Has anyone heard of a place to obtain Vietnamese "Royal" banana trees in the USA? Or does anyone know if they have an alternate name that they're called, or if there's a similar variety that grows well here? (Pictures below)
I was blessed to visit Hoi An, Vietnam two years ago just before COVID, and encountered ladies on the street selling the famous Chuoi Ngu ("royal") Bananas. They were absolutely delicious - small, extremely sweet, and with some of the same vanilla notes as Blue Javas. They're the most famous bananas in Vietnam, and centuries ago were the bananas of choice for Vietnam's royal family.
So when I planted my garden in Florida this year I looked up where to buy them so I could plant one and... nothing. I assumed this most-famous Vietnamese varietal would be everywhere just like Blue Javas and Dwarf Cavendish's, but it's nowhere to be found. In fact, every banana tree seller in the USA that I reached out to not only didn't sell them, but had never even heard of them.
There's lots of information on the Chuoi Ngu bananas (their history, name, cultivation, etc) -- and some authors online have mentioned that they are likely a type of lady finger banana. But as to which specific species and where to obtain the trees... I still have found zero information. I appreciate any help you can provide. Here's a link to their history and usage in Vietnam:
https://www.cakhotranluan.com/English/chu%E1%BB%91i-ng%E1%BB%B1-vietnam-famous-banana.html
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