chong

Welcome Allwine!

And hello! I live in Seattle, just west of the south end of Lake Washington, up the hill. I have overwintered most of my bananas in the greenhouse, though for the most part, it is unheated. The Dwarf Orinocos, one "alleged" Lady Finger from TX, another Lady Finger from San Diego, 3 "alleged" Texas Star (out of 5) are edible varieties that stayed green throughout the past season. Balbisiana and Thomsonii also stayed green.

The reason I say "alleged" is that the Seller sold them to me with those names. The Lady Finger from TX came with 3 other Lady Fingers that didn't look like the one that stayed green. Those other 3 didn't(stay green). It appears to me more and more now that it might be a regular Orinoco, since it grows so much faster and taller than the other 3.

The 5 TX Star I got from from a Seller in TX, was just rationalizing that they are Texas Star bananas, but she wasn't sure. She has shown photos of the fruits from the mother plant, and they looked like Dwarf Orinoco to me. But then, the photos of fruits of Texas Star and California Gold that I've seen looks like the Orinoco to me anyway.

I don't know about the Dwarf Lady Finger from San Diego. But I am impressed that it stayed green all this winter, even though it was just as close to the perimeter glass as the Dwarf Orinoco, while the leaves of the Dwarf Lady Finger from TX, which are further away from the glass, have turned black.

I have found that in the Seattle area, if you can keep the Orinoco from getting too wet during the winter, you can keep it outside. But if you want it to produce fruit though, you'll have to keep them warm (at least 60°F) and give it some supplemental lighting. Supplemental lighting is important because our solar index is the lowest in the country, even in the Summer. It just gets worse during the winter. The plants need a certain level of lighting to continue growing.