How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?
 

Hello. I have a mystery banana in a pot that i think is orinoco, but want to know weather it is dwarf or not. Isn't there some way to tell using the leaves, using some proportion of length to width? Any help appreciated. THanks.

Re: How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?
 

Hi banana13, sometimes it's hard to tell whether a banana is a dwarf or tall variety when it's young. The most reliable way to tell is to let the plant flower, as this will tell you for sure the plant's max pseudostem height. But generally, you can tell by the distances between leaf stems. Dwarf bananas tend to be stockier and more stout than their tall versions, and the spacing of the leaves is much closer. I believe the dwarf orinoco gets to be about 6-7 feet whereas the tall orinoco gets to be about 11-13 feet. That's a huge difference, so the difference in leaf spacing should be really clear. Hope this helps!

Here's a picture by gabe15 showing the difference between super dwarf cavendish and dwarf cavendish:

Re: How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?
 

dwarfs have a funny little hat and big boots:ha:

Re: How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?
 

Strange, mine has the boots but doesn't have the hat!! what is it then, semi dwarf?!?

Re: How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?
 

By the size of it's hands

Re: How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?
 

Let it grow....then you will be able to tell.

Re: How can you tell if a banana is a dwarf?
 

Short petioles are usually a good indicator.