GROWING BANANAS IN COLD CLIMATES

It's that time of year again here in Upstate NY. The first frost of the season will soon be here. So, gardeners in the area have to remain alert to the weather predictions in order to provide tender plants, such as bananas, with protection from the cold.

In zone 10 where growing conditions are truly tropical, bananas can be grown outdoors year-round in gardens. That isn't the case in colder areas. Alas, we will have to dig up the plants, and put them in a safe place during the colder months. But that is a small price to pay for the pleasure these plants bring.

Assuming one has a greenhouse or conservatory with lots of space, the banana plants can thrive indoors during the winter months. Dwarf varieties would be best for indoor culture.

If you have a sunny room with large skylights or large windows, they will grow very well in such spots. Otherwise, they'll need to go in a dark basement or other frost-free space for the winter.

To avoid confusion, I should explain there are ornamental bananas that are hardy to -20 Fahrenheit (zone 5) if they are properly mulched. However, these don't bear edible fruits. They're grown strictly for their beauty.

Strictly speaking, bananas are a perennial herb. They may resemble a tree, but appearance can be deceiving. The true stems are underground, and are known as rhizomes with buds or eyes just as dahlias and potatoes. The plants, 8-25' in height, have leaves 4' to 8' in length.

In addition to the standard yellow banana available in supermarkets, there are also small red ones, and tiny, finger-sized ones.

There are many sources of information on growing bananas. A great place to start is with the book published by Stokes Tropicals, called "Bananas You Can Grow." This won the best new book award from the Garden Writers Association.

Some individual banana growers provide details of their experiences on their web pages. This can be valuable information, because you can learn what varieties may work best for your area.

Whatever varieties you choose, give the plants plenty of sun. However, they do require shelter from strong winds. Select a spot with rich, well-drained soil.

In the garden, plants can be spaced about ten to fifteen feet apart. An individual plant should only have one or two stems. If it contains more, prune off the extras.

Usually the fruits will ripen about five or six months after the blooms appear. There are sterile male flowers and female flowers, but the seedless fruit is able to develop without any fertilization. Therefore, pollination is not required.

Bananas are an ancient crop. Recently, Australian researchers found evidence that bananas and taro were grown in the highlands of New Guinea. They said this meant that the area developed agriculture independently of that from other regions where plants had been domesticated.

Bananas apparently originated in southeast Asia. They were known to the ancient Egyptians, and spread throughout the Middle East. Apparently they reached England around 1500. During excavations at London Bridge City, archaeologists found an almost complete banana skin from that date. The plants were introduced in 1516 to the New World to Haiti by a Spanish missionary.

Have you ever come upon a banana seed when eating one of the fruits? The domesticated plants don't bear seeds. They're propagated by vegetative means. In case there is any confusion on this point, wild banana plants do bear seeds. I've seen them used in necklaces and other artifacts from New Guinea.

Bananas are propagated by vegetative means. Once the original stem produces fruit, it will die just as a bearing stem on a raspberry or blackberry bush does. Before the stem dies, it will produce suckers around the base of the original plant. These are used to produce future banana plants.

A related species in Africa has an edible rhizome. The inner tissue of the stem is also eaten. Its fruits are small, and do have seeds.

Bananas are related to plantains, or cooking bananas. However, the two differ slightly in their nutritional makeup. Bananas are higher in sugar.

Though we may think of it as a carbo-laden fruit, bananas contain other valuable nutrients, including potassium, and fiber. Some say that bananas can calm the mind.

Americans will be most familiar with Chiquita bananas, available in supermarkets. The Chiquita website has an interesting history of the company, and how it began over 125 years ago brought some of the fruits to America.

The site also offers many recipes for bananas as well as fun pages for children. For hot weather, try cool no-bake banana bars, and the banana cider soother. The roasted turkey quesadillas with bananas would be great for dinner.

There are lots of sources of banana plants. Bananas are prone to some serious diseases, including the Panama disease. Disease-resistant varieties are available.