View Full Version : Hello from Zone 9A!
nanamama
08-15-2016, 07:25 PM
New to the plant growing game. Just recently started growing mangos and (unsuccessful yet) avocados! After seeing the saddest banana plant at the store earlier I thought I'd bring it home and (try) to fix it up. Thing is, I have no clue really where to start.
I've attached images (hopefully they've uploaded) of the Dwarf Banana I purchased. I've watered it, but now what?
I'd love any tips / tricks on improving its health!
Thank you, and best of luck growing your plants!
- NanaMama
How do you know she's a dwarf? Was there a tag? I would guess she's a dwarf Cavendish because that's what is grown in that pot here. (I think they also offer an unnamed plantain.) I think she needs a new pot but how you approach that depends on whether she'll spend her life in one or be planted outside.
Welcome!
nanamama
08-15-2016, 08:33 PM
There was a tag, yes! I'm thinking of keeping her indoors (in my garage) until she's gotten a bit stronger. Wouldn't mind placing her in a new pot for the time being, though. I'm looking into the proper soils now. :) Do you recommend any soils/fertilizers?
Thank you for the welcome, Harold!
sputinc7
08-15-2016, 08:33 PM
I doubt it is a Dwarf Cavendish as there is no red on the petioles, PS or the leaves...
Oh, yeah, welcome to the banana nut gang, we were "bread" for this stuff. :D
Oh, Harold's my funnin' name; I'm really Kat.
So don't be shy. Tell us what the tag said. IF you purchased it at Walmart and it says "Dwarf Banana" it's a DC or would be where I live.
nanamama
08-15-2016, 08:50 PM
Ha, thanks!
I'm just going off the tag. :') Perhaps I'll post a picture on the Banana Identification forum sometime!
nanamama
08-15-2016, 08:57 PM
The tag reads Banana Dwarf Cavendish, Kat (hahaha)!
Hehe! I may not know my bananas but I know my pots!
She's not reliably winter hardy for outside in your zone. How often do you get into the 30s? Any time in the 20s? I had a DC in Jacksonville (same zone) who did fine with tarping on the few 30 degree nights. (She was very tall so I missed some leaves and they got "burnt" but the p-stem was fine and she took off once spring came.) If you plan to set her out, repot in good compost and put her under a tree; that's what I do until I figure out where to plant. (I have a lot of plants in pots--shame on me.) I don't fertilize anything much but occasionally mix up some miracle gro and give everybody a healthy dose. If you don't have compost, well, I'm not sure what mix you should use.
Your lady will probably be quite the little hussy when it comes to producing progeny. Make sure you pot up a few pups this fall to take inside so you have backups should you have a harsh winter.
crazy banana
08-15-2016, 10:12 PM
Welcome to bananas.org.
Your plant looks the way it does, because the pot is way too small.
I don't know how cold it gets were you are, but I would just plant it in the ground. Amendments like compost or manure will perk it up quickly.
edwmax
08-16-2016, 07:48 AM
Actually, your plant looks good. As already stated the pot is tooo small. Because the pot is small for the tree indicated the plant is growing and the bottom leaves turning brown and dying is normal. So don't let the bottom brown leaves scare/bother you. There are new leaves & 'cigar' leaf showing. ... Re-pot with a pot about 4 x's bigger (5 gal ???) and plenty of compost & mulch on top.
Snarkie
08-16-2016, 08:20 AM
Hi Ary-
Welcome aboard the Banana Express. :nanerwaveytrain:
nanamama
08-16-2016, 12:12 PM
Thank you so much for the advice, guys! Much appreciated. :)
I'm planning on putting her in the ground in a week or two!
cincinnana
08-16-2016, 05:53 PM
Welcome to the Jungle...:woohoonaner:
Have fun here.
a.hulva@coxinet.net
08-16-2016, 10:18 PM
I agree with Sputinc7. It's not a Dwarf Cavendish. Maybe a Basjoo?
nanamama
08-16-2016, 11:35 PM
I agree with Sputinc7. It's not a Dwarf Cavendish. Maybe a Basjoo?
Hmm, perhaps we'll find out soon. I'll be posting more photos as it grows. :)
cincinnana
08-17-2016, 08:22 AM
New to the plant growing game. Just recently started growing mangos and (unsuccessful yet) avocados! After seeing the saddest banana plant at the store earlier I thought I'd bring it home and (try) to fix it up. Thing is, I have no clue really where to start.
I've attached images (hopefully they've uploaded) of the Dwarf Banana I purchased. I've watered it, but now what?
I'd love any tips / tricks on improving its health!
Thank you, and best of luck growing your plants!
- NanaMama
Here is a helpful link to grow your plant further.
.http://www.bananas.org/296373-post1.html
nanamama
08-17-2016, 12:22 PM
Here is a helpful link to grow your plant further.
.http://www.bananas.org/296373-post1.html
Whoa, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. :)
Try putting the avocado with tooth picks thru the top, so its balanced on a glass of water. Make sure the water doesn't touch the tooth picks. I have a pic. Have a look
sputinc7
08-17-2016, 09:40 PM
FYI .. Avocados grown from seed take 12-15 years to bear fruit, whereas ones that are grafted only take 5-6, or so I have read.
nanamama
08-17-2016, 09:43 PM
Try putting the avocado with tooth picks thru the top, so its balanced on a glass of water. Make sure the water doesn't touch the tooth picks. I have a pic. Have a look
Hm, that's how I've got mine set up! I also have two in soil atm. Hopefully something happens soon!
nanamama
08-17-2016, 09:46 PM
Try putting the avocado with tooth picks thru the top, so its balanced on a glass of water. Make sure the water doesn't touch the tooth picks. I have a pic. Have a look
Hm, I have a similar setup! I also have two in soil atm. Hopefully something happens soon!
nanamama
08-17-2016, 09:56 PM
FYI .. Avocados grown from seed take 12-15 years to bear fruit, whereas ones that are grafted only take 5-6, or so I have read.
Just read up on this, too. Seed grown trees aren't guaranteed to produce fruit at all. I could wait 12-15 years and still have zilch. :( Nothing to graft from either. Perhaps I'll put the avos on the back burner!
Patience. If you don't succeed the first time, try again. I have been wanting to grow a banana plant for a long time but without success. I won't give up though. :)
sputinc7
08-18-2016, 11:19 AM
Just read up on this, too. Seed grown trees aren't guaranteed to produce fruit at all. I could wait 12-15 years and still have zilch. :( Nothing to graft from either. Perhaps I'll put the avos on the back burner!
You could buy a grafted tree.
yes I could. I don't think I could buy one in the uk. Or can I?.
sputinc7
08-18-2016, 12:23 PM
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Your-Avocado-Tree-80cm/dp/B01EI8C3T0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471540783&sr=8-1&keywords=avocado+tree
You might ask if it was planted as a seed or grafted as it doesn't say.
Search google and ask before you buy.
Snarkie
08-18-2016, 12:47 PM
When I was living in San Diego, everybody with an avocado tree in their yard had a frigging guacamole stand set up alongside the driveway.
I have just found this online.
The reason why bananas cannot be grafted, as suggested by Anthony Whyte (15 February, p 24), can be found in the Royal Horticultural Society’s new book, Science in the Garden: the scientific basis of horticultural practice (Blackwell Publishing, £19.99).
For a graft to unite, the root stock and the piece of shoot to be attached to it must both possess cambial tissue, a thin layer of cells inside the vascular bundles that divide to create a successful union. Monocotyledonous plants (bananas, palm trees, lilies, grasses and so on) do not possess a cambium, however, and grafts are therefore very difficult to achieve.
If successful, the two cut surfaces must be held permanently together by tying or taping, which in all likelihood would further increase the chance of disease.
London, UK
HMelendez
10-16-2016, 06:18 PM
Welcome to the banana gang!.....:bananarow:
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