super dwarf cavendish

[ZPalms]

I bought a super dwarf cavendish back in December and as spring is starting to appoarch I just wanna know how hardy is it if I were to plant it in the ground or is that not a good idea and what's the lowes that It can take if outside in just a pot and how do you keep pest off of it outside (Thrips, Catipillers, ect)

I did google these questions about hardiness but I can't find anything accurate, hoping others have had experience with this plant

Edited February 25, 2022 by ZPalms

[UK_Palms]

Assuming you are referring to the banana, here is a photo of my dwarf Cavendish taken last week. I wouldn’t subject it to any freezes as it is one of the least cold hardy banana types. The foliage won’t burn until it reaches 32F but the trunk will take pretty bad damage at 30F I believe, which could be fatal. I am expecting a radiation frost here tonight and will bring it indoors later. Then it will go back outdoors again on Saturday morning. Keep it in a pot until your last frost date has passed. 

[Merlyn]

3 hours ago, ZPalms said:

I bought a super dwarf cavendish back in December and as spring is starting to appoarch I just wanna know how hardy is it if I were to plant it in the ground or is that not a good idea and what's the lowes that It can take if outside in just a pot and how do you keep pest off of it outside (Thrips, Catipillers, ect)

I did google these questions about hardiness but I can't find anything accurate, hoping others have had experience with this plant

I have all three of the mini Cavendish: Truly Tiny, Little Prince, and Super Dwarf.  In my experience they are about the same as the common Dwarf Cavendish, the one that grows around 6' tall.  They burn pretty severely under freezing, especially with frost.  All of mine are torched at 24-27F from that freeze at the end of January.  I expect that they'll grow back in the spring, some of my bananas like Bordelon are already growing.  If you don't expect any more freezes or frosts then it would be fine to plant them.  But I'd wait until the risk of frost is gone for the year.

[Chester B]

Not cold hardy in zone 8a, and not in my zone 8B either.

Musa basjoo

Musa sikkamensis

Musella lasiocarpa

These three are reliable for me.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Chester B

[Xenon]

4 hours ago, Chester B said:

Not cold hardy in zone 8a, and not in my zone 8B either.

Musa basjoo

Musa sikkamensis

Musella lasiocarpa

These three are reliable for me.

You can't grow anything edible? Not even as a dieback perennial? Lots of edible bananas are cold hardy into Texas zone 8, the most vigorous are 'Orinoco', 'Namwah', and 'Blue Java'. 'Super Dwarf Cavendish' comes back in 8b. 

I don't understand why anyone would grow M. basjoo in southern zone 8 when 'Orinoco' is bulletproof and will occasionally produce tasty fruit after a mild winter. 

[Chester B]

42 minutes ago, Xenon said:

You can't grow anything edible? Not even as a dieback perennial? Lots of edible bananas are cold hardy into Texas zone 8, the most vigorous are 'Orinoco', 'Namwah', and 'Blue Java'. 'Super Dwarf Cavendish' comes back in 8b. 

I don't understand why anyone would grow M. basjoo in southern zone 8 when 'Orinoco' is bulletproof and will occasionally produce tasty fruit after a mild winter. 

I think our wet winters do in the more tender ones.   I have not heard of Orinoco so that one may be worth a try.

And who said Musa basjoo weren't edible? I try eating one every year  So bland....

[ZPalms]

Thanks for the responses, I'll keep it in the pot and just take it outside when it's appropriate!  

how do you keep pest off, I have a lot of bugs around here that love to tear up leaves and I'm assuming the banana leaves would be a pest paradise and what is everyone using to fertilize?

 

[ZPalms]

6 hours ago, Chester B said:

Not cold hardy in zone 8a, and not in my zone 8B either.

Musa basjoo

Musa sikkamensis

Musella lasiocarpa

These three are reliable for me.

I've been looking for Musa Basjoo but I've been finding it difficult to find a good trusted seller, They don't even sell them at lowes during the season, I was lucky to find super dwarf in a local greenhouse nearby.

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

You can't grow anything edible? Not even as a dieback perennial? Lots of edible bananas are cold hardy into Texas zone 8, the most vigorous are 'Orinoco', 'Namwah', and 'Blue Java'. 'Super Dwarf Cavendish' comes back in 8b. 

I don't understand why anyone would grow M. basjoo in southern zone 8 when 'Orinoco' is bulletproof and will occasionally produce tasty fruit after a mild winter. 

Are the winters more dry? I would love to try more bananas that are edible but I feel like they would just die in our wet winters

[JLM]

I am getting ready to plant M basjoo this Spring just for the foliage. I love the large lush leaves these things put out. I am looking into Dwarf Cavendish to plant outside, probably somewhere near the house. It will take some time and protection, but maybe i can eventually get some good bananas.

[ZPalms]

Is Musa Bajoo the best banana tree for south eastern north carolina, Hope Mills area? Is their anything hardier? Do you have to protect them in the winter or cut them back? I've been thinking about getting one, I saw PALMS ARE COOL on youtube has some and hes in charlotte and didn't cut them down or anything and they came right back

[JLM]

1 hour ago, ZPalms said:

Is Musa Bajoo the best banana tree for south eastern north carolina, Hope Mills area? Is their anything hardier? Do you have to protect them in the winter or cut them back? I've been thinking about getting one, I saw PALMS ARE COOL on youtube has some and hes in charlotte and didn't cut them down or anything and they came right back

Basjoo is the hardiest underground, but the bananas produced as full of seeds and basically not edible. No banana to my knowledge can withstand freezing temps without damage, but basjoo is very root hardy and will likely come back every Spring in NC. These plants like to try and pump out new growth in between freezes if we have a short warm spell down here.

[ZPalms]

11 minutes ago, JLM said:

Basjoo is the hardiest underground, but the bananas produced as full of seeds and basically not edible. No banana to my knowledge can withstand freezing temps without damage, but basjoo is very root hardy and will likely come back every Spring in NC. These plants like to try and pump out new growth in between freezes if we have a short warm spell down here.

Having edible fruit would be cool, I wish their was one that produced actual fruit to eat that tasted good but was just as cold hardy but hopefully somebody responds to my request in the looking for section to sell me a pup 

Edited March 22, 2022 by ZPalms

[JLM]

5 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Having edible fruit would be cool, I wish their was one that produced actual fruit to eat that tasted good but was just as cold hardy but hopefully somebody responds to my request in the looking for section to sell me a pup 

Cavendish would be the way to go for edible fruit then, of course if you want the ones like you find in the stores. There are other varieties that produce bananas that are just as good if not better than cavendish, but they are less hardy.

[ZPalms]

1 minute ago, JLM said:

Cavendish would be the way to go for edible fruit then, of course if you want the ones like you find in the stores. There are other varieties that produce bananas that are just as good if not better than cavendish, but they are less hardy.

I’m assuming cavendish are less root hardy and would need a greenhouse of some sorts or does that come back in the spring like musa?

[Xenon]

Orinoco is root hardy in zone 8+ and produces fruit 10x more tasty than Cavendish imo. You would need to protect the pseudostem or have an exceptionally mild winter (above ~25F) for successful fruit set. But left on its own, you still get the tropical foliage a la dieback perennial.

There's absolutely no reason anyone should grow basjoo in southern zone 8+ 

[spike]

On 2/25/2022 at 2:07 PM, Chester B said:

I think our wet winters do in the more tender ones.   I have not heard of Orinoco so that one may be worth a try.

And who said Musa basjoo weren't edible? I try eating one every year  So bland....

I've read that people in japan eat them but they don't ripen a lot. Also an idea, have you tried frying them?

[ZPalms]

19 hours ago, Xenon said:

Orinoco is root hardy in zone 8+ and produces fruit 10x more tasty than Cavendish imo. You would need to protect the pseudostem or have an exceptionally mild winter (above ~25F) for successful fruit set. But left on its own, you still get the tropical foliage a la dieback perennial.

There's absolutely no reason anyone should grow basjoo in southern zone 8+ 

Is their a normal Orinoco or is it only a dwarf because I keep finding only dwarfs for this banana

[Xenon]

5 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Is their a normal Orinoco or is it only a dwarf because I keep finding only dwarfs for this banana

Non dwarf is the most common, there must be millions of them along I-10. Saw plenty of them in Savannah and the low country too. It's by far the most common banana all along the southern US...if you see random bananas growing, 95% of the time it is Orinoco 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Xenon

[ZPalms]

6 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Non dwarf is the most common, there must be millions of them along I-10. Saw plenty of them in Savannah and the low country too. It's by far the most common banana all along the southern US...if you see random bananas growing, 95% of the time it is Orinoco 

Interesting, I can't find any non dwarf

[Xenon]

13 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Interesting, I can't find any non dwarf

They are given away/sold for real cheap here, like sago palms. (but I did find a few listings online)

Btw, bananas.org is a great place if you're interested in more banana discussions haha. Highly likely someone near you is growing a ton of bananas. 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Xenon

[Chester B]

2 hours ago, spike said:

I've read that people in japan eat them but they don't ripen a lot. Also an idea, have you tried frying them?

There is so little “meat” it’s not really worth the effort. You might get a teaspoon per banana. 

[ZPalms]

29 minutes ago, Xenon said:

They are given away/sold for real cheap here, like sago palms. (but I did find a few listings online)

Btw, bananas.org is a great place if you're interested in more banana discussions haha. Highly likely someone near you is growing a ton of bananas. 

If its not too much trouble what listing did you find one? I would join that forum but I don't wanna do it for just one banana 

[KDubU]

10 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Interesting, I can't find any non dwarf

May want to try here:

https://tropicalcoastcreations.com/shop/ols/products/orinoco-banana/v/RNC-BNN-XL-37

[JLM]

On 3/22/2022 at 1:37 AM, Xenon said:

Orinoco is root hardy in zone 8+ and produces fruit 10x more tasty than Cavendish imo. You would need to protect the pseudostem or have an exceptionally mild winter (above ~25F) for successful fruit set. But left on its own, you still get the tropical foliage a la dieback perennial.

There's absolutely no reason anyone should grow basjoo in southern zone 8+ 

Growing for the foliage and it was also free from a neighbor who has had these here since before we moved in (2018). Cant pass up a free banana plant. Ive never heard of Orinoco before, will certainly look into it though.

[Xenon]

Orinoco is back after 25F long duration and freezing rain. Only had to cut 2-3 feet of trunk. Should get bananas this year! 

[ZPalms]

11 hours ago, Xenon said:

Orinoco is back after 25F long duration and freezing rain. Only had to cut 2-3 feet of trunk. Should get bananas this year! 

Can these be grown by seed? They look pretty good considering freezing rain 

Edited April 10, 2022 by ZPalms

[Xenon]

4 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Can these be grown by seed? They look pretty good considering freezing rain 

No these bananas don't have seeds, they are fully 100% edible (delicious imo).  I'm surprised it is rather hard to source online, it's super common here and people give pups away or sell for cheap. 

[ZPalms]

8 minutes ago, Xenon said:

No these bananas don't have seeds, they are fully 100% edible (delicious imo).  I'm surprised it is rather hard to source online, it's super common here and people give pups away or sell for cheap. 

Dang I was hoping they would, I'm trying to find the most budget friendly option to get one and usally seed growing for me is cheapest, I only see a bunch of dwarf ones online and the ones that aren't dwarfs are pricey for me and some of the listing are kind of sketchy sharing the same photos, I never see anyone growing bananas in my area

Edited April 10, 2022 by ZPalms

[Xenon]

Just now, ZPalms said:

Dang I was hoping they would, I'm trying to find the most budget friendly option to get one and usally seed growing for me is cheapest, I only see a bunch of dwarf ones online and the ones that aren't dwarfs are pricey for me, I never see anyone growing bananas in my area

Banana with seeds is not something you want to eat! According to the banana forum, Orinoco is "very common" in Wilmington. I'm sure if you knock and ask, people will gladly give you a pup from their weedy banana clump haha. 

[ZPalms]

44 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Banana with seeds is not something you want to eat! According to the banana forum, Orinoco is "very common" in Wilmington. I'm sure if you knock and ask, people will gladly give you a pup from their weedy banana clump haha. 

I may have no choice but to join the banana forum and see if anyone is willing to sell me one and ship it to me 

[Chester B]

Various sellers have Orinoco on Etsy - $20 including shipping.  I ordered one this week to see if it will survive my wet winters.

[Xenon]

2 hours ago, Chester B said:

Various sellers have Orinoco on Etsy - $20 including shipping.  I ordered one this week to see if it will survive my wet winters.

Seems like everyone is selling dwarf Orinoco. Full size standard form Orinoco is the most common banana here. If I was in a marginal climate, I'd want the extra vigor. 

 

[Chester B]

2 hours ago, Xenon said:

Seems like everyone is selling dwarf Orinoco. Full size standard form Orinoco is the most common banana here. If I was in a marginal climate, I'd want the extra vigor. 

 

Well shows how well I read. Guess I skimmed over the dwarf part.  (palm smacking forehead)

There’s always next year. I’ll see how many mini-me Orinoco does over winter this year and adjust accordingly. 

[ZPalms]

If I find an Orinoco what is the best location to plant? Next to a wall? under tree canopy? fence?

I've never owned a banana to plant in the ground so I don't know where it's appropriate to plant to keep the leaves looking decent and the chance of getting bananas 

Edited April 11, 2022 by ZPalms

[JLM]

6 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

If I find an Orinoco what is the best location to plant? Next to a wall? under tree canopy? fence?

I've never owned a banana to plant in the ground so I don't know where it's appropriate to plant to keep the leaves looking decent and the chance of getting bananas 

Try for a spot that gets some sort of wind protection. The wind shreds the leaves. Under a tree is not a good idea, to my knowledge all bananas need full sun to thrive well. Near a wall or fence would probably be your best bet.

[ZPalms]

5 minutes ago, JLM said:

Try for a spot that gets some sort of wind protection. The wind shreds the leaves. Under a tree is not a good idea, to my knowledge all bananas need full sun to thrive well. Near a wall or fence would probably be your best bet.

I feel like I live in a wind tunnel, every side of my house gets hit with winds 

[ZPalms]

I asked on banana.org and somebody said "Soon the big box stores will have plants for sale. Usually a Cavendish type plant which works in your area." but my box stores in my area don't sell bananas of any kind but I've never heard anyone grow cavendish in my region for bananas and foilage???

Is Orinoco a push for 8a?

Edited April 12, 2022 by ZPalms

[Xenon]

4 hours ago, ZPalms said:

I asked on banana.org and somebody said "Soon the big box stores will have plants for sale. Usually a Cavendish type plant which works in your area." but my box stores in my area don't sell bananas of any kind but I've never heard anyone grow cavendish in my region for bananas and foilage???

Is Orinoco a push for 8a?

Any hope for edible fruiting bananas is a push in 8a, you would need a mild winter (above low 20s-ish) to get fruit without protection. Orinoco should be root hardy for you though and is probably your best bet for a slim chance for fruit. 

[ZPalms]

I was able to score a Orinoco on banana.org I hope it does well here but excited! Any photos of a full grown Orinoco banana, I haven't been able to find any that show any fully grown out and manicured or that are actually Orinoco.

Edited April 16, 2022 by ZPalms

[ZPalms]

What kind of fertlizers do you guys use on your bananas?