I just harvested a mysore bunch, and your description is right on!

Very tasty, maybe the best.

I am sharpening up my machete and will be replacing some ice creams and other 'lesser' bananas with mysore, and apple (my other favorite, goldfinger is up there too)

Cheers,

Greg

The above followup was added by Greg in Ventura on November 23, 2002 at 5:24 pm PST.

Just harvested some Misi Luki (Green Mysore). It's one of the best.

Grow these varieties and you love them along with Manzano (Apple). The lesser banana's like Ice Cream, Cardaba and Orinoco (sorry Jeff), have got to be replaced.

Disclaimer: All taste is subjective but... come on, try these and the truth will be known.

Pause: Loading full body armour for responses.

The above followup was added by Tom on November 23, 2002 at 6:29 pm PST.

Way I see it is any nanner we get in this climate is good nanner!!
I`m with Jeff on Orinoco being one of the best in our area. That damn tree is outperforming every other variety I have (almost Dec. and it`s putting out leaves and sending up a pup)
Raja Puri is a close second.
Cavendish varieties don`t seem to like the heat in my yard mid-summer.
So, I guess my solutiong to the banana situation is - plant a handful of different varieties and see which one does best for you. Any one that fruits makes you a winner. And, in this climate beggers can`t be choosers.
Mike

The above followup was added by Mike on November 24, 2002 at 3:52 pm PST.

Mike,
Its clear that you've got the banana thingy down pat. Its too bad you live in an area with high winds....very few of my nanners are shredded.

It is my opinion that all first timers, not living in the tropics start out with Dwarf Orinoco.
It is a low growing , frost resistant plant that produces edible fruit in our climate...year after year.
It isn't , the best tasting banana out there. It may rival store bought Chiquita's for taste....which means it is quite good, but since when is store bought produce the best tasting?

Jeff

The above followup was added by Jeff on November 24, 2002 at 8:13 pm PST.

Tarvus,

I like Cavs! If you don't like Williams, you're going to be disappointed with Grand Nain. Williams is generally regarded as a better cav. type than GN, just harder to grow.

Given the choice between Goldfinger and Williams, the GF fruit would sit and rot. Over 97% of the bananas grown in Australia are Cavs (mainly Williams and Mons Maree), 2% are 'lady finger', Goldfinger hasn't made it to 1%, despite the best efforts of some marketers for more than 10 years. The consumers just plain old dont like it.

Jeff,

I would rate dwarf orinoco as one of my worst bananas, as a fruit producer. I suspect that all the ABB types need your summer heat, despite their ability to tolerate your forsty conditions. IN a mild temperate climate like mine without much heat and no frost, DO is basically just an ornamental, there are a lot of other cv.s much better suited to our climate. Theres a guy up the coast from me having better luck with Grand Nain than with DO. Says it all, I think.

The above followup was added by Ben on November 25, 2002 at 2:15 am PST.

As I mentioned, DO is pretty good here. David harvesred a small bunch at his house. The flavor was good.
My experiance with any of the Cavendich types has been....well a flop.

None have every fruited for me, most don't survive our cold winters. It may be our cold soil...but its hard to say.

This is why I rate the D.O as the first to try in my area. Stick to a proven var.....saves some time and money. Get good bananas in the mean time.

Jeff

The above followup was added by Jeff on November 25, 2002 at 6:00 am PST.

I was surprized, when I sat down and tasted the few D.O.s my plant had. I let them go one week in the ripening process, but Jeff said he always waits until the stem is entirely yellow, mine still had a little green at the end.

But I loved what I tasted, sort of like a cav, at a very early ripe stage, the way I like them, but the D.O. was even better.

Not sure why the taste difference from Jeff's; my soil, the fertilizers I use, or just being on the stalk longer, they were on the stalk like 30 days longer then Jeff usually keeps his, his I think. My bunch was very slow in forming and ripening,do to a very weak plant.

I have noticed that my Rajapuri needs and likes a lot of heat and direct sun, just like what I have read online. So I can see there is a lot of varience in what some banana plants like. That is what the fun is all about, to find which ones work best for each of us, and which ones taste the best to us too.

David

The above followup was added by David, Waterford CA, zone9 on November 25, 2002 at 8:32 pm PST.