anyone growing truly tiny (AAA cavendish type) bananas? i just planted 3 in the ground, they’ve been growing in pots since mid July. they did well in my greenhouse over the winter. these are sword pups from tissue culture parents which i gave away since tissue culture is so slow growing. i think they’ve put out at least 20-25 leaves. they all have about 1 foot stems, they’re so cute! much smaller than super dwarfs i’ve had before. i expect bananas the size of my thumb 
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I think about trying these every year. Now that I have a small greenhouse, I might do just what you did and give them a head start the year before planting out.
Let us know if/when it fruits!
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that is my plan from here on with the non cold hardy types. i’m keeping the dwarf namwah, dwarf PR (common) plantain, and raja puri outdoors in the ground over the winter, they can take more cold. if it doesn’t have a thick stem and you get too much die off in the winter, it won’t have the support to carry a good rack. the raja puri is new for me, i think it’s the indian variety, the guy i got it from says it fruits at around 5 feet so it would be easier to protect and wrap in the winter than my other “dwarfs” which get to 7+ feet when mature.
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Awesome.
Being in zone 9a/b, I’ve always wondered if it was worth in-ground planting.
I have been worried that if it is cold enough long enough and the inflorescence is already within the stem, you’ve lost your chance at fruit for that plant.
And of course as you mentioned, you need enough leaves to suppost the fruit that is set.
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you’re warmer than me, i’m in 9a (but i think i’m really 8b) so you should be able to plant in ground. the cold hardy dwarfs can tolerate brief freezes when mature and shouldn’t really get pseudostem damage - orinoco, namwah, brazilian, PR plantain, raja puri. leaves will get damaged at and sometimes above freezing, no matter the variety. cavendish types/grand nain will get killed to the ground easily in my area. kokopo and other short cycles are even more cold sensitive so those are worth growing inside/in a greenhouse the first year then planting out the second year. the inflorescence forms several weeks, maybe a month before the flag leaf, i am guessing (i could be wrong) so for example, if kokopo fruits just after 30 leaves, then at 20 leaves it’s probably forming the flower inside the pseudostem. you just have to time it right so that they flower in spring/summer before the cold since they need consistent 80+ F degree days and nights for fruit to mature fast. April through November is the main growing period for me. so as long as you grow it halfway the first year, you should be able to get fruit before winter of the second year.
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Thanks for the info @jamie !
I’ve always loved banana plants. I would eide as far as I was allowed to ride my bike as a kid and knew where all the banana plants were in my area. No idea what variety those plants were.
I had a few varieties many years ago but didn’t pay them enough attention. Ice cream, praying hands. Another one something like SH3450.
It’s a beautiful plant.
I was on Blue Mountain in Jamaica on a GF’s family coffee land and harvested some. Heavy buggers those bunches are! Had to cut it to carry some.
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I think I’ll try Rajapuri. Timing-wise I’ll probably wait to buy until mid summer to limit the first year’s growth a bit…then plant it out next spring and hope for the best.
Though we hit 11 degrees this winter after our multi generational snowstorm, we usually only get 2-3 low 20 mornings over winter. We rarely get an all-day freeze…it’s more rare than snow.
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i also had very rare, once in a lifetime snow in the FL panhandle and this winter was much colder than normal with a low of 15F one morning and 6 consecutive nights of deep freezes in the low 20s.
bananas don’t grow that fast (or big) in pots compared to in ground so if you get a smaller one it will be okay (especially if it’s tissue culture, you’ll want TC to grow as fast as possible), just count the leaves, getting around 25 leaves the first year is about halfway for most of the standard cycle varieties. also raja puri, brazilian and orinoco take longer from inflorescence to harvest than do namwah and PR plantain. you’ll still have to protect/wrap the stem in the winter from freezes because you want as little die back of the sheaths as possible. orinoco is the most cold hardy and a mature one doesn’t need protection unless you have a very prolonged freeze/deep freeze.
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What is your preferred source nursery for banana plants?
none. because i have gotten wrong varieties before from nurseries and had to wait til they fruited to find out/identify them. tissue culture is not reliable. look for a home grower who knows their bananas. i had to look at musa reference manuals and tons of pictures online from home growers to learn how to identify the different varieties.
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