Banana's Edible and Ornamental

[Dartolution]

Do we have a banana thread in this part of the forum? Im lazy and don't feel like searching. 

If not, is anyone north of say - zone 9 - growing edible or ornamental bananas?

I have a large mat of basjoo's and a potted TC of Dwarf Namwah I plan to make room for in the backyard next spring. 

Musa Basjoo:

 

Dwarf Namwah:

[amh]

I have a few blue java, a dwarf Cavendish, and a mystery variety growing in pots, but they have yet to fruit. I have a mystery variety that survived -F, unprotected in the ground and my neighbors blue java survive in the ground as well. Results are probably not typical because there was 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground for insulation. I will be putting the potted plants into the ground this upcoming spring.

[Teegurr]

Those are some nice healthy bananas, plus that Queen looks great. Hopefully that potted Namwah will fruit next year. I have a most likely edible banana that's been in the ground since March, but I don't know the variety. It could be Namwah. 

 

[Swolte]

Great idea for a thread!

I don't have a lot of banana experience but for the Musa 'Ice cream'. I got them from a buddy of mine 5 years ago and they are still going despite the neglect (and lack of supplemental water - yes, I am in Texas). They survived Uri unprotected (3F!) without even an extra layer of leaves or mulch. They have never produced banana's for me but that's because I generally don't water or fertilize them (they stay under 7 feet that way and I mostly keep m for their ornamental value) after they were established.  My friend, who has 'm in an irrigated spot, gets edible bananas on a yearly basis from these! Since I didn't think it was possible to grow banana's AT ALL in Texas without much supplemental water, I have been thoroughly impressed.  

I recently banana'd up, so I have a small Musa Basjoo and a Golden Lotus banana to try. So far so good. I am interested in low-care banana's that can survive central Texas weather.

[Dartolution]

The basjoos are really nice bananas when properly grown and fed regularly. They produce very sturdy thick pseudostems in full sun and can withstand 70mph sustained winds (mine did during Zeta last year). We had a bad winter last year but nothing like the center states and texas. It still got down to 15F were I am, and about 5 feet of pseudo stem survived unprotected on the basjoos. 

 

In my reading I found that true ice cream (blue java) are notorious for flopping over when fruiting and need staking. It was for this reason I opted to get a dwarf namwah because of how sturdy they are and that most agree they prefer the taste. We shall see. 

 

I have a red ensete in the front. Ensetes are really beautiful ornamental bananas and most definitely worth growing. 

Pardon the dirty concrete. I need to pressure wash but we've had 2 solid months of daily downpours and the algae is taking advantage of such moist conditions. 

 

 

[climate change virginia]

I heard of one person in MD that got a banana to fruit

[Chris Wilson]

I'm growing Musa Basjoo in southern Ohio zone 6b and I usually have at least 1 bloom every year. They are actually becoming really popular in my area, I see them everywhere. I also grew a huge Ensete Maurelii a few years ago but I lost it during the winter in the garage.