The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: roboto212 on October 09, 2012, 11:28:05 PM
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Where I live we have 40 different kinds of edible bananas, some exquisite dessert bananas...
my favorites are
Golden Pillow
Silk Fig
FHIA-18
Anyone out there like bananas?
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roboto ----------- This topic was sorta covered here ----------- http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=920.msg12245#msg12245 (http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=920.msg12245#msg12245)
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So far Nam Wah and Blue Java. Here some recent harvest:
Blue Java
(http://s7.postimage.org/5rnmj4a8n/IMG_8301_Musa_cv_Blue_Java.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/5rnmj4a8n/)
Unknown cultivar
(http://s7.postimage.org/mgp2f16tz/IMG_8416.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/mgp2f16tz/)
Manzano
(http://s11.postimage.org/gfvypzai7/PLATANOS_MANZANO_IMGP2293.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/gfvypzai7/)
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Silk Fig is name in Hawaii for what usually gets called elsewhere Manzano. That is also one of my favorites.
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Cuban Red
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Cuban Red
is that the variety with red/burgundy peel with orange flesh?
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Cuban Red
Mine too for the way the plant and fruit look. Fantastic red to reddish banana and the plant has lot of red in it. I just planted mine a few months ago. My best looking banana plant by far. As far as best tasting, from my limited tasting of varieties, a ripe backyard banana tastes the same as the next one. Then you have plantains. I like them ripe as possible, even beyond ripe. I never deep fry them. I slit them in half and fry in a pan with a bit of oil. They come out so sweet! I am well aware of the traditional "Spanish" ways of cooking them as platanos fritos and tostones. Cooking them green etc. I ate mofongo once at Dominican-American restaurant (and would eat it again) which is fried green plantain, then smashed together, formed into a mound on the plate, then covered with a stew of pork or shrimp or many others. People from the Dominican and Puerto Rican cultures go crazy over this down home peasant dish
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Among the "older" varieties I've had the chance to taste, my favorite is Pisang Raja. The Going Bananas web site describes it.
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Hi Chris? CoconutChrisHawaii?
Welcome to the forum ;)
I very much enjoy my unknown naner...similar to a Manzano and I also like Prata :)
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While my favorite is an orange fleshed/red skinned variety fhough not readily available...my second favorite is Ice Cream.
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Cuban red is a very good looking tree and fruit but for me, the Manzano tops it in flavorful. It is great in batidos as well.
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Cuban red is a very good looking tree and fruit but for me, the Manzano tops it in flavorful. It is great in batidos as well.
el platanito con guagui o harina LOL manzanos are my favorite too
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I have a red banana planted ( not sure what variety) - but I heard that they are more cold sensitive than the other varieties. Does anyone have experience with this?
And my favorite is ice cream
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there are only two people in this thread wth their listed locations as hawaii,me and oscar and niether on of are coco chris...my real name is josh
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btw golden pillow has also been called goldfinger...
very similar to silk fig, but richer flavor, even more of a pillow texture, simply divine...small bananas than silk fig unfortunately
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Manzano.
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there are only two people in this thread wth their listed locations as hawaii,me and oscar and niether on of are coco chris...my real name is josh
Hi Josh,
Yikes, I assumed it was you. :-[ I watch alot of vids on YouTube and invite people that are interested in fruits to the forum...Just spreading the word and doing my part to keep the forum running :)
Here's the dude...CocoChrisHawaii, he has a huge collection of nanners 8)
fehi banana harvest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNK8m5xLQd4#ws)
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btw golden pillow has also been called goldfinger...
very similar to silk fig, but richer flavor, even more of a pillow texture, simply divine...small bananas than silk fig unfortunately
The Goldfinger I am familiar with is the name now given to the FHIA 1 banana. It is an excellent banana.....very productive and with extremely stout, strong pseudostems. Is the Golden Pillow the same thing or do we have multiple Godfingers? Here are some shots of mine.
(http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae167/hmhausman/125_2563.jpg)
(http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae167/hmhausman/125_2564.jpg)
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I have very limited experience with varieties, but from what i have tried, nothing has beat the Manzano.
Cuban Red
Mine too for the way the plant and fruit look. Fantastic red to reddish banana and the plant has lot of red in it. I just planted mine a few months ago. My best looking banana plant by far. As far as best tasting, from my limited tasting of varieties, a ripe backyard banana tastes the same as the next one. Then you have plantains. I like them ripe as possible, even beyond ripe. I never deep fry them. I slit them in half and fry in a pan with a bit of oil. They come out so sweet! I am well aware of the traditional "Spanish" ways of cooking them as platanos fritos and tostones. Cooking them green etc. I ate mofongo once (and would eat it again) which is fried green plantain, then smashed together and covered with a stew of pork or shrimp or many others. Dominicans and Puerto Ricans go crazy over this down home peasant dish
I also prefer plantains super ripe, Platano Frito maduro, is used just past yellow, but platano maduro, that is made with brown sugar and cinnamon sticks stuck in them is a delicious treat from heaven. the plaintains for those are usually used when the skin is black already.
http://www.elgranchef.com/sites/www.elgranchef.com/files/imagecache/primera/platanos%20tentacion%20.jpg (http://www.elgranchef.com/sites/www.elgranchef.com/files/imagecache/primera/platanos%20tentacion%20.jpg)
mod edit: Removed the hot linked image.
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I have very limited experience with varieties, but from what i have tried, nothing has beat the Manzano.
Cuban Red
Mine too for the way the plant and fruit look. Fantastic red to reddish banana and the plant has lot of red in it. I just planted mine a few months ago. My best looking banana plant by far. As far as best tasting, from my limited tasting of varieties, a ripe backyard banana tastes the same as the next one. Then you have plantains. I like them ripe as possible, even beyond ripe. I never deep fry them. I slit them in half and fry in a pan with a bit of oil. They come out so sweet! I am well aware of the traditional "Spanish" ways of cooking them as platanos fritos and tostones. Cooking them green etc. I ate mofongo once (and would eat it again) which is fried green plantain, then smashed together and covered with a stew of pork or shrimp or many others. Dominicans and Puerto Ricans go crazy over this down home peasant dish
I also prefer plantains super ripe, Platano Frito maduro, is used just past yellow, but platano maduro, that is made with brown sugar and cinnamon sticks stuck in them is a delicious treat from heaven. the plaintains for those are usually used when the skin is black already.
http://www.elgranchef.com/sites/www.elgranchef.com/files/imagecache/primera/platanos%20tentacion%20.jpg (http://www.elgranchef.com/sites/www.elgranchef.com/files/imagecache/primera/platanos%20tentacion%20.jpg)
mod edit: Removed the hot linked image.
Hi William,
I truly love this...i do the same and kick it up a notch, with star anise...YuMMY ;D Just let the star anise(break them up) slowly infuse the butter and on low heat...ya know the drill after that ;) I don't know why...I prefer to eat this with white rice :o
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I haven't tried allot of bananas, but Manzano (known also as Silk Fig in Trinidad) is my favorite.
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I want to try African Rhinohorn http://www.going-bananas.com/bananaplantdescriptions.htm#AFRICAN (http://www.going-bananas.com/bananaplantdescriptions.htm#AFRICAN) RHINOHORN
I have also been told Praying Hands are pretty good, but never tried them
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Save yourself some trouble. Unless you are interested in growing bananas that stick together and have very little edible flesh propotionately to others.....don't waste your time with Praying Hands. Looks good, but is lousy as far as overall eating quality. The only one it it better than is Thousand Fingers. And that isn't saying very much.
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Save yourself some trouble. Unless you are interested in growing bananas that stick together and have very little edible flesh propotionately to others.....don't waste your time with Praying Hands. Looks good, but is lousy as far as overall eating quality. The only one it it better than is Thousand Fingers. And that isn't saying very much.
I thought the Praying Hands tasted pretty good. It was like banana pudding/custard inside of a banana. It was one of the only three banana trees I actually chose to grow before I chopped them all down because they are too messy.
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ice cream blew my mind
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Save yourself some trouble. Unless you are interested in growing bananas that stick together and have very little edible flesh propotionately to others.....don't waste your time with Praying Hands. Looks good, but is lousy as far as overall eating quality. The only one it it better than is Thousand Fingers. And that isn't saying very much.
I thought the Praying Hands tasted pretty good. It was like banana pudding/custard inside of a banana. It was one of the only three banana trees I actually chose to grow before I chopped them all down because they are too messy.
gonna have to agree with shee, I mean murahilin here....while they may be a little more difficult to get into, the flavor and quality of preying hands is pretty darn good.
Thousand Fingers...I would consider this more of an ornamental. While it may be edible its greater feature is ornamental in nature with a stalk of thousand(s), hence the name, of tiny bananas that can get to 4, 5 or even 6 feet long.
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before I chopped them all down because they are too messy.
What!?! Why would you do that!?! Free bananas yo!
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I thought the Praying Hands tasted pretty good. It was like banana pudding/custard inside of a banana. It was one of the only three banana trees I actually chose to grow before I chopped them all down because they are too messy.
gonna have to agree with shee, I mean murahilin here....while they may be a little more difficult to get into, the flavor and quality of preying hands is pretty darn good.
Thousand Fingers...I would consider this more of an ornamental. While it may be edible its greater feature is ornamental in nature with a stalk of thousand(s), hence the name, of tiny bananas that can get to 4, 5 or even 6 feet long.
Seems most collectors (because of its very interesting fruiting habit) do begin with this banana.........most with any space limitations eventually move on to something better. Murahilin chopped it down and Rob.....did you ever actually plant it out? Too many better choices out there to grow for the space that Praying Hands takes up. Sorry, I am stuck on the flavor being second class......quanity of flesh to eat and difficulty getting to it makes this a loser in my book.
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Seems most collectors (because of its very interesting fruiting habit) do begin with this banana.........most with any space limitations eventually move on to something better. Murahilin chopped it down and Rob.....did you ever actually plant it out? Too many better choices out there to grow for the space that Praying Hands takes up. Sorry, I am stuck on the flavor being second class......quanity of flesh to eat and difficulty getting to it makes this a loser in my book.
I am sorry I forgot to make sure my taste buds agreed with yours before I posted. :(
I have only tasted around 15 or so different bananas, not much compared to the amount listed in Keppler's banana book, but I still stand by my opinion that the Praying Hands is one of my favorite tasting bananas. The texture adds to the flavor because it reminds me of a firmer banana pudding. That is probably a poor description.
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Seems most collectors (because of its very interesting fruiting habit) do begin with this banana.........most with any space limitations eventually move on to something better. Murahilin chopped it down and Rob.....did you ever actually plant it out? Too many better choices out there to grow for the space that Praying Hands takes up. Sorry, I am stuck on the flavor being second class......quanity of flesh to eat and difficulty getting to it makes this a loser in my book.
I am sorry I forgot to make sure my taste buds agreed with yours before I posted. :(
I have only tasted around 15 or so different bananas, not much compared to the amount listed in Keppler's banana book, but I still stand by my opinion that the Praying Hands is one of my favorite tasting bananas. The texture adds to the flavor because it reminds me of a firmer banana pudding. That is probably a poor description.
My praying hands produced a lot of fruit and there was a lot of flesh. But it didn't taste as good as Ice Cream.
No-one commented on the cold tolerance of red bananas? I'm feeling neglected :-[
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I like Blue Java (Ice Cream.)
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My experience has been that the reds, in general, are too tropical and are the least cold tolerant. Died off every winter and pups in containers went in the garage during cold snaps. Decided there was no point growing something if I can't get fruit. I started out with Red Iholene, Gran Nain X Sumatrana, Red Kru, Siam Ruby and Ensete Maurelii. Stopped growing all except the Maurelii and the Siam potted. Gave the rest to the cousin in Homestead where they thrive.
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I grow 6 types right now including some of the older ones like the Orinoco and dwarf cavendis. I have been told that one ot the best tasting ones comes from Africa and is called Ibota Ibota. Would like to get one if anyone knows where to find them. My favorite in the Ice Cream at the present.
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My experience has been that the reds, in general, are too tropical and are the least cold tolerant. Died off every winter and pups in containers went in the garage during cold snaps. Decided there was no point growing something if I can't get fruit. I started out with Red Iholene, Gran Nain X Sumatrana, Red Kru, Siam Ruby and Ensete Maurelii. Stopped growing all except the Maurelii and the Siam potted. Gave the rest to the cousin in Homestead where they thrive.
Thanks for your opinion.
This is the first time I have planted a red-its up against a fence so maybe it has a chance, if not, Ill plant something else there next year.
I planted a musa saba plaintain and its going to be huge-has anyone tasted it?
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btw golden pillow has also been called goldfinger...
very similar to silk fig, but richer flavor, even more of a pillow texture, simply divine...small bananas than silk fig unfortunately
The Goldfinger I am familiar with is the name now given to the FHIA 1 banana. It is an excellent banana.....very productive and with extremely stout, strong pseudostems. Is the Golden Pillow the same thing or do we have multiple Godfingers? Here are some shots of mine.
(http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae167/hmhausman/125_2563.jpg)
(http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae167/hmhausman/125_2564.jpg)
Those look quite similar... the outside of them is very similar in texture to manzano (silk fig), but mine seem to be a bit more short and fat... but quite similar... maybe there are a couple different golf fingers/pillows.... I call them golden pillow cause the texture is what gets me everytime.... such a pleasure to bite into, so soft... and the flavor is richer than manzano
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I am sorry I forgot to make sure my taste buds agreed with yours before I posted. :(
I forgive you....try not to let it happen again. I know you are capable of better. :)
The texture adds to the flavor because it reminds me of a firmer banana pudding. That is probably a poor description.
See, you finally said something on this subject I can whole heartedly agree with. :)
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I have a red banana planted ( not sure what variety) - but I heard that they are more cold sensitive than the other varieties. Does anyone have experience with this?
And my favorite is ice cream
I have a red variety, which I have heard called Jamaican Red or Cuban Red, depending on whom you are talking to.....Jamaicans or Cubans......mine is no more and no less cold tolerant than the rest of my bananas.
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I have a red banana planted ( not sure what variety) - but I heard that they are more cold sensitive than the other varieties. Does anyone have experience with this?
And my favorite is ice cream
I have a red variety, which I have heard called Jamaican Red or Cuban Red, depending on whom you are talking to.....Jamaicans or Cubans......mine is no more and no less cold tolerant than the rest of my bananas.
I agree, my Cuban Red bananas have been no less tolerant than the rest of my bananas. As long as there isnt a frost they are fine.
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My current top 3 from my yard.
Gran Nain
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n200/dangermouse2006/banana%20stuff/Gran%20Nain/Gran_Nain3.jpg)
Namwa
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n200/dangermouse2006/banana%20stuff/Namwa/Namwa1.jpg)
Blue Java (Ice Cream)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n200/dangermouse2006/banana%20stuff/Ice%20Cream/Ice_Cream2.jpg)
In line waiting to join (or re-join) the list once one of those bunches gets ripe and eaten, Manzano, Raja Puri, Jamaican Red, Gros Michel, FHIA 17.
Here is my Jamaican Red from earlier this year. The one or two nights last winter that the temps dropped just under 30, didn't do much damage except for the upper most leaves.
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n200/dangermouse2006/banana%20stuff/JamaicanDwarfRed.jpg)
The Red would be on my list of top three right now, except some wind storm came thru a month or so ago, and blew the biggest over and broke it just above ground level. It was a couple leaves away from pushing out a flower.
DM
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Hi DM,
That's very clever of you, using PVC pipes to support your nanners 8) Here, we use a metal pole with a U, on top, as support for them nanners ;)
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Hi DM,
That's very clever of you, using PVC pipes to support your nanners 8) Here, we use a metal pole with a U, on top, as support for them nanners ;)
Steven, wish I could take the credit for the PVC support idea, but I got the info from here (about halfway down, section 4):
http://webebananas.com/culture.html (http://webebananas.com/culture.html)
This way forms a tri-pod with the trunk, which is stable from all directions (good against winds and dogs chasing each other around the plants). But the wide stance does take up more room than a single pole.
Update to my top 3, my Blue Jave (Ice Cream) isn't a Blue Java, but a Pisang Awak.
And I now have a Raja Puri and Manzano flowering also (so I have a top 5).
DM
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Hi DM,
That's very clever of you, using PVC pipes to support your nanners 8) Here, we use a metal pole with a U, on top, as support for them nanners ;)
Steven, wish I could take the credit for the PVC support idea, but I got the info from here (about halfway down, section 4):
http://webebananas.com/culture.html (http://webebananas.com/culture.html)
This way forms a tri-pod with the trunk, which is stable from all directions (good against winds and dogs chasing each other around the plants). But the wide stance does take up more room than a single pole.
Update to my top 3, my Blue Jave (Ice Cream) isn't a Blue Java, but a Pisang Awak.
And I now have a Raja Puri and Manzano flowering also (so I have a top 5).
DM
DM,
Nonetheless, I saw this first from you...so, you take the credit from me :)
Thanks a bunch for sharing this site...I learnt a bunch of new stuff 8) Never knew we could divide a corm like a potato :o
The PVC pipes does take some space, though, as long as it keep them nanners up there safe and sound...it's all good :)
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My all time has to be the Fe'i also (fehi). Not sure of the variety. Then again it may have been the setting.
While traveling with friends in Tahiti we picked up some deep red fe'i bananas at the central market. We were told to bake them (unpeeled) and have them as deserts. The insides orange and one of the sweetest bananas I ever tasted.
I understand that they fruit grows upright, so very ornamental. While it's been attempted, I've been told the fe'i do not grow in Florida. Unless someone here ...
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I have a red variety, which I have heard called Jamaican Red or Cuban Red, depending on whom you are talking to.....Jamaicans or Cubans......mine is no more and no less cold tolerant than the rest of my bananas.
I agree, my Cuban Red bananas have been no less tolerant than the rest of my bananas. As long as there isnt a frost they are fine.
I'm not expert in bananas at all... but my guess is that this discrepancy may be caused by how the reds do take prolonged cold. For some climate this may be as important as absolute cold hardiness.
If they were hardy at least like a dwarf cavendish it would be awesome.
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(http://s7.postimage.org/tqhxwka13/AAAA_BANANAS_AMBER_JACK_002.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/tqhxwka13/)
Peter Salleras who has an amazing tropical fruit farm at Mission Beach visited me today and he gave me some bananas that were too ripe to send to Sydney.Dakar,ceylon pisang and the pale strain of ducasse fetch the highest prices in cashed up circles down south.He tossed in a few of a really sweet malay apple as well.
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Sorry I forgot to mention the pale lady finger bananas on the bottom and next to the bells in the pic.
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Excellent looking bunches, those bananas size up so much the skin can't keep up huh? What's that one called?
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Of the 20 or so varieties I've tasted, the ones in the Mysore subgroup (Mysore, Pisang Ceylon, Pisang Klotek) are my favorites. Incredibly sweet-tart, fruity flavor. They have much more acidity than any of the others that have been mentioned so far. Their biggest down side is that the fruit are small -- smaller than Manzano.
FYI, Golden Pillow is in the same subgroup as Manzano, the Silk subgroup, definitely not the same thing as Goldfinger. Goldfinger has a peel thickness on par with Cavendish from the supermarket and similar size fruit. Golden Pillow should have a thin peel and similar size as Manzano/Silk Fig etc. Golden Pillow is described as being similar to Manzano but without the horrible astringency when not fully ripe, but I haven't been fortunate enough to try it yet. Sounds like a winner.
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Tim the small ones bustin' outa their skins are pisang ceylon.The orange ones are red dakar and before they are ripe they are brown/red.
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Ventura, have you tried Dwarf Brazilian?! In Kleper's banana book it is described as one of the tastiest cultivars... Since I read the book, I'm day and night looking for this cultivar.. LOL
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Yes, I have tried Dwarf Brazilian many times, both here in California and in Hawaii. It is a wonderful banana, absolutely worth growing -- one of my favorites for flavor and hardiness of the plant. It has a touch of acidity and some great tropical fruit flavor (often a bit of pineapple flavor). It's not as good as the Mysore subgroup bananas to my taste, but it is one of the best, and the plant is a bit more cool hardy than Mysore.
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I've grown DB for 5 years now. Great flavor and one of the more cold hardy naners. Got a bunch hanging now that will be ready in about a month. Stout psudostems and almost impossibe to blow down in high winds. Have distributed many suckers over the years. Same for Dwarf Namwah and Raja Puri.
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Thanks guys! Now I just need to get my hands on this cultivar ;)
So far I'm growing this:
Blue Java ABB
Chini Champa AB
Dwarf Namwah ABB
Dwarf Red AAA
Gluai Khai AA
Lady Finger AA
Manzano AAB
Pisang Ceylon AAB
Raja Puri AAB
Nang Phaya AAA
French Horn AAB
Ghew Kera
Goldfinger AAAB
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Felipe -- I see you grow the Chini Champa. Got any pics to post? What about taste and plant characteristics? I had a hard time getting this one. They had to travel from Kalimpong, Bengal to Germany to Greece and finally S Florida. Mine should fruit next year.
Side note --- are you familiar with the Presa Canario? Great dog! I'll trade you a Dwf Brazilian pup for one of those pups. ;D :P
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Sorry Dan, I don't have a picture from my CC at the moment. Anyway, it is still in a pot, so no clue about charateristics and taste yet. I bought my plants from a grower in Germany..
We used to have an old male Presa Canario but it died from age. It was big and very strong, like a bear :D but his heart was more like a teddy ;D It was a beautiful animal. Now my parents have small dogs wich wich other people wanted to get rid of. Right now you don't see PC very often, because it's expensive to keep big dogs and you need at least a yard for them, but most people live in flats near the coast. I also would be happy to find puppies...
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Sorry Dan, I don't have a picture from my CC at the moment. Anyway, it is still in a pot, so no clue about charateristics and taste yet. I bought my plants from a grower in Germany..
We used to have an old male Presa Canario but it died from age. It was big and very strong, like a bear :D but his heart was more like a teddy ;D It was a beautiful animal. Now my parents have small dogs wich wich other people wanted to get rid of. Right now you don't see PC very often, because it's expensive to keep big dogs and you need at least a yard for them, but most people live in flats near the coast. I also would be happy to find puppies...
Would that be Markus Jonda at palmscenter.de?
Found 2 breeders in Florida that have Presas. Maybe the next dog, we'll see.
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Hi Dan,
no, so far no plant from palmscenter.de. I phoned and emailed a few times, but no answer. Pretty weird. He has a very nice collection of musas... I have bought from this austrians:
www.bananenshop.de (http://www.bananenshop.de)
www.exoticgarten.eu (http://www.exoticgarten.eu)
..and from this german: www.bananen-freak.de (http://www.bananen-freak.de)
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Would that be Markus Jonda at palmscenter.de?
Found 2 breeders in Florida that have Presas. Maybe the next dog, we'll see.
I bought a couple of bananas from him. Nice plants.
(they were dwarf namwah and rajapuri)
One of the family favourites is Musa acuminata Seņorita from the Phillipines.
I have been seaching that for quite some time. Apparently the buch ripens pretty quickly. Unluckly, no plants have landed in europe, yet.
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Hi everyone :)
Speaking of favorite bananas, has anyone tried a Gros Michel?? The commercial banana of old? I would love to grow this susceptible banana successfully someday. I wouldn't mind the challenge. I wonder if this guy is selling the real-deal.. Seems like it though... check it out:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gros-Michel-Banana-Plants-RARE-Variety-/140867873212?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20cc6129bc (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gros-Michel-Banana-Plants-RARE-Variety-/140867873212?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20cc6129bc)
BTW, my favorite banana is the "Fiyi" or "Fiji," (sp.?) which strikes the delicate balance of sweet & delicious, strongly scented, disease resistant (in my area), productive, low maintenance, and beautiful (brownish/red streaked trunk with reddish midribs, slight pink underside of young leaves). Sadly, my small patch is being seriously slammed by banana leaf rollers..... Rollers are such a pain and my banana trees look like they've been licked by the fires of hell. :( :(
The "Fiji" still produce very large bunches, though. :)
Next favorite is the "Macao" (similar/same/possibly a strain- of lacatan? Not sure on this one). Med. sized fruit with salmon colored flesh, firm, sweet, rich & full flavored.
Next is "Apple"- astringent when unripe, yummy delicious, rich & full flavored when ripe, hint of green apple notes.
Last is "Manila" which is a Filipino variety. Nice fruit color with sweet, soft, slightly scented flesh.
Chris
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Gros Michel? Not bad, but nothing compares to good Mysore and Sucrier group bananas, or Blue Java cultivar...
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I'm stuck on what I want to do. I bought a dwarf Cavendish banana and stuck it in a 24 inch pot. It's just formed the third leaf and it already has a sucker. I'm debating on whether I should keep it or not. I bought it for $5 at Lowes but I don't know if I should keep it. I could always buy the banana at the stores/supermarket which makes me kinda not want to keep the plant. Do home grown Cavendish bananas taste "better" than supermarket varieties? Should I substitute the plant for something else? I believe I can grab a Dwarf Jamaican/Mysore/Rajapuri (Note that these are expensive $35+ if I wanted to get one locally). Could any of those fruit in a container. I did some research and I believe Rajapuri can fruit in a container.
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I'm stuck on what I want to do. I bought a dwarf Cavendish banana and stuck it in a 24 inch pot. It's just formed the third leaf and it already has a sucker. I'm debating on whether I should keep it or not. I bought it for $5 at Lowes but I don't know if I should keep it. I could always buy the banana at the stores/supermarket which makes me kinda not want to keep the plant. Do home grown Cavendish bananas taste "better" than supermarket varieties? Should I substitute the plant for something else? I believe I can grab a Dwarf Jamaican/Mysore/Rajapuri (Note that these are expensive $35+ if I wanted to get one locally). Could any of those fruit in a container. I did some research and I believe Rajapuri can fruit in a container.
Xeno, get rid of the Dwarf Cavendish. Since we live in the same town, I can tell you with certainty that it is not a good banana to grow in our climate. It is a very slow grower. Same for Dwarf Jamaican Red. I have some of both of those varieties that have been planted in good spots in my yard for more than 2 years and still haven't flowered, whereas several other varieties have flowered in much less time. Our climate is just too cool for Cavs and Reds to grow at reasonable rates. If you want to grow something that will do well in our cool, coastal climate, and would have a good chance of fruiting in a large pot (think 25 gallon, minimum), Rajapuri would probably be your best bet because it is very small. Dwarf Namwah is more productive than Rajapuri and handles the cool a bit better, but despite being a semi-dwarf, it is pretty big for a container. Mysore is a great plant, but way too big for any reasonable size container. All three are better tasting than Cavendish, to me at least.
If you want a Rajapuri pup or a Dwarf Namwah pup, let me know and you can have one for free. I have plenty. Wait till late spring though -- you'd just be asking for trouble trying to get one growing over winter -- unless you are going to grow in inside or in a greenhouse. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.
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rid of the Dwarf Cavendish. Since we live in the same town, I can tell you with certainty that it is not a good banana to grow in our climate. It is a very slow grower. Same for Dwarf Jamaican Red. I have some of both of those varieties that have been planted in good spots in my yard for more than 2 years and still haven't flowered, whereas several other varieties have flowered in much less time. Our climate is just too cool for Cavs and Reds to grow at reasonable rates. If you want to grow something that will do well in our cool, coastal climate, and would have a good chance of fruiting in a large pot (think 25 gallon, minimum), Rajapuri would probably be your best bet because it is very small. Dwarf Namwah is more productive than Rajapuri and handles the cool a bit better, but despite being a semi-dwarf, it is pretty big for a container. Mysore is a great plant, but way too big for any reasonable size container. All three are better tasting than Cavendish, to me at least.
If you want a Rajapuri pup or a Dwarf Namwah pup, let me know and you can have one for free. I have plenty. Wait till late spring though -- you'd just be asking for trouble trying to get one growing over winter -- unless you are going to grow in inside or in a greenhouse. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.
Should be getting rid of my Cavendish banana plants tomorrow to my other family members in LA. The only reason why I had them in a pot was because I wanted to know whether or not I was going to keep it.
Have you been to Green Thumb on Victoria? That's where I usually buy banana plants. I currently own an ice cream and goldfinger banana. I would love to take you on your offer for free pups! I guess I'll have to wait till late winter to pick them up?
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You mean, have I been to Green Thumb on Victoria today? ;) Yes, seems like I'm in there at least once a week.
If you want to pick up freshly dug pups before spring, you are welcome to, but unless you can provide them warmth (e.g., a greenhouse, heat mat, etc.), they'll struggle over winter after being newly separated and there's a good chance they'll die. I'd recommend patience. Easy for me to say, since I had none and made that mistake already!
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there are only two people in this thread wth their listed locations as hawaii,me and oscar and niether on of are coco chris...my real name is josh
Hi Josh,
Yikes, I assumed it was you. :-[ I watch alot of vids on YouTube and invite people that are interested in fruits to the forum...Just spreading the word and doing my part to keep the forum running :)
Here's the dude...CocoChrisHawaii, he has a huge collection of nanners 8)
I know this Coconut Chris, though i haven't run into him in a long time.
For those coming to the CRFG/HTFG meeting in 2013 i will see if i can arrange a tour of his place. He's quite a character.
Manzano, Cuban Red, and Ice cream are all excellent tasting bananas. The Ice cream is similar in texture to the Cuban Red: soft and creamy. The Manzano is a sweeter banana but the other two have the interesting creamy texture. All 3 are really quite good. Most that say they don't care for bananas have never had any of these mighty delish 3!