Musa "Rajapuri"

(Indian Fruit Banana)

One of the hardiest fruit bananas with edible fruit, it's a dessert banana with medium sized fruits, grows only to 8 feet tall, only so tall as the well-known Canary banana "Dwarf Cavendish" and has a certainly similarity with it. It originates from India and is a mutation of the rare Indian cultivar "Nendrapadathi". It has darkgreen leaves, is very wind and cold resistant, and extremely resistant again some disceases. In the southern states of the U. S. A. the variety also grown in house gardens, is to keep easily, also for the beginner. It's a very good pot plant, it can overwinter frostfree in the house.

It is hardy to USDA zone 8, probably under very good winter protection also hardy to USDA zone 7. Its leaves freeze at 32°F, with strong cold wind already at 36°F. In Germany there are first experiences with outdoor overwintering in Bückeburg near Hannover in one nursery, one specimen should already have survived some winters outdoors and freeze back every year and resprout from the corms every spring, but the extreme winter 2001/02 there it has not more survived. Like "Orinoco" it has to be mulched very thick and the ground with the corm must kept frostfree.

The probably best fruit banana for our climate, because it is quickly fruiting and already fruits after 9 months, in our area it could need 2 to 3 years. With the wire bag method the pseudotrunks could be kept alive, by frostfree and completely dry overwintering. This overwintering method is probably the recommendablest possiblity for this variety.

One year old young plant in my livingroom in winter 2001/02

Rajapuri in September 2002, grown up to one stately plant of the height of 10 feet