I have a dwarf banana that overwinters without mulch down to at least 4F for short periods. I am told that it has produced bananas in this climate but I have not yet grown it during a hot sunny summer , so I have not seen fruit.

My experience with northern Ohio makes me doubt that a banana could ripen fruit outside. Correct me if I am wrong but aren't your summers short, cool, and cloudy? If anyone knows a variety that will produce bananas in northern Ohio, I too would like to hear about it.
MBWD

The most cold hardy bananas do not produce edible fruit. In fact, getting them to fruit at all may be beyond most gardeners north of zone 8 or 9. I have no idea how likely you are to find one that will produce an edible fruit for you but believe only a greenhouse situation will ensure satisfactory fruit production. Just simple indoor growing is not likely to produce the conditions necessary for fruit to form and ripen.

Here is a link that might be useful: growing bananas

moistbutwelldrained,

Thanks for the response. If you have trouble in North Carolina, then I fear it would be much more difficult for me.
What variety and how many years have you had it?
Ohio (Cleveland area) weather can vary greatly. But you can usually bet on last frost in Mid May and first frost late October. Spring and early summer is cloudy and cool. But from June to late mid September are +80 and sunny humid days.

CitrusWeekendWarrior, This is an unknown variety that I got from a friend this year. She has been growing it for more than 20 years in one location without mulch. It has spread from one pseudostem to perhaps 30. Last winter dropped to 4 degrees F on several occasions. By June, the entire grove was growing vigorously with the tallest stems at 4 feet. She tells me that she occasionally gets bananas but I doubt that they ripen.

I agree with gardengal48 that the really cold hardy dwarf bananas are not edible. I treat this as an ornamental foliage plant.
MBWD

So after digging some more, I found a variety call Dwarf Orinoco. I googled that, and found this forum.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/banana/msg1008141611261.html?10

It seems this guy went to great lengths to get these to fruit. Ever winter he would bare root them and store them in his basement. I wounder if I would have similar luck if I potted them?

First off, Midwest summers are anything but cool and cloudy. You may be confusing Ohio for the Pacific Northwest. They tend to be hot and sometimes very dry. 80s is typical, 90s are not uncommon.

I have a Dwarf Orinoco in ground here in Southeast Michigan zone 6b. It has come back as a perennial for at least the last 6 years. It gets up to about 6-7 feet tall every year, but I have never seen any indication that it was going to fruit. Maybe in an unusually warm year it would, where first frost wasn't until December, but our frosts here usually happen late October into November. Mine doesn't seem affected by moderate frost, but we just had a heavy frost/hard freeze two nights ago with temps down to 23, and that did it in.

I would say this banana is your best bet for fruit in your zone, but probably won't produce fruit if grown as a perennial, unless you go to some elaborate protection method of the pseudostem, which is a possibility. It definitely is a cold hardy variety that most people don't consider growing because they don't know it's limits. BTW...mine is planted against the foundation, which probably helps it to survive reliably.

My comment about northern Ohio being cloudy was based on maps showing cumulative daytime cloud cover used for evaluating solar photovoltaic installations. The part of Ohio bordering Lake Erie has the highest cloud cover in the country. Of course, that was a full year map. It could be that summers there are not so cloudy.

I've travelled through your part of the country only once, in August 1988... driving from Grand Rapids to Toledo. I remember the beautiful black soil... which looked much richer than the red clay of home. :) And I recall that as I drove through Toledo that afternoon the high temperature was 65F. I noted that at the same time the temperature in Nashville was 95F. That left a lasting impression on me... if not exactly a fact based one.
MBWD

moistbutwelldrained,
I'm glad Ohio made a lasting impression.

islandbreeze,
Thanks for your input!!! I'm shocked that it pulled through this last winter. That really is a testament to how hardy they are!

I ended up going with a "Musa truly Tiny banana" from:
http://www.floridahillnursery.com/

From what it seemed like, it can handle being indoors the best, and still produce edible fruit.