I just wanted to show off a little. I have a half dozen or so clusters of bananas growing in my yard. I had more, but Hurricane Emily broke 4 or 5 stalks with bananas and the fruits weren't mature enough to ripen. I've picked three stalks of ripe bananas this summer, they were "all purpose" orinoco bananas. I prefer the cavendish, which is strickly eating banana and much sweeter.
Here is a cluster of Orinoco bananas. They have a taste similar to apples.
Another Orinoco flower, this one just opened a few days ago.
Dwarf Cavendish, my most favorite eating banana, so sweet and look how many bananas! This pup was planted probably in March of this year as a little bitty pup. The pup came up sometime in January. This flower is a little over a week old.
Here is the above flower taken on Sept 30th(the bright streaks are caused by my hair, it kept blowing in front of the camera). I can't believe how fast this thing is developing. These fruits take about 90-120 days to mature.
These were hard to get a picture of, they're fuji bananas. I've had four stalks of bananas on this variety but have not eaten one yet! Last Christmas, two clusters froze, then in Hurricane Emily one stalk broke off about half way and the bananas didn't mature......I'm hoping this cluster gets to ripen!
The bananas are small and have a bluish cast to the peel.
I don't know what kind this is. This cluster is the scrawniest, skimpiest, ugliest stalk of bananas I've ever seen! This banana is growing in better soil than all the other bananas, gets regular water and fertilize, is less than 10 ft tall, doesn't pup like an orinoco but has leaves like it.
Too cool Susie! I feel an attack of Zone envy coming on! I will have to come visit when they are ripe so we can have some banana pudding!
I do envy your zone Calalily, I went out this afternoon and dug 3 of my bananas up put them in pots and brought them in the house. I still have 2 Musa Basjoo that I will be mulching and leaving outside for the winter. Yours are all so pretty, especially with the bananas hanging on them.
Linda
Edit because I can't spell.
This message was edited Oct 6, 2005 11:38 AM
I definitely have zone envy!! Especially since mine is getting ready to bloom and now
they say 34 degrees Friday night......I guess I will just have to be happy looking at your
pictures and not seeing one in person-so keep posting pictures so I can see what I am
missing!!!
WOW Susie. Tom just walked thru so I showed him your bananas. I said we should go buy that house you showed us the other day. (I had forwarded the pic to him). He said the problem with that house was we would have to live in Texas. LOL. So in the end he is not impressed! But he did like your bananas.
Mel, you go for that house!!
Aw Kell, the only difference in TX and Calif is the heat, lol(and no good sushi places down here, but I think San Antonio has one)
Linda, would you believe Musa Basjoo doesn't grow well down here? It's the scrawniest, most pitiful banana I have(well Zebrina doesn't look too good either, lol, but that's my fault, I forgot to water it)
Great looking nana's, Susie.
I'm thinking of asking Trish for a sticky here.
It will say "Calalily it's time to water! NOW! "
I can't believe those 'nanas!
GREAT job!
Ric
Ric, I have 5 or 6 more varieties, when they flower I'll take pictures of them too. One would think all bananas would grow equally well in this climate, but some do better than others. The ones bred for cold tolerance don't do as well for some reason.
I watered yesterday, the sprinklers ran for 3 hours! We're having a cool spell(65 at night)
Do you have a 'Bordelon'?
I know it's not an edible but it makes a great colony.
Like a taller 'Zebrina'.
Ric
I don't have a Bordelon but I love the ones that make good clumps. The Orinoco makes a big clump as does the cavendish that grows wild here.
