Are Musa Banjoo Bananas edible (poisonous?) and where to buy banana trees (Musa Basjoo, Grand Naine, Blue Java ((Ice cream banan tree))?

[NinjaGamer2022]

I am very interested in growing banana trees in the future and have read that Musa Banjoo with some mulch can survive zone 6 winter. Some sites say the bananas from the tree are edible and even a delicacy while others say inedible. What is your opinion?

Also, what are the best places to buy banana trees (with edible fruit)

Lastly, what is your favorite varietes of banana trees?

Thx,

 

[raingarden]

I wasn't a banana fan until I met apple bananas. They are small, but deliciously sweet and not at all chalky. We have plenty of mats to pull starts from but are not allowed to ship them.

 

[Sequel]

I have tried a couple different banana varieties with no success until last year. I bought a Japanese fiber banana which I believe is Musa Banjoo. It reached about 5 feet tall but no bananas. They are supposed to be hardy to 15F which proved to be true, I think we did get into the teens a bit last year. I got a huge ceramic pot to put it into but decided not to move it out of the plastic one it was in, in case I needed to pull it inside. There was no way a couple old poops like us were going to be able to move a planted pot that size anywhere.

We had a wet and cold spring so it was slow to wake up but wake up it did! This year with 2 stalks. I live in I think zone 7b Smack in the middle of Puget Sound, so maritime or Ive heard modified Mediterranean climate.

I didn’t order it special or anything, I can’t remember if it was a local nursery or possibly even Home Depot.

You didn’t list your location, but I would say just get one out a few and try them out. If you have space to pull them in during the worst weather they should be pretty fun to grow. I wish I did, I love banana trees! Good luck to you!

 

[NanaK]

I have had Musa basjoo here in NC zone 8a for many years. It grows almost TOO well and reproduces happily. They grow in a large clump which you can divide and have more trees to share. Some years when we have a long unusually cold spell they will die back to the ground but come back up quickly in spring. I often get bananas on the largest plants. They grow much better in the ground to get that kind of size. The bananas are edible but have huge seeds so most consider this one an ornamental. I have a friend who has them growing in zone 6 Missouri. His dies to the ground every winter but still comes back and gets large.

I use to have a Dwarf Cavendish. They don't get so tall so are great for growing in pots so if you have a shorter growing season those can be brought inside and supposed to be a tasty one. I lost mine when I went on vacation one year and left my adult daughter in charge of watering. Oh, well.

Banana flowers are very interesting looking but the bananas take a long time to ripen. After a tree produces a banana bunch it will die. BUT it will make many babies so the clump of trees keep growing.



I had this photo stored on my pc from a previous year. My chicken area is behind them. They give the birds alot of shade in summer.
Musa basjoo gets HUGE!

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

Musa basjoo is ornamental only and some people actually dig up the bananas before frost hits and store them indoors, replanting again in the spring. It's all about that tropical look!

A lot of the banana plants sold in the US are from tissue cultures produced by one company (that I know of anyway) and TC plants are small and inexpensive and do well. So all those ebay sellers offering tiny plants, those are really banana plants and they came from the same lab. HOWEVER you cannot be sure which variety it truly is, which is where integrity comes into the mix. This is for all bananas really, they are difficult to tell apart especially when small.

I like TC plants because they can be shipped and won't transport diseases. However if you have local nurseries that sell larger plants or a vibrant plant community in your area, that's good as well.

The big box stores occasionally carry banana plants and be careful because those nurseries (the ones on the tag) frequently have the wrong cultivar (Ice Cream/blue java is notorious for this) in their program.

At this point my favorite banana would be any one I could get to live through a 110 degree summer. People can do it here but I seem to be cursed. Mine rot at the base in the worst of the summer heat.

In Arizona the wisdom is to choose a stout variety like the Dwarf Namwah that makes a thick trunk and can handle winds and have enough structural integrity when they fruit to stay upright.

 

[Coops Dad]

All bananas are edible but not all bananas are tasty.