Blue Java Banana (Ice Cream Banana): Zones and Fruit

Blue Java, also sold as the Ice Cream banana, is a medium-tall plant of 15 to 20 feet whose aromatic fruit is said to melt in the mouth like ice cream (CRFG). It is a banana for patient growers with space. The unripe fruit has a bluish cast, harvest takes 18 to 24 months from planting, and the plant is not resistant to Panama disease. This page covers Blue Java only. For planting and care, read our banana plant guide, and to compare it with other types, see the banana varieties guide.

USDA zones

9–11 in the ground, as for bananas in general

Sun

Full sun

Water

High

Difficulty

Easy

Lifecycle

Perennial

Origin

Asia

Container friendly

Yes

Height

Medium-tall, 15–20 ft (CRFG)

Fruit

7–9 in., quite aromatic, ice-cream texture (CRFG)

Bunch

Small, with seven to nine hands (CRFG)

Planting to harvest

18–24 months (CRFG)

Cold tolerance

Fair to good (UF/IFAS)

Panama disease

Susceptible (UF/IFAS)

Blue Java banana fruit

CRFG describes the fruit as 7 to 9 inches long, quite aromatic and said to melt in the mouth like ice cream. Unripe fruit has a bluish cast, which is where the name Blue Java comes from, and it ripens to yellow. If you want a dessert banana with a story to tell, this is the one gardeners grow for fun.

Bunches are small. CRFG says seven to nine hands per bunch, so do not expect a Dwarf Cavendish crop. Treat it as a treat, not a staple. Harvest it like any banana: cut the whole bunch while the fingers are plump and rounded, then ripen it indoors. LSU says fruit should be harvested before fully ripe, because it often splits if left on the plant. Our banana plant guide covers harvest and ripening step by step.

How long does Blue Java take?

Longer than most. CRFG says 18 to 24 months from planting until harvest. For comparison, CRFG gives about 15 months for Apple, and UF/IFAS says the flowering stalk of a banana emerges 10 to 15 months after planting. LSU adds that fruit takes three to six months to mature after flowering, depending on temperature, variety, moisture and culture.

That long season is the main catch. A plant that needs up to two years has to get through a winter or two without a hard freeze, so Blue Java suits the warmest part of zones 9–11, or a spot where you can protect it.

Where Blue Java grows

UF/IFAS rates the cold tolerance of Blue Java as fair to good, which is a little better than Dwarf Cavendish and Apple, both rated fair. That does not make it a cold-climate banana. UF/IFAS says chilling and irreversible freeze damage may occur at or below 32°F (0°C), and that temperatures below 28°F (−2°C) may kill banana plants to the ground. CRFG says plants can survive 28°F for short periods, and that the underground rhizome usually survives if the temperature stays above 22°F and the cold period is short. Mulch the base before winter, as LSU suggests, and read our banana overwintering guide.

Growing Blue Java: what is different

Give it room. At 15 to 20 feet, Blue Java is a big plant. UF/IFAS says winds above 25 mph may topple tall banana cultivars, so plant it where a wall, fence or hedge breaks the wind, and stake or avoid exposed sites. It is not the best choice for a small yard or a pot. For that, choose Dwarf Cavendish.

Watch for Panama disease. UF/IFAS lists Blue Java as susceptible to Panama disease, which attacks the roots and colonizes the conducting tissue of the pseudostem, causing the plant to collapse. Buy clean, disease-free plants from a reputable nursery, and avoid planting where a banana has collapsed before. If disease worries you, Goldfinger and Dwarf Cavendish are rated resistant (UF/IFAS).

Water and food. CRFG says regular deep watering is an absolute necessity during warm weather, and UF/IFAS says the potash requirement is high, so use a high-potassium fertilizer in a 3-1-6 ratio every 4 to 8 weeks through the year. A plant that goes 18 to 24 months to fruit is a big eater, so do not skimp.

The clump. Keep 3 to 4 pseudostems of different ages (UF/IFAS), cut the stalk that fruited and let a younger one take over.

How Blue Java compares

Choose Blue Java if you have room, a long warm season and the patience for a plant that takes up to two years, and you want something your neighbors will not have. Choose Dwarf Cavendish for a small space or a pot, Apple for a faster dessert banana, and Goldfinger if disease is the worry.

Where to buy a Blue Java banana

Buy a container-grown plant or a rooted sucker from a nursery in your region, or from a plant sale run by your county extension office or a local fruit-growers club. Check that the label says Blue Java, or its other name, Ice Cream. Ask where the plant came from, because Panama disease can travel with planting material. A friend’s clump is a good source too, and our guide on how to grow a banana tree from a banana shows how to divide suckers.

Once you have it planted, our banana varieties guide can help you decide whether a second variety is worth the space.