Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

General information and discussion about cultivating fruit-bearing plants, trees, flowers and ornamental plants.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old October 10, 2007   #1
NCTIM
Tomatovillian™
 
NCTIM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: zone 8 NC
Posts: 286
Default My Bananas

In the spring of 05 my neighbor gave me a banana pup. It was about 18 inches tall and in a Styrofoam cup. It had been given to her a couple of weeks earlier and she had left it in the trunk of her car all that time. Needless to say it looked rough. I thanked her and just poked it in an old pot and watered it. I had no idea that it would live, much less grow to over 12ft tall flower and set fruit. That took two years to happen and in the mean time it has given me many more plants.
As it grew and grew I read a little about bananas. I am certain now that the variety she gave me was Musa Bajoo. The fruit is not edible on Musa Bajoos. Each fall I dig them up and put them under the house and replant them in the spring. This year I purchased a Dwarf Cavendish and a Gran Nain banana plant. These are the kind of bananas you get at the grocery store. I also picked up a Zebrino Rojo as an ornamental. They were about 24 inches tall when I set them out. If the Dwarf Cavendish and a Gran Nain survive the winter under the house I hope that they set fruit next year.

Lots of fun to grow and I just thought I’d share my experience.

Tim
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 101_6261_edited.JPG (215.7 KB, 61 views)
File Type: jpg 101_6262_edited.JPG (198.5 KB, 33 views)
File Type: jpg 101_6263_edited.JPG (160.5 KB, 34 views)
File Type: jpg 101_6264_edited.JPG (180.0 KB, 27 views)
File Type: jpg 101_6265_edited.JPG (180.9 KB, 37 views)
File Type: jpg 101_6266_edited.JPG (204.8 KB, 27 views)
File Type: jpg 101_6267_edited.JPG (195.8 KB, 36 views)
__________________
"You can observe a lot by just watching."
- Yogi Berra
NCTIM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 10, 2007   #2
Rena
Tomatovillian™
 
Rena's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Warm Springs, GA
Posts: 1,421
Default

Hey Tim.. Very cool!! Did you make the Dog house and the little play-house? Wow good wood working...
Rena is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 10, 2007   #3
akgardengirl
Tomatovillian™
 
akgardengirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Anchorage, AK zone 3/4
Posts: 1,410
Default Bananas

Those trees sure make your yard look like a tropical paradise. The evergreen pine tree looks like the odd one with the banana trees. I've seen them in a year around heated greenhouse up here. I would love to be able to grow them, along with a bazillion other things that grow elsewhere.
Sue
akgardengirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 10, 2007   #4
NCTIM
Tomatovillian™
 
NCTIM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: zone 8 NC
Posts: 286
Default

Hey Rena,

Glad you noticed. Thank you.

I built the play-house back in '95 and the dog house was built in '01. The play-house is a make shift storage shed now.

I went a little over the top when I made them. The play-house is wired and the walls inside are finished. It also has a cathedral ceiling and used to have carpet. The inside hasn't been kept up since it lost its play-house status.The dog house is double walled and floored. The top hinges and has a removable ceiling. It even has a bathroom ( i'll need to post a pic later). Time has really weathered it a lot and it doesn't look that great anymore. It is still rock solid and will last for many more years.

Tim
__________________
"You can observe a lot by just watching."
- Yogi Berra
NCTIM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old October 10, 2007   #5
NCTIM
Tomatovillian™
 
NCTIM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: zone 8 NC
Posts: 286
Default

Hey Sue,

I am watching the ballgame and it took awhile for me to reply back to Rena. I didn't know you had posted too.

Anyway...

In a few weeks the bananas will be gone and that ol' Pine will still be there. At night with the tiki's burning you can imagine being somewhere else.

I raised the canopy on that pine and another this past spring. They're really big and had started to shade the yard and garden a little too much. I like 'em too much to cut 'em down.

Tim
__________________
"You can observe a lot by just watching."
- Yogi Berra
NCTIM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 14, 2007   #6
gardenhappy
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: PLANT CITY
Posts: 255
Default banana trees

HiTim,your banana trees look great,we we're given 5 of them last fall and now have 8 of them,no banana's yet but they are beautiful and we love them,huge leaves!!! We have 2 out side the front of the guest house and the others in other areas including 1 we planted near our creek,all are doing great and in the future we will be getting more for sure!!! Your pictures are great!!!
gardenhappy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 14, 2007   #7
Worth1
Tomatovillian™
 
Worth1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
Default

We don’t have to do much of anything for our banana trees where I live.
One thing some people do is to wrap the plant in the winter to keep it from freezing back.

Some banana plants have flowers that you can eat and there is a red banana that produces seeds that you can plant.

It’s been a while since I have had a banana tree and have thought about getting some, I just can’t figure out where to put them yet.

One thing they say is that they like full sun but I have seen many banana trees down here in partial shade that do fine.

Not a bad plant to have around the place to green things up and I think they would look nice along with my elephant ears.

I think I will put some with them to see how well they do in partial shade.8)

Worth
Worth1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old April 1, 2008   #8
maupin
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Northern Thailand
Posts: 77
Default

You know-- inedible bananas and all banana peels are my planting hole secret for tomatoes. Bananas foster (no pun intended) quick and strong root development.
maupin is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:13 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★