Banana Tree

[HLW]

Hello!  I noticed today that one of my banana trees has bananas on it.  Completely shocked to this!  I planted them for a tropical look around my pool never expecting them to produce fruit.  Does anyone on here know what type of banana tree this is and how to tell when they are ready?  Thank you!  

[Xenon]

Your banana is probably 'Orinoco' and should be ready in October-November. Once it starts to blush yellow, I'd harvest and let it continue to fully ripen indoors. You want to treat this type of banana differently and let the peel turn mostly black before consuming for maximum sweetness/minimum astringency, it will look very "overripe" but will still be quite firm and dense. It's also a great cooking banana when less ripe. 

 

[Funkthulhu]

I don't want to assume everybody knows everything I do, so just in case you've not grown bananas long term...   I want to remind or inform you that the main pseudo-stem that is holding that bunch of bananas is going to die.  So make sure there are pups up and coming to replace that one.  I had a buddy who didn't know the fruiting stem dies and also removed all the pups to give away.  Ended up with no bananas at all (until the corm popped up one last pup).

[HLW]

4 hours ago, Xenon said:

Your banana is probably 'Orinoco' and should be ready in October-November. Once it starts to blush yellow, I'd harvest and let it continue to fully ripen indoors. You want to treat this type of banana differently and let the peel turn mostly black before consuming for maximum sweetness/minimum astringency, it will look very "overripe" but will still be quite firm and dense. It's also a great cooking banana when less ripe. 

 

 

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, Xenon said:

Your banana is probably 'Orinoco' and should be ready in October-November. Once it starts to blush yellow, I'd harvest and let it continue to fully ripen indoors. You want to treat this type of banana differently and let the peel turn mostly black before consuming for maximum sweetness/minimum astringency, it will look very "overripe" but will still be quite firm and dense. It's also a great cooking banana when less ripe. 

 

Interesting that you can identify a variety with just one photo.  Just curious which characteristics you used to narrow it down.  I would have no clue even with additional information on the height of the plant and other characteristics, but I claim very little knowledge of the different varieties.  The botanical garden near me has well over a dozen varieties and I have been growing a couple of varieties for many years now.  The varieties I grow often don't ripen in the Autumn before days get shorter and temps cool slowing the ripening process, so they will ripen when we get warm spells in January or February. 

[HLW]

October - November wow that's a long time.  Lol. I was thinking maybe they would be ready next month.  Thank you both so much for the info.  I can now Google this type of tree and learn more about it.  I bought 3 of these trees from a lady off of Facebook marketplace last May and planted them. I asked her if these were the type that produced bananas and she said no. I'm excited! I had no idea they sprouted new trees. I have 8 now. I'm going to assume pup is the new baby trees growing all around the 3 big trees? Time to Google.  

[HLW]

I live in southeast Texas about 20 minutes from the gulf.  February is usually our 1 cold month of each year.  All of our seasons are pretty much the same "hot" especially right now!!  

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

Interesting that you can identify a variety with just one photo.  Just curious which characteristics you used to narrow it down.  I would have no clue even with additional information on the height of the plant and other characteristics, but I claim very little knowledge of the different varieties.  The botanical garden near me has well over a dozen varieties and I have been growing a couple of varieties for many years now.  The varieties I grow often don't ripen in the Autumn before days get shorter and temps cool slowing the ripening process, so they will ripen when we get warm spells in January or February. 

Op is in Texas and the most common banana here by far is 'Orinoco', especially when used as landscaping and not specifically for fruit (there are some other varieties appearing in the last decade or so, but 'Orinoco' remains the old standby). Fruit shape matches my 'Orinoco' which is currently at a similar stage of development. I could be wrong . Still more than plenty of time here, will ripen loooooong before any real cold arrives 

Here's my 'Orinoco', notice the prominent ridges, the fat and "blunt" shape, and the open arrangement of the cluster 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Xenon

[Alan_Tampa]

OP's location would have led me to Orinoco as well.