Best banana tree for South Florida

[JulianoGS]

Hello folks, what is the best banana type, based on taste and production for South Florida?

[bsbullie]

That is like asking the best mango...

I like Pysang Raja, Dwarf Red (comes under a myriad of names), Praying Hands and Raja Puri.

[JulianoGS]

Okay thanks, there is a lady selling a large blue java banana for $40.
Have you tried?  Is that a reasonable price?  Is it a really good flavor?

[roblack]

just say no to blue java

sweethearts are nice

[bsbullie]

Blue Java are pretty good, assuming its the real deal.  How big is it?

Sweethearts are good but I consider them an improved grocery store banana.  They dont have that wow factor or differing flavor profile from a classic banana.

To be honest, all homegrown bananas are good, its just that some are better than others.

[TonyinCC]

Pisang Raja is excellent tasting BUT it requires a location sheltered from wind. The pseudostem is not sturdy enough enough in an open location in Florida. I might replant years from now once my yard is more of a fruit forest to provide wind shelter.
 
Blue Java is pretty good as a fruit but it is a PITA to manage. I say no for that reason alone. It is precocious and very productive but produces too many suckers that come up at bad angles and must be severed and replanted upright. If not upright it must be supported or it will fall over. Not good long term for a suburban yard without a lot of maintenance but great for a rural property if you want a dense wide banana hedge. Productivity and bunch size will decrease if growth is unmanaged and allowed to form a thicket. You will not be able to access plants in the center without cutting others down with a machete. That said it is a great starter banana to get some experience but I eliminated it from my yard.

Praying hands is excellent and sturdy and usually produces just enough suckers that stay upright. Drought tolerant and attractive. A winner.

Sweetheart is best overall in my opinion. Highly disease and drought resistant, better than grocery store bananas but fruit a little smaller. Stocky and sturdy and does not require support, attractive plant. Produces just the right amount of suckers to slowly expand a banana mat or start another one. Averages about 1 to 1.5 suckers per mother plant. Can produce very large bunches if soil fertility is good. I cut one hand off at a time as bunch starts to ripen, can extend harvest to about 2 weeks that way instead of 50 pounds in a few days. Bunch height is accessible with a stepstool or just by reaching up if you are tall. Supposed to be good used like a plantain as well but fruit size is not very large.

Raja Puri is very nice if you are able to irrigate it. I would say it produces about 2 suckers per mother plant on average that come up vertical. Fruit taste to me was like a store bought banana but several times more intense. Compact and stocky plant. Needs fertilization in my poor soil to produce well. Fruit size is small.

[ben mango]

Bananas are technically just big plants , not trees FYI

[bsbullie]

Bananas are technically just big plants , not trees FYI

Pseudostems

[bsbullie]

Pisang Raja is excellent tasting BUT it requires a location sheltered from wind. The pseudostem is not sturdy enough enough in an open location in Florida. I might replant years from now once my yard is more of a fruit forest to provide wind shelter.
 
Blue Java is pretty good as a fruit but it is a PITA to manage. I say no for that reason alone. It is precocious and very productive but produces too many suckers that come up at bad angles and must be severed and replanted upright. If not upright it must be supported or it will fall over. Not good long term for a suburban yard without a lot of maintenance but great for a rural property if you want a dense wide banana hedge. Productivity and bunch size will decrease if growth is unmanaged and allowed to form a thicket. You will not be able to access plants in the center without cutting others down with a machete. That said it is a great starter banana to get some experience but I eliminated it from my yard.

Praying hands is excellent and sturdy and usually produces just enough suckers that stay upright. Drought tolerant and attractive. A winner.

Sweetheart is best overall in my opinion. Highly disease and drought resistant, better than grocery store bananas but fruit a little smaller. Stocky and sturdy and does not require support, attractive plant. Produces just the right amount of suckers to slowly expand a banana mat or start another one. Averages about 1 to 1.5 suckers per mother plant. Can produce very large bunches if soil fertility is good. I cut one hand off at a time as bunch starts to ripen, can extend harvest to about 2 weeks that way instead of 50 pounds in a few days. Bunch height is accessible with a stepstool or just by reaching up if you are tall. Supposed to be good used like a plantain as well but fruit size is not very large.

Raja Puri is very nice if you are able to irrigate it. I would say it produces about 2 suckers per mother plant on average that come up vertical. Fruit taste to me was like a store bought banana but several times more intense. Compact and stocky plant. Needs fertilization in my poor soil to produce well. Fruit size is small.

I dont have any issues with wind and Pisang Raja in my location.  I have seen varying quality plants, some with super thin pseudostems, so I do know what you are saying.  I got mine from Going Bananas and I was able to get a very nice specimen.

Good fertilizer and care really improves the fruit quality.  For South Florida, Going Bananas sells an excellent fertilizer.

[roblack]

Sweetheart handles much wind quite well here. Its on the fence edge and gets hammered.

Apple banana is nice.

Mysore is also good.

[TonyinCC]

Sweetheart and Praying hands both handle wind very well.
 My Pisang Raja were tissue culture plants and were very slender despite getting plenty of water and balanced fertilizer the first few months.
 I have heard very good things about SH-3640 but I still haven't been able to obtain a plant.

[skhan]

I like kandrian the most. It's different enough from store bananas and i love how big it gets.
I have a mystery pome type banana from India that i got from a forum member. It's a sturdy tree, i like the flavor when is not too ripe. I gave some samples to some banana experts and they really enjoyed it too.
Sh3640 is nice and sturdy but it taste too similar to the normal store type. Still growing it though... For now

[bsbullie]

I have a Kandrian that throws flowers and the bananas emerge and never develop.  This is as far as they get...

[noochka1]

Manzano is my personal favorite.  Blue Java is OK, but they don't handle wind well at all. 

[shot]

I like saba multi use banana.Just had nice bunch and dried some just cut in half lengthwise like apple banana taffy.I like them very ripe extra sweet or cooked

One note it is a huge plant

[bsbullie]

I like saba multi use banana.Just had nice bunch and dried some just cut in half lengthwise like apple banana taffy.I like them very ripe extra sweet or cooked

One note it is a huge plant

Once mature, isnt it 15-20+ feet?

[shot]

For me where I have it planted it's close to the size of Kandrian which is only 25feet apart both are 25 feet tall +or - but the Kandrian is even thicker trunked.

[bsbullie]

For me where I have it planted it's close to the size of Kandrian which is only 25feet apart both are 25 feet tall +or - but the Kandrian is even thicker trunked.

See the picture of my Kandrian above.  The fruit never develop past the size in the picture.   Have you ever seen this problem with Kandrian?

[skhan]

I have a Kandrian that throws flowers and the bananas emerge and never develop.  This is as far as they get...

Wow, thats strange. How long does it stay like that before it goes bad?
The Indian pome type banana i was mentioning takes 6 months from flower to fruit.

[shot]

BS I had a pitogo banana do that once the first time it bloomed.Has your Kandrian bloomed again with the same condition?Cultural,climatic ex dry cold ,nutritional  or maybe lawn herbicide?I lean towards nutritional at the time of development.I have seen this in other yards.

look at nutritional

https://www.horticulture.com.au/globalassets/hort-innovation/resource-assets/ba13025-sub-tropical-banana-nutrition.pdf

[bsbullie]

BS I had a pitogo banana do that once the first time it bloomed.Has your Kandrian bloomed again with the same condition?Cultural,climatic ex dry cold ,nutritional  or maybe lawn herbicide?I lean towards nutritional at the time of development.I have seen this in other yards.

look at nutritional

https://www.horticulture.com.au/globalassets/hort-innovation/resource-assets/ba13025-sub-tropical-banana-nutrition.pdf

This is its second fruiting.  Identical happened to the first fruiting.  It gets Going Bananas fert (maybe not as much/often as it should) and plenty of water.  I am in western Wellington.   Absolutely no herbicides or pesticides applied.

[shot]

Kinda scary, pathogen? I would send pic to trec
Does western Wellington has pretty good soil,better than coast?
Boron?

BS I had a pitogo banana do that once the first time it bloomed.Has your Kandrian bloomed again with the same condition?Cultural,climatic ex dry cold ,nutritional  or maybe lawn herbicide?I lean towards nutritional at the time of development.I have seen this in other yards.

look at nutritional

https://www.horticulture.com.au/globalassets/hort-innovation/resource-assets/ba13025-sub-tropical-banana-nutrition.pdf

This is its second fruiting.  Identical happened to the first fruiting.  It gets Going Bananas fert (maybe not as much/often as it should) and plenty of water.  I am in western Wellington.   Absolutely no herbicides or pesticides applied.

[bsbullie]

Kinda scary, pathogen? I would send pic to trec
Does western Wellington has pretty good soil,better than coast?
Boron?

BS I had a pitogo banana do that once the first time it bloomed.Has your Kandrian bloomed again with the same condition?Cultural,climatic ex dry cold ,nutritional  or maybe lawn herbicide?I lean towards nutritional at the time of development.I have seen this in other yards.

look at nutritional

https://www.horticulture.com.au/globalassets/hort-innovation/resource-assets/ba13025-sub-tropical-banana-nutrition.pdf

This is its second fruiting.  Identical happened to the first fruiting.  It gets Going Bananas fert (maybe not as much/often as it should) and plenty of water.  I am in western Wellington.   Absolutely no herbicides or pesticides applied.

I haven't had my soil tested.  Growth-wise, plant is healthy.  Soil is a mix of sand, loam and small amounts of clay.  All my other bananas are doing well.

[RodneyS]

BS I had a pitogo banana do that once the first time it bloomed.Has your Kandrian bloomed again with the same condition?Cultural,climatic ex dry cold ,nutritional  or maybe lawn herbicide?I lean towards nutritional at the time of development.I have seen this in other yards.

look at nutritional

https://www.horticulture.com.au/globalassets/hort-innovation/resource-assets/ba13025-sub-tropical-banana-nutrition.pdf

How would you rate pitogo against namwah, praying hands, dwarf Brazilian etc.?

[shot]

RodneyS

How would you rate pitogo against namwah, praying hands, dwarf Brazilian etc.?


 I was disappointed but it was the first bunch I'll have to try another bunch
 same with ele ele really just for cooking in my opinion,cooked it was good