PNWZonePusher

Hi there! My name is Josh, and I love near Salem, Oregon with my wife and three boys. Like my username implies, I like to grow things a little outside our zone 8b climate. I have a Owari Satsuma, a Meyer Lemon, and a Bearss Lime tree, all in ground against the south face of our house, and through low tunneling with Christmas lights, they've kicked through a couple of our winters with a few 15° nights. The lime tree got burned a bit this year when I opted to skip the plant jackets, but I digress...

Ann just purchased me a couple baby banana pups on my Amazon wishlist, and I'm excited to coddle them along up here!


First off was a Blue Java, which now I hear is often either a mislabeled or misrepresented Namwa (either way it sounds like a good variety to me), and it is teeny tiny. It is probably 6" tall with two open leaves and a third on the way. It looks a bit peckish, with some brown spotting in some areas. I potted it into a 4" container with some well draining mix, and let it acclimate for a couple days before giving it a light dose of AgriThrive liquid fertilizer - 2-3-3 I believe, but I kept it a little less diluted than I do for my annual seedlings since I hear these bananas are HUNGRY plants. It seems to be a little happier already, showing transpiration in the leaves, and opening up a bit further.

The second is a Dwarf Orinoco, and it seems to be much further along. It also had a little browning in spots, so I treated it similarly. Both have now been getting several hours a day sitting at our south facing sliding door, with the screen door in front to filter the light a bit.

We recently had a nice handful of days in the 70s, with lows in the 40s. Soon we are headed back to our usual spring rain season, but I think the frosts and freezes are behind us this time (fingers crossed). I plan to take them outside once they're seeming a bit happier and maybe even after they're potted up a second time. We have a hobby greenhouse in the backyard, with some plants to add some wood chip heating if I can get it pulled together soon enough. I thought I might bring the pups in there for the heat, with a shade cloth draped over the top of the greenhouse. But any advice you could give would be awesome!

cincinnana

Welcome to the Jungle....
Have fun here.

Good luck with your gardening journey it will be exciting watching everything come together.
The dwarf Orinoco will surprise you....the plant is a beast

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