Attn: Zone 7 and Higher!
Aug. 14th, 2008 07:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mdehnersThere's always been Bananas around here. They're pretty much ubiquitous landscape plants, sort of like giant Canas. They freeze back in Winter and pop back up in Spring. Never thought much about them....until this yr.
This yr I learned that there are two different kinds of Bananas. Not Plaintains and Dessert, Short and Long Season. The Cavandish we have growing around here, like the store Banana are Long Season. This means they bloom one Summer and Ripen the next Fall. Short season, however Bloom and bear the same yr. If you plant short season cultivars, you can have tree-ripened Bananas even in Atlanta or in the case of the 'Veinte Cohol', DC!
The big problem is Freezes. In my area you just wrap the trunks with old bedsheets when Temps dip below mid 20'sF. North of z 8, It's easier just to dig up the puppies, wrap the roots in newspaper and store them in the garage til Spring...as long as your garage doesn't drop below mid 20's. Actually, this way you can grow them all the way up to Maine. Though there you'll end up doing what commercial growers do, picking them before they tree ripen and have to do it on your counter. The difference is that short season types come in all sorts of tropical flavors, though with a Banana-ish component. 'Ice Cream' tastes like Vanilla icecream(the fruits are also blue;>). 'Pineapple' tastes like Pina Coladas. 'Apple', well, you get the idea....
Most dessert types can be harvested green as well to be used as Plaintains and many Plaintains if left on the trees to ripen can be used as dessert. The flowers can be used as veggies, as well as the core, which is a lot like a fruitier Heart of Palm.
So, if you have a basement or garage that stays above Freezing in Winter, you can have fresh Bananas, even in the Deep North....though Canadians have reported that most short season types other than 'Veinte Cohol' don't bloom early enough for the fruit to even reach the pick green and ripen on counter stage. Anyplace South however....
Cheers,
Pat
This yr I learned that there are two different kinds of Bananas. Not Plaintains and Dessert, Short and Long Season. The Cavandish we have growing around here, like the store Banana are Long Season. This means they bloom one Summer and Ripen the next Fall. Short season, however Bloom and bear the same yr. If you plant short season cultivars, you can have tree-ripened Bananas even in Atlanta or in the case of the 'Veinte Cohol', DC!
The big problem is Freezes. In my area you just wrap the trunks with old bedsheets when Temps dip below mid 20'sF. North of z 8, It's easier just to dig up the puppies, wrap the roots in newspaper and store them in the garage til Spring...as long as your garage doesn't drop below mid 20's. Actually, this way you can grow them all the way up to Maine. Though there you'll end up doing what commercial growers do, picking them before they tree ripen and have to do it on your counter. The difference is that short season types come in all sorts of tropical flavors, though with a Banana-ish component. 'Ice Cream' tastes like Vanilla icecream(the fruits are also blue;>). 'Pineapple' tastes like Pina Coladas. 'Apple', well, you get the idea....
Most dessert types can be harvested green as well to be used as Plaintains and many Plaintains if left on the trees to ripen can be used as dessert. The flowers can be used as veggies, as well as the core, which is a lot like a fruitier Heart of Palm.
So, if you have a basement or garage that stays above Freezing in Winter, you can have fresh Bananas, even in the Deep North....though Canadians have reported that most short season types other than 'Veinte Cohol' don't bloom early enough for the fruit to even reach the pick green and ripen on counter stage. Anyplace South however....
Cheers,
Pat
