobile

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damaclese

Amen Brother thats what i keep telling People this is why i live in zone9 but get away with more we have hardly any humidity makes freezing of the p-stem harder not imposable just better and i live at almost 2500 ft the sun is extra intense in the winter you can stand out side in 32 deg in shorts as long as you are in the sun and its toasty we don't have allot of wind chill in the winter time and its short only 8 weeks

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