neferset

I happened upon this place because I ordered a banana tree and wanted to know about it. Every time I look up anything banana related on Google, I find some bananas.org thread listed.

I moved to Florida when I was a kid. We had banana trees in our yard. From even before that, Mom was growing pineapple tops and citrus from seed. When I grew up, I lived in Gainesville for a while. I had a Dwarf Cavendish in an enclosed courtyard and loved it. It fruited for me and everything. Every winter, I spent more time wrapping it in blankets when I heard there would be a frost. I had pineapples, but no citrus, though I had really wanted some. (I have citrus *now* lol.) I used to eat my lunch underneath the pomegranate tree outside my office, too.

I regretted not taking pups with me when I moved to Dallas, but I couldn't really take any of my plants and only snuck a fish with me on the plane by the grace of outside drinks still being allowed.

In the year or so I spent in Dallas, I didn't manage to do all that much gardening. About a year and a half ago, my guy asked me about moving some place that didn't get as hot. I knew one place. I took him "home" to North Carolina. (Well, I actually lived in Virginia, but I thought he'd appreciate the mountains more.)

So, here I am...In Western NC, raising goats, planting gardens, and wanting tropical fruit trees and shrubs as houseplants. The banana that just came in the mail is a Truly Tiny. I am very tempted to get a Dwarf Orinoco I can plant outside in the spring and summer months and take in for the winter (or store in dormancy). I'm just not sure if I should buy one and two kiwi or just go for three more bananas.

I think the neighbors would get a kick out of it. They already get amusement from my potted citrus. (btw, are Dwarf Meyer Lemons indestructible or is it just mine? It's been eaten by goats, eaten by mice, then uprooted and eaten by my puppy. Each time, it comes right back. I refer to it as The Undead Meyer Lemon.)

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

browndrake

Welcome aboard.

I too am new here...almost a month. I had the idea of getting a banana for in my house too...

... a month later I have 8 bananas of 7 different varieties. One in the ground and 7 in pots.

I have also found that getting into bananas, in zone 7, has made me think that I can grow about anything I want to... No longer do I limit myself by what I "should" grow here. AND yes, my family and friends think I am a nut...for so doing.

WARNING: whether or not bananas are good or bad for your health....They ARE addicting.

aaron

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Bob

Welcome neferset, I would definitely advise you to go for the kiwi AND the bananas.... good luck.

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neferset

So 3 Kiwi and 3 Bananas? That sounds like a plan to me.

Yes, I can see bananas becoming addicting. I just have to be careful of space, since for certain they will have to come inside for parts of the year.

(edit: I'm not really sure which USDA zone I fall in. Before I moved here, everything I read said 5b. Experience of the last year tells me maybe 6b. The USDA maps are a little confusing, since I think they average all the possible elevations and some of my friends' places get much colder than mine does.)

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

Eric

Welcome aboard, Neferset ! (line-1) Same reason I joined; Now I've got nanner plants running out of my ears ! Stick around. Been here 2 months & learned more than I could have learned in 2 years on my own!

CValentine

LOL!!! I have one of those too!!!

My kids have under-watered & over-watered it & the dog used to knock the planter and all the dirt out of the the planter!!

I have Pom's & citrus also, LOVE them all!!

Welcome Neferset....watch out, these banana plants are addicting!!! ~Cheryl

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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

neferset

I'm beginning to realize that they are addicting, yes. I think I can handle three in pots this summer-winter then in the ground in the spring. (Not counting the Truly Tiny, which I expect will live out its days as a house plant.) Of course, that's where it starts. Then they begin to pup...

This last time The Undead Meyer Lemon waited to come back until I got another lemon tree to replace it. Hopefully it's disasters are over now.

I also have two pineapples. The sugar loaf I bought but I couldn't resist the old way of getting a pineapple plant that my Mom and I used to use. I'm watching it do it's browning bit and waiting for it to take root and come back. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. The pineapple *was* a little over ripe.

Yes, this place does seem to be the place for banana info. I half wish I'd dug deeper before getting my Truly Tiny, though what I said in that thread is true. I really don't mind having a little foliage only banana that can live in my kitchen through the winter.

My mother tells me I should have moved back to Florida (she says for the subtropical and tropical plant availability, but I know she has a hidden agenda). I just happen to really like it here. I also like being the nut with the tropical garden.

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

neferset

I've done it. I ordered my Dwarf Orinocos from Wellspring. I didn't get the kiwi with them though. I couldn't resist the lure of two more Kona Sugarloaf pineapples instead.

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

LilRaverBoi

Welcome to the site! I know you'll enjoy it here and learn a lot! The members here are awesome and are very helpful when you have questions (if you haven't figured that out yet LOL). And alas you are discovering the addictive nature of banana cultivation! I had some when I was younger which were given up when I went to college. I bought two in Feb. which has now turned into 5. I hope you enjoy your plants (and addiction leading to a general mass of green foliage and lack of free space). See you in the forums!

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BANANA RAVE!
Feel the beat from start to stop, dancin' and movin' from bottom to top!
lilraverboi@genxglow.com
RIP Tog Tan. We love you and will always remember you!
I'm Bryan with a Y! There is no 'I' in BRYAN!

neferset

I am really beginning to see that. I've even ordered banana seeds (the banana formerly known as Musa Velutina--the other name is teflon to my brain; slides right off). I had some seeds years ago from Seedman.com, but nothing ever came of them. I think I've increased in patience since then.

Those were supposed to be some kind of "edible" red Dwarf for container growing, but it looks like his catalog has changed a lot since then. (Wondering about this "seed packet" being offered, though: Musa x. Paradisiaca ( Dwarf Cavendish Edible Banana ))

I'll have to dust off the reptile mat and old leaker fishtank.

*flash foward to my house in the winter, 4 years from now, with the bananas outnumbering the people*

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

LilRaverBoi

LOL....try one or two years! Trust me! Bananas are like heroin or something.

__________________
BANANA RAVE!
Feel the beat from start to stop, dancin' and movin' from bottom to top!
lilraverboi@genxglow.com
RIP Tog Tan. We love you and will always remember you!
I'm Bryan with a Y! There is no 'I' in BRYAN!

neferset

I'm hoping that they don't exceed my poultry habit, but that's about all. I expect they will be quiet at 4:30 am, which is a plus in their favor.

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

LilRaverBoi

LOL...I've had the poultry addiction too. We had 50+ chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas and even some pigeons. Good times. I was in 4-H so I showed them and actually won best of show at our county fair's poultry show twice. That addiction is on hiatus till I have my own place again, though.

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BANANA RAVE!
Feel the beat from start to stop, dancin' and movin' from bottom to top!
lilraverboi@genxglow.com
RIP Tog Tan. We love you and will always remember you!
I'm Bryan with a Y! There is no 'I' in BRYAN!

neferset

I haven't gotten the ducks or geese yet, though I am fascinated by the idea of Indian Runner Ducks. Our turkeys are being hatched under a very determined Easter egg hen. I lost count of the chickens a long time ago (though this year's chick count is 19, with more set to hatch). I also have 30 pheasant chicks in a big box with a heater in my kitchen (my birthday present, says my guy. It's a good birthday present). Then there's the goats...

I used to keep fish years ago. I think that addiction transferred.

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

neferset

Ha! Finally got my avatar.

I had to bring the banana to my birthday party to do it, since I still haven't found my camera. One of the party guests couldn't resist the photo op of the Dread Pirate Truly Tiny.

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

CValentine

Awesome Avatar Neferset!!!
Happy (belated) Birthday?!!

Pardon the bad pun...
Dread Pirate Truly Tiny starring in:
Banana's of the Carribean!! LOL!!

Have a great week! ~Cheryl

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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

neferset

Thank you Cheryl!

It was the 18th, though the party was on Friday. Pirate theme and I wasn't supposed to know about it, which means I was preparing my costume for the last week and a half. That pun is priceless.

It actually happened that I mentioned having a Truly Tiny Banana to a friend, who commented that I shouldn't talk about my guy that way. So, I had to tell him I'd bring it with me to the party and put it out on the table.

As we were leaving, I jumped out of the car and ran to get it, without any explanation. Simply, "Don't ask."

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.

banfan

Welcome to the org neferset from sunny south Florida!

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Sigi

The Hollyberry Lady

neferset

For some reason it doesn't feel like I've been away for three years. I am glad to see that the Tog Tan banana icon is still in use. I didn't get to meet him, but his advice and humor were a big part of what drew me here.

I moved this January, which was during that extremely short stretch of winter we had, so yes, I have no bananas. They didn't care for the conditions during the move. Being about a zone or two warmer than I was (we traded W.North Carolina for E. Tennessee) I may be replacing my trees in the near future. It depends on how much room I have left after the other plants come up. If nothing else, I may become content with a musa basjoo for the yard.

The citrus did make it. A couple are fruiting again, despite everything they've been through. Feeling encouraged, I've planted a few more from varieties that are known to be polyembrionic and some seeds from the lovely manila mangoes we got at the local farmer's market.

My volunteer fig tree now exists as a number of cuttings that are rooting and waiting for transplant. I was renting in the other place and my landlady revealed that the poor thing was not destined to live there much longer. With as hardy as the tree and cuttings have been, my bet is on the fig tree. The figs actually turned out to be fairly good tasting, not very strong, but sweet with a hint of strawberry. Whatever type it was, I loved the fruit fresh with toasted baguette and butter.

That's pretty much everything new. I felt I should reintroduce myself and get reminded about how badly I need a banana tree or five.

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Caretaker of the Undead Meyer Lemon.