Babaco has been grown in the Berkeley flats successfully in cooler/foggier climates (probably lower minimum winter temps too compared to Claremont hills). I have gotten minimal fruit in El Cerrito. I will say that I was not thrilled with the flavor of the fruit I grew-- but unlike some other posters I have never eaten babaco that I really enjoyed, including that from warmer climes. But hey, it does have a wonderful fragrance, and I haven't eaten lots of it. And people say it's a great meat tenderizer, and certainly it is a cool-looking plant, with or without fruit. This year no fruit on my plant-- see earlier posts (do search) for suggestions on how to get your plant to fruit. And I've seen plants with lots of fruit elsewhere in the East Bay (eg, Alameda).

On the flavor issue, search the archives here. Axel, Jeff, Ashok, Ben, Richard, others have all weighed in on the flavor issue, probably in multiple posts over quite a span of time.

The above followup was added by Tom A. on October 17, 2002 at 5:25 pm PST.

Joel,

Babacos will do great in Berkeley. Berkeley is mild, and Summers are plenty warm. Babacos will fruit even when lows drop into the mid 40's.

I believe Tom A. from El Cerrito posted a while back about his babaco not fruiting, and thinking it would possibly be the lack of heat. But I've seen them fruit in partial shade in the cooler parts of Santa Cruz. Mine only fruit well when I use a high nitrogen organic fertilizer, but it does not seem to be linked to heat.

Axel

The above followup was added by Axel on October 17, 2002 at 5:28 pm PST.

Probably your best source is the local (Golden Gate) chapter of the Cal. Rare Fruit Growers. If you're not already a member, check it out. Occasionally you can get one raffled off for a buck. (Not sure if you can get a plant from local nurseries, but SoCal fruit nurseries could ship one.)See:
http://www.crfg.org/chapters/golden_gate/index.html
for information on local chapter. Also, on main CRFG website there's nursery contact info. There's actually a garden tour this Saturday in San Leandro.

The above followup was added by Tom A. on October 17, 2002 at 5:31 pm PST.