Fruiting Bananas in E. Bay?

Is it possible to get fruit from Banana trees in the East Bay? Can anyone suggest some reliable varieties for me?

Thanks,

--Adam

I bet you can Adam. My neighbor has a fruiting banana in his front yard and we are much colder here. Of course his banana tree freezes every winter and I always wonder if this will be the year it doesn't come back! I would check with your local Univ. Cooperative Extension Agent for varieties for your area. He should have a list. Look in the Government pages of the phone book in the County listings. Your local independant retail nursery (not a box store, they don't know much!) would be able to help. I bet you can just treat it like a citrus and build a shelter for frost.

K

Adam, there are several knowlegable people in the Tropical Forum that could suggest some varieties to try for our climate. I do know I see them sometimes in peoples yards around here but have no idea what variety they are. they are huge though! Maybe Orinoco?
here are a couple of links for descriptions on varieties:
http://www.banana-tree.com/catalog~category~17.cfm
http://www.bananaplants.net/bananaplants.html
http://www.going-bananas.com/

Good call Sue!

And here's the website of your local agricultural agent who should be able to help you: http://cealameda.ucdavis.edu/ I'm a little over 35 miles north of you, and I've seen bananas on a tree not far from me.