Is there a banana tree I can grow on the MS Gulfcoast that produces edible fruit?
Thanks,
Megin
Banana tree - MS Gulfcoast?
Hardy verities are Dwarf Orinoco, Dwarf Brazilian, and California gold; other very good choices are Grand Nain (Chiquita), Ice-cream and Williams’s hybrid.
Do a search for Stokes Tropical for a detailed description on all these verities, Bananas like lots of water and fertilizer, however they do not like constant wet feet,
I had no idea I'd have so many choices! Thank you!
~Megin
MZZPOOL
Bananas grow from the 31st parallel North and South. We are on the edge of that margin so don’t expect huge banana stalks on the fringes of their habitat. I just cut a stalk of Orinoco (18’ tall) that had approximately 20 bananas. Humberto knocked it over but the bananas were nearly mature. I put the in a dark room and they will ripen just fine.
Some advice that I can give you is to go with the dwarfs if you are going to plant them in an open area. The taller versions like ice cream and Orinoco would be better suited for a wind sheltered area like the south side of a building. Hurricanes knock them down but they will grow again next year from the (bulb) corn.
Don’t make the mistake of cutting them to the ground in the spring. Just remove the dead leaves and that portion of the pseudostem that has died. You can tell which part of the pseudostem (trnk/stak) is dead by squeezing. Soft is dead and hard is good tissue.
Bananas are so easy to grow, just water and lots of fertilizer. They won’t disappoint you.
Oldude
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