New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

I recently bought some corms from another member here and had planned to make another banana pad inside my fence. After some thought I noticed that the new proposed site will be shaded from the west and south by being in the corner of a 6' tall wooden fence. So the only direct sun will be from the east until the sun gets behind the fence in the west. Will the plants get sufficient sunlight at this location? I'm in central Florida- zone 9.

The plants will be Dwarf Orinoco so at maturity should peek over the fence but wanted some other opinions on this location. I made a primitive power point showing the general layout. Keep in mind this is a corner lot with the road in front of the driveway and on the south side- no it's not to scale either.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

It's not ideal, that's for sure. During winter it won't get much direct sun.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Pad? Don't you mean 'mat?' Sorry...I'm the semantics police...just how I am. :ha:

Yeah, I don't know that a dwarf will get very much light having a 6' tall fence just to the S of it (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, that is LOL). If you had a taller species to plant there, it'd probably do well once it was established, but I wouldn't recommend such a location for a dwarf.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

That makes two-so I am thinking outside on the corner of the fence so it will soak up the westerly and southern rays. The others have done really well facing that direction so I'm thinking up a design for an outside the fence "banana mat" for my new corms.

Thank you gentlemen!
RSH

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Does the fence demarcate the property line? If so, I guess you go plant to the W of it. Otherwise, plant along the S side of the fence if you have an area there. Just don't plant too close to the fence as mats can get pretty large (depending on the species and how well you control pups) and it may push on/damage the fence.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Well, the sun rises in the east so you'll get full sun until it is over on the west side in the late afternoon; right? I would think that, as long as it gets six hours of full continuous sun, they would do fine. I think I get about the same exposure -- morning and midday sun with afternoon shade as the sun approaches the west. I would think that your current banana pad gets the most shade if it faces the west?

I'm fairly new to bananas and planted a bunch of them near my six-foot fence, and as soon as they grew big and pupped, I got worried about them being too close to the fence and not having enough room to grow in the small bed, and so I moved them, which is no easy task for someone with back pain all the time. I think Bryan is absolutely right with his warning.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Actually the fence is not on the property line. We were thinking about that area being the new banana mat since it would be protected by the wind and more convienient for watering during the hot season.

On the other hand by doing this on the other side of the fence it will give the place a more tropical look since the mat will be seen from the street. I do appreciate the recommendations and helpfulness from the members of this site. I'll get started tomorrow since I need to get these corms into the ground asap. I bought four corms from "Gadget" and one is 10"-12" across! He really hooked me up!

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

I agree.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Yeah, you'll soon notice that members here tend to really give people generous hook-ups on plants!

Here's an example of one testimonial.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Plant one on each side of the fence.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Try to plant them closer to the house so they can get the maximum southern exposure.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Well- it's done and the corms are in the gound.................. The total length is 17' long by 4.5' deep.

Before:

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Looks good. Once they are older, the leaves might get shreded by the wind though, but I think a little shredding on banana leaves actually makes it look nicer. Just my opinion, some people dislike the look.

Good Luck!

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Dang....you work fast! Looks nice...like it was always there! Great work!

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

There ya go, now they'll get plenty of sunlight! The matt next to the house will have a slight advantage on cold nights from the heat retention in the wall.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

They will love it there with all the sun!

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Nice work it looks really nice. If your still thinking about bananas in the backyard ?.. the optimum place inside the fence is in the Southeast corner of the home.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

Thanks everyone- I can hardly believe it! The new corms have only been in the ground for a day but all four of the corms already have over an inch of growth from the middle where it was cut. Looks like its going to be a good year for banana's.

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

I wish you the best of luck with your new plants! I'm sure they'll do great!

Re: New banana pad location- is this a good spot?
 

looks real good, that spot is much better than behind the fence.
:nanadrink: