Zacarias

Hello,

So I'm kinda bummed that dwarf brazilian and dwarf namwa actually grow too big for my patio needs even though I think they'd be perfect for San Diego. The only dwarfs that seem doable in a pot in an apartment patio are like dwarf reds/greens or grand nain/dwarf cavendish. The problem is according to what I read, those are not that cold hardy and in San Diego the winter will set them back quite a bit. Any other suggestions??

Z

wolfebc

I would plant a Musa Mahoi, and or a Musa Enano Gigante. Both of these
are plenty cold hardy enough to live in your zone and will produce edible
fruit. They also will stay at a manageable height for a balcony. I usually
leave my Enano Gigante plants out until it gets almost at freezing night
temps, then bring them in and they start growing again once warmed up.
That is a excellent cool tolerant banana.

One just for ornamental purposes that looks spectacular is the Musella
Lasiocarpa. These are super cold hardy and will never get too tall.

Zacarias

While the actually the cavendish bananas will not lose really any leaves in San Diego climate, it certainly suffers kind of a growth shock in the winter. I don't know if it's worth it, but I'm still thinking about it.

Z

wolfebc

I know there is insulated pots, but they are more expensive than
regular ones and you might have a hard time finding them where you are.
I always put a fair amount of mulch on the surface even
thought they are in pots and find that helps protect the corm against cold.
I have also doubled up pots putting one inside the other instead of getting
insulated ones and that also helps protect them.
The mahoi also grows a nice thick stem helping to protect the growing point
more in colder weather.

meizzwang

Dwarf Namwah will probably work, but it'll be stunted unless you have a really, really big pot.

Maybe try rajapuri, which only gets 6' tall even when planted in the ground and well cared for. if you check out the banana wiki page for it, it was fruited in a pot successfully. I've also seen Dwarf orinoco successfully fruited in a pot. However, in San Diego, you have the right climate to grow so many different varieties, too bad you can't put them into the ground.

Challenge is, you really need a reputable source to get the plant you want, especially rajapuri. Some folks have purchased many different rajapuris from many different sources, most of which didn't turn out to be rajapuri. Try acquiring plants from members on this forum who have solid reputations, I've had the best of luck getting properly ID'd plants this way.

Zacarias

Thank you for all your comments! I actually got a great large dwarf namwah pup from crazybanana locally which I'm excited about. I will have to put it later in a huge pot though.
Raja Puri, I think I got one before but yeah it's sad to grow a banana for a long time only to realize it's not what you think it was. Plus I worrying about it choking after waiting all that time for a flower.
Maybe next year I'll be renting a house where I can plant more bananas my way!

Z