Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Hey Everyone,
I would really like to get another variety, but I'm really short on space (needs to be fairly portable). Can anyone recommend a short variety (<6 ft.) that is a pretty reliable fruiter? Thanks!!

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Raja Puri. The wall in the back there is under 6' tall. The flower bud emerged at head height for me, and I am 5'7".

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

DO? SDC would be to sensitive I guess?

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

My California Gold is small and has produced 2 years in a row. I just got a flower from a Raja Puri and it is also less than 6 feet tall. Both of these are more cold tolerant.
The Veinte Cohol are small and rapidly ripen, but I have to bring them in, in the winter in order to get bananas.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Lima flowers at 5' - 6' ft EVERY Year!

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

That's awesome! I've not heard of that variety what is that kind?

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Thanks everyone --I really appreciate it! How does the flavor and texture of the rajapuri compare to the DO or SDC? I've heard its really good much like Dwarf Brazilian

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Unfortunately there was an unusually cold winter and I didn't get to taste the fruit because of that. But I am expecting more flowers from this mat. I hear that it has a nice sub-acid flavor, and that many enjoy it.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

I know it's kind of boring, but I've had good returns on my dwarf cavendish. Just over a year for the first to flower, than 2 months later the sister shot up a flag leaf. In that time I've moved or given away well over 20 pups. I've got high hopes for a couple of dwarf reds, but I have not heard much praise at my latitude.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Dying to see if my "DC" produces next year. I'm looking at lots of flag leaf, flower and emerging fruit pictures so I won't be too shocked if it does "bloom". I've grown a lot of plants in my life but, quite honestly, this whole banana "fruiting process" looks like an alien has overtaken a pretty plant. Maybe I should have stuck to figs...;)

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Kat2, don't go back to figs! I am new to gardening in general (especially tropicals), but bananas seem so gratifying. Up until my first bunch of fruit I just though they looked nice, but once I got a bloom and a big bunch of bananas I became obsessed. To me, it is less "alien" and more magic!

I will admit however, the dwarf cavendish plants are cool, but I've since become obsessed with the big plants. Than again, I have plenty of space (and grass to get rid of) and it doesn't get too cold here.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

I'll probably get sucked into figs again; they're so easy. And I'm trying other things now that I've moved from the arctic north. Seriously, doesn't anybody else think that strange purple thing is a bit creepy when it pops out of that pretty green foliage? guess not...

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

For me, their extremely fast growth rate alone is magic.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Hey Lemmysports, that's great! Despite its rep, I still think the dwarf cavendish is a classic banana variety. It's good to hear that they flowered in around a year! I currently have one in a 19 gallon pot, but it's been a slow grower. This will be its second year, but it spent a huge chunk of last year indoors and didn't get out of its one gallon pot and outside until two months into this year's growing season. It seems to be finally starting to take off, so I think it was due to poor growing conditions. What height did your plant flower? Also, how did the flavor compare to the ones in the supermarket?

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Andy17, I have probably had more luck than some because I am in a warmer climate, have my plants in the ground, and have fed them heavily with compost. We also had pretty good growing conditions for most of this year.

As for the fruit, it's still hanging from the tree and not ready to be harvested yet. I did try a fruit from a feral mat (which I believe to be orinoco, though I could easily be wrong) and it was quite good, and one fruit from a local nursery's icecream which was also quite tasty. To me, they still tasted like a banana but certainly had some different characteristics... and magic... don't forget the magic.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

That's the truth! They're so fun to grow because you can see new growth everyday!

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Figs are unique too! I've got a large Brown Turkey and it's really wild how they just appear out of the stems unannounced without any flowers or big show. Especially on mine, because of where it's located, you can't see the figs until they're almost ready to pick--then they seem to pop out of the foliage suddenly :ha: Although something always gets them every time like two weeks before they're ripe, it's just one day, they're gone.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

You have to net them or the birds/squirrels get them. Learned that lesson.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

I think he's talking about Datil la Lima. One of those short cycle, dwarf bananas like Veinte Cohol.

Re: Best Fruiting Banana for Small Space?
 

Yes and no. That's what it should be, a Sucrier subgroup plant, but what is actually getting passed around in the US as "Datil la Lima" is just Rajapuri.