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re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates
Posted on 5/22/26 at 10:13 am to Tigerlaff
Posted on 5/22/26 at 10:13 am to Tigerlaff
quote:where do you see this? Their site says pickup only.
PSA: Serendib Farms is shipping orange sherbet mangos now. 10lbs is $115 shipped. If you've never had orange sherbet it's truly one of the best in the world. Serendib is also well known for shipping quality properly picked fruit.
1
Posted on 5/22/26 at 11:19 am to Tigerlaff
Should I be pinching buds on the guava or just let it do whatever it wants for now?
look at this beast…this is why trifoliata makes good rootstock I guess
look at this beast…this is why trifoliata makes good rootstock I guess
Posted on 5/22/26 at 11:58 am to Neauxla
quote:
where do you see this? Their site says pickup only.
They sold out in hours and changed the options to pickup only. I was lucky to get an order in.
Posted on 5/22/26 at 12:01 pm to cgrand
quote:
Should I be pinching buds on the guava or just let it do whatever it wants for now?
Just let it roll for now. You can see where it is already branching out. The most important thing on these is getting a thick central leader. Otherwise it will be a floppy mess and drag fruit and be hard to winter protect.
Posted on 5/22/26 at 2:36 pm to Tigerlaff
Nam Doc Mai show up for shipping but that's it.
Posted on 5/22/26 at 5:21 pm to Neauxla
Yeah I'm not a huge fan of NDM. Just watch their social media in the next 2 weeks. Orange Sherbet should be ripening then.
Posted on 5/22/26 at 7:24 pm to Tigerlaff
Another day another addition. This is probably the last banana I'll ever buy. A little over a year ago I bought a tissue culture of what was supposed to be Veinte Cohol. It was the least vigorous banana I have ever planted and it got absolutely smoked by cold weather, far more than any of my other 6 varieties. It also had red markings on the new leaves which made me very suspicious about its authenticity; it looks like a normal Cavendish type banana. Here it is today just barely emerging from winter while all the rest of my varieties are already 4-6 feet tall:
So why Veinte Cohol? It is a dwarf fast growing short cycle banana where the fruit ripens about 30-45 days after flowering. Most bananas take anywhere from 4-6 months to ripen. If you can get Veinte Cohol through the winter you are basically assured fruit. It can be grown in a pot and only gets 5-6 feet tall.
Flash forward to this month. I find a YouTube video of a guy growing Veinte Cohol in central Florida. His look nothing like mine and more importantly he states that tissue culture Veinte Cohol (if you even manage to find a real one) is known to have significant problems with vigor. He also confirmed that Veinte Cohol does not get the red blood spots when young. This all tracked, so I bought a tiny field dug pup from him for $80 shipped. Most I've ever paid for a banana by a mile.
This little pup was shipped bare root and will need some time in a container before it is ready for planting. I will probably overwinter this in a pot until spring and then plant it out. I am 99% confident that this is the real Veinte Cohol based on my interactions with the seller. If it works out I'll share the pups with y'all.
More YouTube content
And even more
So why Veinte Cohol? It is a dwarf fast growing short cycle banana where the fruit ripens about 30-45 days after flowering. Most bananas take anywhere from 4-6 months to ripen. If you can get Veinte Cohol through the winter you are basically assured fruit. It can be grown in a pot and only gets 5-6 feet tall.
Flash forward to this month. I find a YouTube video of a guy growing Veinte Cohol in central Florida. His look nothing like mine and more importantly he states that tissue culture Veinte Cohol (if you even manage to find a real one) is known to have significant problems with vigor. He also confirmed that Veinte Cohol does not get the red blood spots when young. This all tracked, so I bought a tiny field dug pup from him for $80 shipped. Most I've ever paid for a banana by a mile.
This little pup was shipped bare root and will need some time in a container before it is ready for planting. I will probably overwinter this in a pot until spring and then plant it out. I am 99% confident that this is the real Veinte Cohol based on my interactions with the seller. If it works out I'll share the pups with y'all.
More YouTube content
And even more
This post was edited on 5/22/26 at 10:02 pm
Posted on 5/22/26 at 8:46 pm to Tigerlaff
I’ve decided to take your advice and plant bananas in that wet spot. It’s close enough where I can water it if needed and run an extension cord for heat. Now I just need to find those plantains you mentioned. Got a rec?
Posted on 5/22/26 at 9:05 pm to cgrand
If you want a plantain type banana you absolutely must go with Orinoco and Dwarf Orinoco would be even better. It is more cold hardy than any other edible banana I am aware of. Even more than Namwah and Rajapuri. You will be able to easily protect the dwarf version and I would bet you will see fruit in some years without protection.
But make sure you buy from a reputable source. The banana trade is very sketchy and dishonest. Orinoco is fairly common and the dwarf somewhat less so. I have had great experiences with Irene Williams, the moderator of the "Banana Growers and Lovers Florida State USA" Facebook group. Join the group and you can message her directly. She has a dizzying array of varieties and her prices for shipping pups are more than fair. More importantly, you will actually get the real variety you are seeking.
Orinoco
But make sure you buy from a reputable source. The banana trade is very sketchy and dishonest. Orinoco is fairly common and the dwarf somewhat less so. I have had great experiences with Irene Williams, the moderator of the "Banana Growers and Lovers Florida State USA" Facebook group. Join the group and you can message her directly. She has a dizzying array of varieties and her prices for shipping pups are more than fair. More importantly, you will actually get the real variety you are seeking.
Orinoco
This post was edited on 5/22/26 at 9:50 pm
Posted on 5/22/26 at 11:22 pm to Tigerlaff
quote:
But make sure you buy from a reputable source. The banana trade is very sketchy and dishonest.
What he said. There’s sketchy dealers in all boutique tropical fruits; but, bananas are about the worst. Easy to grow; most are impossible to distinguish as pups. Makes for easy pickings for someone pumping out Cavendish or Namwah pups and selling them as rare, unique varieties. Then disappearing a few months later.
Also agree with Orinoco. If I had more space it would be on my list. It’s a durable, cold hardy and very starchy banana that’s super versatile. Can be eaten from hand or used in tostones.
Posted on 5/23/26 at 7:11 am to wiltznucs
Thanks guys 
Posted on 5/23/26 at 7:18 am to wiltznucs
Wiltz you ever grow Mekong Giant? I have an area behind my backyard fence along the bayou where I think it would be cool to have 30 foot tall bananas, but they have these unique running rhizomes that spread far distances instead of clumping like a normal mat. Would be the second most cold hardy banana I have after basjoo.
This post was edited on 5/23/26 at 7:21 am
Posted on 5/23/26 at 7:54 am to Tigerlaff
quote:
Wiltz you ever grow Mekong Giant?
I have not; but, there’s a local botanical garden who has one and they are indeed massive. You’d definitely need some space and harvesting them seems like it might be a chore too.
I have Namwah, Pitogo and Huamoa growing currently. I only have room for one more banana. I’m still sorting out what I want; but, I’m leaning towards 3640 aka High Noon. Was developed in Honduras. They grow well here, are highly disease resistant and should not be impacted by the Cavendish die off that’s happening worldwide. They’ve been readily adopted in Australia, New Zealand and to a lesser extent in South Africa as a dessert type banana. Somewhat smaller than Cavendish with a sweeter flavor profile and if you feed them they make enormous racks.
This post was edited on 5/23/26 at 7:56 am
Posted on 5/23/26 at 12:23 pm to wiltznucs
Cool. Will do some more research on them. You can get away with some more tender varieties than me (usually lol). Here are mine with my ratings:
Musa basjoo 10/10 (non edible, aesthetic only)
Dwarf namwah 9/10
Rajapuri 9/10
Tall namwah 8/10
Musa Truly Tiny 8/10 (container only)
Dwarf Cavendish 3/10
Gran nain 1/10
Veinte Cohol - too early to tell
I've said it a few times in this thread over the past year, but if anyone is seeking a pure foliage banana and doesn't care about harvesting fruit, please please please get Musa basjoo. You won't regret it. The cold tolerance is frankly alarming.
Musa basjoo 10/10 (non edible, aesthetic only)
Dwarf namwah 9/10
Rajapuri 9/10
Tall namwah 8/10
Musa Truly Tiny 8/10 (container only)
Dwarf Cavendish 3/10
Gran nain 1/10
Veinte Cohol - too early to tell
I've said it a few times in this thread over the past year, but if anyone is seeking a pure foliage banana and doesn't care about harvesting fruit, please please please get Musa basjoo. You won't regret it. The cold tolerance is frankly alarming.
Posted on 5/23/26 at 12:33 pm to Tigerlaff
Ate the first bounty passionfruit today. I thought I'd post a ripeness timeline with photos to give others an idea about when to eat.
Fruit (left) fell off the vine this color on 5/18/26.
Fruit (right) sat on the counter and darkened up to a good purple by 5/21/26.
Fruit reached the well wrinkled stage on 5/23/26.
The aromatics were amazing. It's that classic passionfruit aroma that is unmistakable. Flavor was good, but still a little tart. It probably needed another 1-2 days. If I had added a single drop of honey into each half it would have been perfect. I think the larger fruit I currently have on the vine have good potential based on this initial sample.
Fruit (left) fell off the vine this color on 5/18/26.
Fruit (right) sat on the counter and darkened up to a good purple by 5/21/26.
Fruit reached the well wrinkled stage on 5/23/26.
The aromatics were amazing. It's that classic passionfruit aroma that is unmistakable. Flavor was good, but still a little tart. It probably needed another 1-2 days. If I had added a single drop of honey into each half it would have been perfect. I think the larger fruit I currently have on the vine have good potential based on this initial sample.
This post was edited on 5/23/26 at 12:35 pm
Posted on 5/23/26 at 12:43 pm to Tigerlaff
got my dirt delivered today and I’m just waiting on the rain to move out next week and I’ll start working on finishing the banana patch. I got as much of the vines and dewberries out of there as I could and I have a thick layer of cardboard over most of it.
I ordered a rajapuri pup, 2 dwarf orinocos and a blue Java (supposedly the real thing). I have a dwarf cavendish struggling in a poor location I can move over there and I’m looking for a dwarf namwah
thanks for the inspiration brah
I ordered a rajapuri pup, 2 dwarf orinocos and a blue Java (supposedly the real thing). I have a dwarf cavendish struggling in a poor location I can move over there and I’m looking for a dwarf namwah
thanks for the inspiration brah
Posted on 5/23/26 at 1:01 pm to cgrand
Awesome. Can't wait to see the final result. Don't waste your time with dwarf Cavendish unless you've got plenty of room and it won't take the spot of a better variety. I should have dwarf namwah pups later this year.
Posted on 5/23/26 at 2:35 pm to Tigerlaff
Posted on 5/23/26 at 3:06 pm to cgrand
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