Right now Im growing... Ensete Maurelli (6 feet approx) Musa Saba (9 feet approx) Musa Ice Cream aka Blue Java (9 feet approx Musa Thai black (died back down and now about a foot tall) Musa Basjoo (died back down and now about 6 inches tall with many pups) Musa Bordelon (coming in the mail this week!) I have definitlely thinned down my banana collection and now only have mostly harder to find banana plants. I was a little sad to lose my veltuina during this winter, especially since it was a mild winter. It wasnt as cold hardy for me as it was for others. -Alex

funny you guys all say Ice Cream! I went to the local nursery friday afternoon, and a lady described each variety they had to offer ( must have been at least a dozen... i was lost!) and she said her favorite was Ice Cream too. She said that it's ok to plant them any time of the year... but isn't it wise to wait until late february or so to plant them? The last night below freezing was in january 2003... and the past few winters have been mild. we might be overdue for a hard freeze. i don't want to buy a baby Ice Cream and have it get zapped!! how long does it take for a banana tree to become established? i'm thinking if i wait until march or so i will have more security. -Will

Greetings! Ironically for me, based on what I have read so far in this set of posts, things seem to be slightly backward in our area. I currently have seven banana plants growing in my back yard, which may represent either six or seven distinct cultivars (I am not sure yet if I have a duplicate of a plant that I bought at Lowe's on sale-the other five came from Don and Katie at "Going Bananas.") As it stand right now, I have: Grand Nain, Blue Java (Ice Cream,) FHIA 17, Brazilian (Tall,) either two Red Bananas(Plaintain) or one Red and a Dwarf Cavendish, and an SH 3640 variety. For me, the SH 3640 seems to be the most enthusiastic grower (although I cannot ignore the fact that the SH 3640 and the Brazilian started out as corms vs. the rest being of the tissue culture variety-not sure if this matters or not, but it could, I suppose.) I do get new leaves on the Ice Cream and Grand Nain regularly, the FHIA 17 is a little slower (for me at least,) and the Brazilian is still in the corm phase. The Red Bananas are currently much larger than the others, because they were that way when I purchased them. They produce large new leaves every 6-7 days or so (give or take-depending on water and weather.) I had to alter our soil a bit and add a layer of mulch, because in our area we have a type of sandy soil similar to thick beach sand mixed with particles-thus, it tends to get quite hot rather quickly. I water with the sprinklers at least 4 times a week, and apply a mixture of liquid miracle grow plant food and water on the off days. Our local Home Depot and Lowe's Stores unfortunately do not sell any relative equivalent of a 0-0-22 Potash Fertilizer to mix with a standard 6-6-6 type to create a synthesized "Banana" Blend stock. And although it can be ordered, I have lately been experimenting to see how well the 12-4-8 Miracle Grow works with a bit of Citrus/Cactus/Palm fertilizer thrown in for good measure.

I've started my first proper garden after years of living in smaller places. I'm currently growing: Cape Gooseberry (basically a weed in my garden) Pomegranate Blackberries (don't know the type) White, weeping mulberry (found on the property) Litchi / Lychee (nursery didn't label the type) Avocado (Fuerte & have been advised to get a Haas too) Apricot (Cape Early, a South African cultivar) Apple (Early Red one & looking for a tart, green pollinator/pie apple) Eureka lemon Unidentified dwarf lemon (found on property) Shaddock pomelo, red flesh Peach (Oom Sarel, a large South African cultivar) Two fruits that I'm growing, but I've never tasted before: - Miracle Fruit (3 seedlings about 20cm, under glass & one recently planted outside). I've served the pills for a party. - Pepino Got a whole of herbs, peppers and veggies too. I'm looking to replace granadilla / passion fruit and mangoes that I've grown before. I don't care for the taste of granadilla but I love the Passion flowers. I live north of Johannesburg in South Africa & it's spring time here. I want to grow some of the traditional fruit trees I grew up with, like delicious sweet Marula (sclerocarya birrea). Marula makes a small, sweet fruit that you can eat fresh when it turns yellow, can ferment into a traditional beer and leaves a hard seed with a sweet nut. Other traditional trees are Milk plum (Englerophytum magalismontanum) & Moepel (Mimusops zeyheri)...I don't know it's English name but I see it's part of the Sapoteceae genus.