First banana, indoors, many questions
 

Hi all!
I've tried the search function seven ways from Sunday and can't seem to find what I'm after, so here goes:

I'm thinking of getting a banana plant. There's a few obstacles, not the least of which being that I live in zone 6 and it gets cooooold here at night - so no shipping until it quits freezing every day, and the Theoretical Banana will have to live inside, in a container. Specifically, I'm thinking Dwarf Cavendish.
Also, it's high desert here - I don't know how much plants care about altitude, but they do care about humidity, and we have not much.

I know for some outdoor plants that want more moisture around their roots, a small, spreading ground cover can be really useful. I happen to have some Soleirolia soleirolii as a houseplant - it, too, likes bright, indirect light and lots of moisture. It also spreads like a weed, and I have no idea about any allelopathic tendencies from either it or Musa sp. If I pot it up with the Theoretical Banana, will it perform its insulating function and be cool, or is this a bad idea?

I may be able to overcome the lack of humidity by placing the Theoretical Banana by the fish tank - it's open top (and loses half a gallon a day to evaporation, sheesh) so the humidity is higher in its little region. Think it'll work?

The aquarium also has its own powerful lighting, which spills over and illuminates the surrounding area. Right now, I'm sprouting marigolds in the light spill. I'm about to upgrade from a 6500K CFL floor lamp to a 50/50 10000K/460nm actinic T5 light, which will still have plenty of light spill; another thread wondered if bananas might respond well to the actinic. I don't care much about it since it's a freshwater, planted tank, and the plants don't seem to care either - anyone have experience with that high of a color temperature?
(The 50/50 bulb comes with the fixture, unfortunately; I'd much prefer the 6000-8000K range. Maybe I should look into a replacement bulb while I'm looking at that shiny new fixture.)

My other houseplants get used fishtank water when I do the water changes. It's a mild and somewhat inconsistent fertilizer (Nitrate 5-20 ppm, no idea P or K; there is some, no doubt, but I don't have test kits for it). Would the Theoretical Banana like some, too? Or does it want something different, more consistent, less often? They seem to be pretty heavy feeders from what I've read online.

Thanks!

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

Well Six, it all sounds good to me. Bananas do respond to the blue spectrum. A good mix of red and blue is ideal. I am no light expert, but there are some threads that will help you.
As to the high desert concerns, I am in Las Vegas along with about 3 other B.org members. All of us are growing bananas. So if yours is inside and you have higher than ambient humidity, no doubt the banana will like it.
If you are hoping for it to fruit, you may have to increase your light intensity.
As to the fertilizing, they do like a high potassium level, minimal phosphorous and a nitrogen content at about 2/3 of the K levels. An example is 20-5-30. There have also been several posts about fertilizer.
Once you get the light, moisture and fertilizer regime down, your banana will thrive. When it is not thriving, that's what we are here to help you correct. You can also post pictures of your new banana as it grows. Good luck!!!

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

Trial & error is what you will need to do, rest assured you have a great network of experts in here. Be careful there is no cure after you buy your first plant! That's how it all starts. 10 years ago & 30+ plants ago I started with just 1. This year I am thinning out, I plan to sell or trade over half my plants just be able to manage them all.

Take Care & welcome to the insanity!
Bill

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I found some great information in the Soils forum and will be exploring that further, as well as general discussion.

If bananas are anywhere near as addictive as fish, I'm in trouble, all right =D

Eventually, I hope it will fruit. At first, it'll just be figuring out how to keep it alive and growing. If it wants more light, I'm sure that can be arranged - we've also got a south-facing window, which has currently been taken over by a variety of squash seedlings. When they go in the ground, the coveted window spot will be clear.

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

I got a nana!
My husband was the one who wanted one at first, then I got reading and well...
We ended up choosing a Dwarf Cavendish "High Color Mini." It's supposed to top out at about four feet (right now is just over 12".) Ordered it online, it spent 5 days in a box, and arrived with one creased leaf, two yellow leaves on the very bottom, two green leaves, and one just unfurling, but presumably also green.

The question I have now is this: how long for the pretty green banana to develop that splashy "High Color" red/purple I keep seeing online?

It shocked a bit on transplant, but has perked up nicely. It was severely rootbound. I may have been overenthusiastic on its first watering; it's been dripping water off its leaf tips, which Google assures me is just something they do, not worrisome, but which threw my husband for a loop yesterday.

It's cute; I still have no internet at home, so can't post pictures, but the camera and I have an appointment for whenever that new leaf unfurls all the way.

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

Congrats sixwing and thanks for keeping us posted.First don't sweat the water dripping unless it becomes a constant leak. I just got a few high Color Mini's myself so I'm disappointed to hear that at 12" there's no color yet(mine are2" TC from agristarts) I was hoping at 6" ! I would bet yours are well colored by the end of summer for sure. Also at this age the lowermost leaves are bound to be yellow as the young plant pushes new growth, again no need for concern. You already mentioned that you may have initially overwatered which again is no big deal, I drown my new plantings as well. Just be sure to wait till it needs watering and don't be tempted to kill it with kindness. Let us know how it goes.

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

LOL...AGREED! Bananas are an addiction. One leads to two and two leads to twelve. :ha::ha: My best guess is you will soon be buying more...LOL.

Your set-up sounds like it will work just fine. I've been growing bananas indoors for years and I have no additional lighting...only a south-facing window. I actually just got a high-color mini super dwarf cavendish myself and am a big fan so far. The red should show up soon. Mine about 8" when I got it and had a tiny bit, but since has developed a lot more red coloration. Just do your best to be patient. They do grow fairly fast, though. Like Bob said, wait till it needs water...it's very tempting and easy to over-water.

Beyond that, just enjoy your nanner!

PS...just for the record, you can order them much sooner, if you like. I ordered some in February and they came in perfect condition (and I'm also in zone 6). Just make sure they don't end up sitting on your doorstep overnight when they get there.

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

Ha! I'm already coveting a Dwarf Red.

Glad to hear those yellow leaves are no concern. I wondered if it had been too long in the box. Hopefully it colors up soon; I like the green, but there's plenty of green around. End of summer would be nice. I'm looking forward to having some tropical color around over the winter.

That's where mine came from, too. I got it on amazon.com from Hirts Nursery, who in turn got it from agristarts.

February! Wow. Glad there's other south-facing window bananas out there, too.

Now that it's had its initial soaking, I'll be checking at least an inch and probably two down in the soil to see if it needs water. If there's one thing I've learned in the last six months, it's not to overwater - the succulents on my desk are much happier now that I have it down. No watering on a schedule; check them, and NO sitting in drainage water!

Thanks!

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

Yeah, the yellow leaves are nothing to worry about. Just wait till they die off completely, then cut them off. That way the plant can suck all the nutrients out of them before they're removed. Your plant will continue to lose lower leaves as new ones grow from the top, so again, nothing to worry about.

As for watering, I think it was Patty said she keeps a dowel in the soil so she can check the moisture down deeper without disturbing anything too much. I thought that was a pretty great method, so I figured I'd toss that out there.

Re: First banana, indoors, many questions
 

You can also order items (at least with Fedex) & have them hold it at the terminal. I have done this with Saltwater corals/fish etc & it works