First Nam Wah bananas for 2023

[Calusa]

Tree fell over a week ago from the weight of the fruit. Divided the stalk in half and brown paper bagged them. Delicioso!

Show us your crop.

[kapps]

Nice! Mine started sending out a flower last week so here’s hoping that we don’t get a hurricane because it probably won’t be ripe until December.

[Calusa]

Nice! Mine started sending out a flower last week so here’s hoping that we don’t get a hurricane because it probably won’t be ripe until December.

This one flowered in late March, so 3 months or so. My tree fell over or I would have left the stalk intact so the fuit would get a little larger.

[kapps]

This was a mid-size bunch coming from the original pup that I transplanted. I propped the stalk for the last couple weeks since it had a decent lean. The first bananas of the bunch turned yellow last weekend so I harvested them. After seating a few bunches myself, giving some to neighbors, and bringing several into work, I’m down to my last one. There’s no banana like a properly ripened Namwah.

The 2nd generation of this bunch is massive. Probably 15” diameter and 8’ tall and still putting out leaves. I counted 21 leaves during the wet season and it’s down to 16 now. Hopefully we miss the freeze again this year because it’s close to putting out a huge flower. The last one I had this big was blown over by the wind when the bunch was only half size. I’m going to be sure to prop it well this time.

[fruitnoob]

I am still waiting for my first crop of (dwarf) nam wah.
Some people said to cover the banana bunch (on the plant) with a trash bag to speed up the ripening of the bananas. Is it a myth? This is my first banana crop and I don't want to experiment with it.

[Tropicaltoba]

How tall are your plants and how many bananas did it produce? I had a “dwarf” namwa a couple of years ago and it fruited but barely fit in my 14’ greenhouse (it was in a pot). Also I got 57 off of it in a 35 gallon pot, curious what they would max out at.

[RodneyS]

Have a flower bud coming out right now.  Dwarf Namwah takes SoCal Winters just fine.  Thick trunk usually doesn't require staking.  Great flavor!

Here's pics of old Namwah bunches

[Daintree]

My banana finished up last month.
We went on a short vacation just as they were starting to ripen, and of course when we came back, they werer ALL ready.
All the neighbor kids got plenty to take in their school lunches!

[kapps]

I am still waiting for my first crop of (dwarf) nam wah.
Some people said to cover the banana bunch (on the plant) with a trash bag to speed up the ripening of the bananas. Is it a myth? This is my first banana crop and I don't want to experiment with it.

I haven’t done it. There is a definite improvement in flavor between bananas that are picked early but eventually ripen and those that are left on the stalk until yellow. I figure that forcing them to ripen faster is taking away the last bit of nutrients that the plant is pushing into them. 

How tall are your plants and how many bananas did it produce? I had a “dwarf” namwa a couple of years ago and it fruited but barely fit in my 14’ greenhouse (it was in a pot). Also I got 57 off of it in a 35 gallon pot, curious what they would max out at.

Mine get big. “Dwarf” seems to mean that they flower under 10’ tall but remember that’s just the growing tip, not the leaves. I never counted the number of individual bananas but here is a picture of the a big bunch a couple weeks before the stalk was taken down by wind. It easily weighed 50lbs and still had months to go before ripe.

[Calusa]

How tall are your plants and how many bananas did it produce? I had a “dwarf” namwa a couple of years ago and it fruited but barely fit in my 14’ greenhouse (it was in a pot). Also I got 57 off of it in a 35 gallon pot, curious what they would max out at.

Mine never have gotten taller at the crown than about 6'.

[fruitnoob]

How tall are your plants and how many bananas did it produce? I had a “dwarf” namwa a couple of years ago and it fruited but barely fit in my 14’ greenhouse (it was in a pot). Also I got 57 off of it in a 35 gallon pot, curious what they would max out at.

Mine never have gotten taller at the crown than about 6'.

Mine is about the same or shorter.