Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

Hi
Are bananas any better in flavor when you let them fully ripen on the plant or does cutting the whole bunch when some turn yellow lead to the same flavor?

The possums, rats and squirrels don’t have any interest in the bananas I’m growing but some of the bananas are splitting.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

Some varieties tend to ripen in fairly quick succession so those I harvest the whole bunch, but a couple like the FHIA-03 usually has a 1-2 week ripening time between hands so on something like they you can reach I sometimes only cut off the ripe hand instead of the whole bunch.

for splitting you need to stop watering now.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

Thanks for writing back
Have you noticed the flavor being better when they ripen on the plant?

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

tastes are subjective but in theory the longer they are on the plant the sweeter they should be. I noted very little if any difference flavors but in a 3 week period between the first hand and the last hand ripening the last hand filled out bigger.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

what varieties do you grow and include in this statement?
what do you consider sun scorched? never had anything here in florida that has damage from the sun.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

I had one bunch of Orinoco that were a bit "sun scorched" or at least they had that unappealing "weathered" look on the outside. I didn't notice anything about the flavor. The plant in question fruited with about three leaves after winter so not much protection for the bunch as they ripened.

As far as harvesting as the bananas turn yellow--I think that's possible with dwarfs but I'm not humping up the ladder every two days to pick a few fingers from a 14' Namwa pstem. Haha.

There are exceptions primarirly due to some fruit being susceptible to splitting that leads to early harvesting but my experience has been to leave the fruits up until a couple begin to turn yellow so they are at maximimum size. One month plus or minus can make a huge difference in the harvest size. Flavor changes (sweetness) as they move from yellow/green to yellow to brown and the peel gets thinner.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

I cut them when they are a good size you like on the tree. Then just place them in the sun for the quickest ripening. If you prefer slower ripening leave them in the shade for a fridge. Not sure about leaving them on the tree, could be worse as more potential to forget them or ripen to fast or bugs. I generally cant wait so I just see they are green and looking large and then cut them and store in sun within a day or so they can already be yellow.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

First sign of a yellow fruit I cut the bunch and separate the hands for indoor ripening.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

I cut the bunch down when they just begin to turn yellow and then hang them on the porch where I can see them and pick as I like. Some varieties I cut up into hands. I don't think a week extra on the plant makes a discernable flavor difference. The only time I noticed flavor difference was when I had to harvest my Namwa a month or so too soon. Plus I've been waiting for months to ripen and I'm not going to provide chance that a critter / bug will beat me to them for an extra few days on the plant.

If I don't see them, I sometimes forget to harvest timely, then they end up splitting and attract bugs/fruit flies. And some varieties ripen very quickly so a few days makes a big difference. Many times the hands are too close together / too high up / awkward angles to cut off individually. If I don't pick my Raja Puri green/yellow they fall off when I harvest hands or the bunch. And Blue Java get smooshed way to easily if harvesting on plant ripe.

Glad to hear FHAI-03 is a slow ripener... Just planted Sweetheart and its a trait I've come to appreciate. 100 bananas all ripening at the same time is a real drag.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

My experience with Dwarf Red was that you had to leave it on the bunch until they were ready to fall off. For some reason the reds take a lot longer to ripen than the yellows.

Re: Ripen bananas on the tree or cut once start turning yellow?
 

I do what momoese does. After the first couple times of leaving the bunch whole after harvesting, and picking off ones from the whole thing, and having ones I'm not trying to pull off fall off, and fruit flies come, I decided that I wanted to cut up the hands and spread them out over the counter- it's a lot easier!