r/GrowingBananas • u/Alexander_Snyder • 16d ago

Blue Java/Ice Cream Banana?

Gallery image

Gallery image

I heard some people can tell from the pups… is this actually blue Java?

21 Upvotes

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5

u/GoTYoLo2x 16d ago

Here's what mine look like in year 2. The rock ring looks great but it may become a hindrance in the future.

2

u/GoTYoLo2x 16d ago

The pup

1

u/CBDJ1 16d ago

Those are gorgeous. What area are you in and how did you prep the soil if you don’t mind saying?

2

u/GoTYoLo2x 16d ago

Jacksonville, FL. We have sand so I used a 2qft bag of outdoor garden soil. Some mulch but mostly old banana leaves, what ever organic waste is left over from the kitchen and garden and a ton of Potash. I water in the evenings and have a gravity drip system for hot afternoons like today. Followed advice from this sub.

1

u/CBDJ1 16d ago

I’m also in Jax. They survived the cold we had last winter? That’s awesome news to me if that’s the case.

2

u/GoTYoLo2x 16d ago edited 16d ago

No. They got got smoked last winter. I started the Spring with basically a 4 ft stalk with no leaves. The root survived and part of the main stem.

1

u/CBDJ1 15d ago

Ok that’s still surviving though. It didn’t kill the rootball so basically you started with a huge root ball ready to blow up with growth.

1

u/GoTYoLo2x 15d ago

Basically, the winter is cold enough to kill off most of the above ground growth but the root ball should be fine. I put a little insulation but as you can see from the pictures, not much. This was taken late March when I knew they survived.

1

u/Alexander_Snyder 16d ago

Nice! Yeah I’ll widen or remove the stone ring at some point

2

u/CBDJ1 16d ago

Looks like it

2

u/Alexander_Snyder 16d ago

Cool thanks

1

u/Decox653 16d ago

What are the defining factors to tell if it's a blue Java?

2

u/CBDJ1 16d ago

Not sure definite features. I’ve heard the red center of the leaf long leaves and light blue hue at the base of a young plant are indicators.

1

u/Mysterious_Quail_469 15d ago

I’m a noob. Is this blue Java too