The Tropical Fruit Forum

Thank you! I will hit them up again. Last couple times they haven’t had any. Ive gotten alot of great fruit trees there in the past.

I’ll have lots of Musa raja puri later this spring. They are amazing! Also recommend dwarf Brazilian. Very similar taste but a better grower and has no issues choking. Be careful there is a lot of “fake” raja puri out there.

I am a well known Musa grower/researcher and only sell true to type pups.

I have pictures on my site. www.bananapups.com

There was a man that had one here in my zone 8b that was 30+ years old! Produced alot yearly! Sadly our winter blast couple years back killed it totally. I know it had survived around 20f with major dieback. Mine are all in a greenhouse but during our same record winter the greenhouse hit 26f and it didn’t effect it at all. I plan to plant my first one/two outside this spring. I think the main thing is protecting it until it gets big. They grow super fast!

Thanks for the update! I tried again this year on mine also. Failed again. That makes me 0 for 3 total.

Be careful most all Lacatan and Lakatan here in the US is a tall cavendish variety. Another mixed up name! Actually 1 name for 2 different varieties.

Agristarts TCs the cavendish. I have verified it. I imported 2 varieties of the real Lakatan from Thailand and Cambodia several years back. They both tasted amazing! The Texas deep freeze wiped out all but 1 pup. Lost the the tall Lakatan variety. The real Asian Lakatan has orange pulp like the pictures. The cavendish doesn’t. The real Lakatan bunch looks a lot like a GM bunch. Huge bend outward and slight bend sideways. Mine made truly impressive bunches! Especially for my area. If you’re interested in pictures etc just shoot me a message.

My cedar bay I got from Kevin came back from our record Feb 2021 winter here in Texas. Even a larger surinam cherry beside it died. I’ve also noticed from repotting them they don’t have huge root systems. Perfect for a container plant. Haven’t tasted them yet. I have a few so hope I get a good one!

I have a few SH-3640 pups.

Would be happy to sell or trade. Everything I sell/trade has been verified and 100% be careful a lot of Musa is mixed up. Especially the rare stuff.

Thanks,
Ty Taylor

I’ll break the tie. Texas has the best citrus!! Lol I’m just kidding. I’ve tasted amazing Valencia oranges years ago in FL as well as amazing navel oranges from CA. I believe that good growing conditions and care can make excellent citrus fruit in most warmer climates. Home grown has always been best for me. I know what goes into it and can pick them ripe not green.

Raja puri is a great banana. It does have a similar taste to Brazilian and is closely related to it. I find the raja puri has more of a “tropical” taste to it. Both taste amazing.

Musa manzano and musa Pisang raja are totally different varieties. And have very different tastes.

Manzano is an AAB genome silk subgroup banana. Very popular in south and Central America. Also known as “apple banana”. Not to be confused with the true HI apple banana Brazilian. It is quite astringent and very tart until it is totally ripe where it is very sweet.

Pisang raja also an AAB genome but from Asia. Mostly Indonesia and the Philippines. It is harder to grow for me here in TX. I have fruited them a couple times and they make a similar looking fruit to manzano but the fruit itself is dark yellowish orange almost like an iholena. Very sweet even under-ripe! The true Pisang raja is quite rare. I’ve seen a lot of plants sold as Pisang Raja that were actually mysore, manzano, and others.

That is a Musa balbisiana wild banana. It is the B genome of modern hybrid bananas. They do have a good taste but not much pulp. About 80% seeds 20% pulp. Some places they will harvest them really early and boil them or pickle them. The seeds will still be white, soft, and underdeveloped. It’s known as “wild plantain” it’s known more as an “emergency food” now days though.

Got mine today. Looks awesome. Thanks for another great plant Kevin

I’ll keep track of my success and failures of each variety and method and report back here on the forum. I’m usually fairly good at getting cuttings of things to root. Even rooted jujube cuttings and finger lime awhile back. Some things seem to be a lot easier than others.