I had planted a banana several years ago, I believe it was Ice Cream- I actually didn't buy it but rec'd it as a gift plant when I'd bought some dwarf cavendish- long story, won't bore you w/ details; anyway to cut to the chase, the banana bloomed and there are many, many lovely immature bananas on my tree- in Houston area we generally have warm temps into October but I am not sure if the fruit will be ripe by then. What do I do? I read somewhere years ago that at some point I could cut off the branch/stalk and hang it in a dry place like my garage until it ripens. Is this true or do you have better info for me?
Thanking you in advance!
Banana questions
April
The big banana companies harvest their bananas when they are green and ship them to the grocery stores and they ripen anywhere. It would be worth the try don't you think. Good luck.
Jeri
Absolutely! Thanks.
April,
Try to wait as long as possible before you harvest the fruit. It can take 3- 4 months for them to mature! I don't know when your temperatures start to get cooler, but I would keep them up until cold weather threatens.
I hope I am not sending this too late!
Heather
Ripe bananas give off a gas that causes other fruit to ripen. You might use that to your advantage and hang a ripe bannana in with the unripe ones to speed up the process,
Thanks.
Have not harvested yet- our cold weather doesn't start for another month or so- every year we are a little different- last year no freezing weather until after the 1st of the year if I remember correctly. I will leave them up as long as possible- will they be ok if the weather doesn't drop below freezing?
I think your banana should be fine if the temperature does not dip below freezing. If you have a cold snap and temperatures are consistently below 50 degrees for many days in a row, growth will probably stop. If you start to see damage to to the banana plant itself from the cooler temperatures, you may want to cut the fruit of the plant and bring it indoors. Just keep an eye on it and let us know what you do!!
Thanks, will do. I am so excited, this will be the 1st edible banana I have had- several ornamentals in the past though.