rwood1754

Just a short intro. Been a member awhile. Never posted. Live in Phoenix. Have about 9 banana plants. Survived the severe weather 2 weeks ago. It was 17 degrees in my back yard one morning during that time. I had more plants, but they died because of heat & too much water last summer. 3 bananas still have their stems, but no leaves (they are growing back now). The rest were mush & I had to cut them almost to the ground, but the corm is alive & solid. Hadn't had too much success at this location, but decided to try again last year. In Glendale, AZ years ago I had about 12 varieties, large & small. Had bunches up to 22 lbs. One huge plant taller than my roof & stalk about 7 inches across, don't remember the name. Last winter I had 2 orinoco plants that survived the winter in my front yard without any leaf damage. Had a wire cage around it. But they got overwatered by my daughter in law during summer & died. This winter, my raja puri in the same spot had the leaves froze & some of the upper stem. My front yard is warmer than my back yard because of winter rye grass & the watering holding in the heat I guess. I had a protected location in Glendale, so I never lost any stems, just leaves. There I had lemons, oranges, guava, sugar cane, black & golden bamboo, figs. queen palms, & a mango. Huge trees in the back yard with 15 foot tall oleaners protecting the edges. A mini climate. Here, every mango I've planted either burns up, freezes or ?? They've all died. My house in Glendale was completely hidden by all the banana plants & vegetation. You could only see the top of the roof. I also had irrigation. Here I don't. But one of my biggest problems is too wet soil even without irrigation. In Glendale the water never fazed my plants. I finally started using palm & cactus mix that has better drainage, now that seems to work a lot, lot better.

rwood1754

Welcome to the group !

pukyman

Welcome .... and successful in raising bananas. Good luck.

Abnshrek

Hello, Welcome & Keep at it.. :^)

__________________


I'm a Nannerhead :^)

timmko

welcome..do you have pictures?

__________________

2woodensticks

much better luck in future...i can also say i have had some total losses in the past,,but i just keep at it..glutton for it aren't we???gota love the rewards though..fresh fruit,flowers,veg..what ever it may be...oh yea welcome,waving the hand from florida

__________________
got to love em..{neotropical rattlesnake..cascabell}

chipboy44

Hello there, thagt is great to hear about your success throughout the winter. So far I have lucked out and have yet to get any lower than 38°. With only 4 weeks of wonter to go here in daytona beach I am still holdong my breath. I have had 6 bananas ripen their fruit so far with just one more to go. My mangoes are starting to show signs of expanding buds getting ready to explode with their flowers right now. If you are looking for a mango that can take a bit of frost then toptropicals.com has a HUGE variety selection and even a pretty cold hardy mango. I have 2 of his coldest temp varieties and they managed to take 23° without damage.
Salute'
rick

cincinnana

Welcome to the forums , where lots of people know lots of stuff!!!!
Happy Gardening!!!

__________________

rwood1754

Not any that are any good, but I'll check & see. Some photos of the freeze damage I have?

rwood1754

I wish I had taken a photo of one of my ice creams that has variegated leaves. Has white stripes in the leaves. It is frozen to just above the soil. I didn't have it too long before the freeze. I hope it comes back. Got it at Home Depot just before the weather turned cold.

rwood1754

Thanks for the mango info & place to buy. I love mangos, but the few nights every year below 30 degrees is my worst problem. The other has been forgetting to water & they burn up in this desert sun.