I got a Red E Ventricosum banana late this spring. It did well in a pot getting quite large. About July I put it in the ground and did okay for awhile then started growing backwards (declining).. its pretty small right now..it really does dislike the hotter night temps as Eric (a previous poster) mentioned. I have grown both the green and red ones from seed in pots in S. Louisiana and they did quite well. They can get huge when they are happy. I'm going to put mine back in a pot again and see if it improves now that the nights are cooling off and it seems to be perking up a little. I think it takes the humidity better in a pot, based on my experiences. I also think they appreciate a little shade in the hottest part of the day here. I also grew these in AZ with basically no humidity and way above 100F temps during the summer they definitely hated that but survived with some shade and a misting system I had set up for my tropicals. My two Zebrina bananas are doing quite well, currently, in the ground and are beautiful. I've killed (or the winter, I should say, killed) 2 Siam Ruby bananas here but that was before I had my greenhouse techniques refined lol. ~Sjn

The food charts I have for how long you can keep bananas in the freezer gave no amounts of time, and one said "extended freezer time" - whatever that means (LOL). I guess the goal should be to use the frozen bananas in a timely manner (few months), but I was moving some things around in my refrigerator freezer and I found several ripe bargain bananas that were quick-frozen then placed in a FoodSaver bag, vacuum-sealed shut -- early last summer and promptly forgotten about. I made them into banana bread the other day for yet one more offering to the "throngs" for breakfast during their Christmas visit. When you vacuum-seal peeled bananas (or most food destined for freezer storage), they will last longer than in a typical storage bag because they are stored oxygen-free. Oxygen-free storage prevents the moisture inside the food from migrating from the surface of the food into the bag, drying out or creating ice crystals in the bag. A food science tidbit about using overly-ripe bananas for banana bread. When a banana bread recipe only calls for baking soda as the only chemical leavening, overly-ripe bananas are not as acid (6.5-7.0 pH) as a regular banana (4.6 pH) in order to react in partnership with the baking soda. The reaction may be a weak one resulting in a heavy banana bread. A good banana bread recipe, one that ensures adequate leavening, will use both baking powder and baking soda. If the recipe only has baking soda, make sure a portion of the bananas aren't overly-ripe, or there is another ingredient in the recipe that provides an acid ingredient. That could be some lemon juice added to the bananas to keep them from oxidizing and turning dark, orange juice, honey used as the sweetener, or yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk, which are all acid foods that will react with the baking soda. -Grainlady

Do know the name of the banana? You're doing everything right at this point. Most bananas need 18 months or longer to produce fruit. You will probably get fruit this summer. You will get an indication that it's going to fruit by looking at the new leaves as they emerge. When a banana is ready to fruit, it begins putting out shorter leaves and the last leaf is a paddle shaped leaf. It's called the flag leaf and the bloom follows. Good luck. Steve

Sour Cream Banana Bread 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup oil 2 eggs 1 cup mashed bananas (2 medium) 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour bottom only of a 9 X 5 loaf pan. In large bowl, beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream and vanilla, blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. Add flour, baking soda and salt, stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in refrigerator. Makes 1 loaf.