New house, new bananas
 

Greetings all.
For the record, I don't know nuthin' bout birthin' no 'nanas. I just bought a new[1] house which happens to have a cluster of banana trees in the center of the front yard. The fruit is kinda short, thick, and square in cross-section. I found a couple that appeared ripe and I was pleasantly surprised that they were quite good for as dilapidated as the trees appeared to be.

SWMBO[2] insisted that the trees are among the first to go when we start landscaping the front yard (7 blades of grass don't make it a lawn). Now that it appears that there are viable fruit from these trees, I'm more inclined to attempt relocating the trees instead and holstering the chainsaw.

So anyway, knowing nothing about bananas other than what the supermarket produce guy can tell me, I'm here to learn...more about bananas, and particularly more about *my* bananas. Photos forthcoming, should anybody want to take a stab at identifying my new found flora.

Cheers,
Trid

[1] "New" in my dictionary means "120 year old Victorian"
[2] She Who Must Be Obeyed

Re: New house, new bananas
 

welcome to the forum! does 'swmbo' (LOL!)garden? if she does show her the pictures of the blooms that show up on the nanas.there are lots of pics in the banana wiki of nanas that are in flower. that might be the trick you need for her let you keep them. :bananarow::bananarow::bananarow:

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Hey Trid! Welcome and hahahaha that's how to get hooked on Nanners!! Ours came with our house too.

What caught you is the fantastic taste and texture of "real" bananas. Supermarkets won't compare.

The "experts" here will tell you when and what to do. Once you've taken care of these nanner kids you may have to collect a few more fruiting varieties................

Looking forward to your picts.

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Howdy! I'm in San Diego, about 8 miles inland from Del Mar.

About your front lawn ... look at it this way: 1 lawn sprinkler emits at least 3 gallons per minute of water. For every lawn sprinkler head, you could have 1 fruiting tree or 2 fruiting vines/shrubs instead.

My "front lawn" is a 4 x 10 foot walkway from the front door to the right side gate. It's in the shade a lot, so 2 sprinklers water it twice per week. I have a modest back yard lawn for pets and kids ... the rest is fruiting and flowering plants!

Here is what you could achieve, bit by bit over 7 years: Our Garden Map

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Great googly moogly...not like you put any thought into your garden or anything :)

BTW, San Diego here, too...Logan Heights (stop laughing!)

Re: New house, new bananas
 

whats the matter w/ logan heights? if you really wanted to laugh i could tell you i used to live in murphy canyon. now that was a hoot! used to hang out at la jolla shores(yes i know i spelled it wrong...),bayside, and coronado. spent more time on the east side then i did the west side.( i went to school on the east side.)

Re: New house, new bananas
 

When I climb on to my roof, I can see the Coronado Bridge. The location actually rocks. I still get a lot of shocked responses when I tell people I'm moving to the Bario.

Considering that the trees look pretty wild and un-tended, I'm willing to guess that my location is adequate to support whatever variety it may happen to be. As I'll be having to defer to SWMBO's desire to remove them from the front yard, hopefully I'll be able to keep them potted. I might have a connection for used wine barrels which I can bisect into planters...hmmm, Cabernana?

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Welcome aboard!

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Welcome Trid,

Anyone that has mind over chain saw is a friend of mine!!!:banana_ve

Good luck growing them in California, the water bill will be costly!

Best wishes and welcome aboard.

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Not really. You'd be amazed how low your water bill can be by eliminating some or all of your lawn in southern CA. My water bill is $50 to $100 lower per month than most of my neighbors with families of 4 people -- and I have a 1/4 acre orchard plus a teenage daughter!

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Welcome!! That's ok. I am new to the banana thing too!!! Although, I have had great experience with tropicals. I am giving the bananas a try!! I have had a few, but I am building my tropical zoo inside!! My house that is.... LOL

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Richard you've got an awesome watering system, looking at your photos. That has to be something that eventually pays for itself also in lowering your water bills! We're really excited to be starting that kind of thing in our yard this year. But I can't argue with the lawn. We're eliminating some this year too.

Re: New house, new bananas
 

We had put out couple rain barrels, even one under an window air conditioner to catch a couple gallons a day for it!

Re: New house, new bananas
 

Welcome Trid - like your sense of humour!!

Cassie