Uppotted my super dwarf banana

[applestar]

My Super Dwarf Cavendish banana needed to be uppotted, So I hauled the heavy pot off the patio and prepared to get the plant out. (That looks like a big crack in the container, but it's actually a trail of water after thoroughly watering.)

Yep, definitely needed this done -- roots are starting to circle, but it wasn't too hard to loosen so my timing was perfect or only a bit later than perfect.

I wanted the plant to have a chance to settle into its new container before it will be moved into the house for the winter. After torturously wrestling the plant and container on its dolly out and in during the too cold nights but plenty hot days this spring and foreseeing similar routine in the upcoming autumn days/nights, I wanted to make it easier on myself -- so this is the container I chose. I drilled some holes for drainage and put all the dried up leaves I trimmed off in the bottom:

15 gal. Wheeled bucket ("lawn cart")

Afterwards, I wheeled the planted container back on the patio. It was SO easy! I'm so happy with this result. I pruned a wayward shoot off of the mango, so I'm going to chop the leaves up to use as mulch.

I have another wheeled bucket... I think I'll put the Fig tree in that one.

[rainbowgardener]

great idea! does it produce actual edible bananas?

[applestar]

Yep. It's almost at size that could bloom and fruit now.

I might have done better to place it in a more sunny spot, it may also have done better if I had Uppotted earlier, and it's possible I wasn't aggressive enough in feeding it. I don't know if it will bloom this season at this point, and whether it would be good or bad if it does considering it will have to come inside in a month or so.

I got it from Logee's
https://www.logees.com/Banana-Super-Dwar ... o/R1981-4/

[rainbowgardener]

On my want list for next spring!!! Bananas are one of the things that I buy pretty regularly at the grocery store that I feel really guilty about. Opposite of locally grown. I would love to grow my own. My garden owes a lot to your wonderful example, applestar

[applestar]

If you decide to get from Logee's they regularly send email coupons for selected plants and I would say maybe 4 times a year, the coupon will appy to tropicals or fruits. Even though the frequency and amount of bananas you actually harvest probably won't be enough, I just love the idea that I'm growing my own to harvest.

I also really like the fact that banana plants are completely renewable -- Once you start growing one, you'll have succession plants growing all the time. I have a 2nd plant that I divided last year and Uppotted to a 10" pot, which already has a pup growing and will be my next bearing plant, and this one has two largish pups and two more babies, and I would probably divide one of the large pups next spring.

I decided since it is now MUCH more movable, I'll wheel it across the lawn to a sunnier spot until I will have to bring it back where it will be easier to move into the house or garage.

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF GROUNDHOG WILL GO AFTER BANANA?
I moved it this morning to a spot which is near the sweet potato bed that the groundHOG has been raiding this summer. Maybe I should put at least put it inside a fenced area?

[imafan26]

How tall does a super dwarf Cavendish get? The regular dwarf cavendish is 5-8 ft tall. All bananas fruit at 18-24 months old. Got no gophers here, so I couldn't say if they go after bananas.

What kind of mango do you have?

[rainbowgardener]

Groundhogs (aka woodchucks) are not gophers; they are related to marmots and ground squirrels.

Since I haven't grown bananas, I can't say for sure, but my groundhog doesn't seem to go for woody or tough stemmed things and is most likely to chew up seedlings and smaller, more tender plants. She just ate my parsley plant, which was started from seed this spring and was now big and bushy, down to almost nothing. But parsley is tender. I'm thinking the banana plant would be safe unless she decided she actually liked the banana fruits. My groundhog LOVES mulberries and will climb high in the mulberry tree to get them (I can track her progress in the tree by the branches bouncing). I'm thinking the banana tree being kind of bushy and flexible would be a bit harder for her to climb, but no guarantees.

But do you not have raccoons around? I do guarantee raccoons WILL disappear the bananas.

We just got a dog a few weeks ago and have had lots fewer raccoon sightings since. It is just his presence -- he has always been either penned or leashed, so it isn't that he has done anything to harm raccoons. He's kind of a scaredy dog anyway, who runs when the cats hiss at him. But scaredy dog's scent around the place seems to help keep the raccoons away.

[applestar]

Super Dwarf is only supposed to grow to 3-4 ft "banana height" which means to the top (crown?) of the pseudo stem and can fruit at just 3 ft. With the rolled leaves shooting up prior to unfurling, they can probably reach about 5-7 feet total. But your regular dwarf cavendish with leaf height added would probably reach 8-12 feet total. (Something to keep in mind when looking at varieties to buy if you have height limitations)

I have two mango "trees" I grew from seeds. One I think is the usual larger yellow one with red blush, the other I'm hoping is the small yellow fruited Mexican one but I'm not sure any more.

rainbowgardener, congrats and welcome to your new family member. What a lucky dog.

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks! He is a very pampered pooch... my partner is really the dog person and she's the one doing most of the pampering.

He is a rescue dog we got from the adoption days at Pet Smart, through a shelter and foster home, a Shiba Inu mix, about 1.5 yr old, medium sized, very well-dispositioned, but clearly had been traumatized some in his earlier life. His true personality is coming out more as he gets settled in here and feels safe and cared for.

[imafan26]

Shiba inu is not a very common dog. Congratulations.

Back to the topic though, bananas are more like a giant grass. They are not woody and the stem is 90% water. Feral pigs will root up bananas if you have any of those.

[applestar]

Looks like I should post an update to this thread.
I'll see if I have some follow up photos from last season and try to take some new pictures of them (mother plant and the divided pup) taking up space in the house for the winter months.

P.S. Happily, the groundhog did not try to eat my banana plants, though it ate one of the sweet potato patch down to the ground multiple times until frost killed the vines and foliage. I found out after the asparagus fronds died down that the groundhog had dug a summer vacation hole behind the dense asparagus patch and was no doubt ambling out to raid the sweet potato patch any time it wanted.

[applestar]

I couldn't rearrange the rooms to accommodate the banana tree so I was forced to make use of the lights from the "Winter Paradise" plant shelf lights. This tree and its two pups completely block my access to the bottom shelf but I won't really need to use that shelf until warm season seedlings grow to uppot size. I recently added an unused torchere light to the interior side since I wasn't turning the tree and it was starting to grow unevenly. Increasing daylight hours plus the sun setting more to the west and eventually north of west should supply more light from the windows. But I intend to plan and create a more suitable space for the banana trees next winter.

View at my eye level....

The "Winter Paradise" shelves are 3 feet wide so the banana leaves spread over 4 feet....

This is the "baby"

[PunkRotten]

I am thinking about ordering one from Logee's. Think it will do well in a 15 gallon pot outdoors year round in southern California? What kind of potting mix did you use, AppleStar? What type of fertilizing?

[applestar]

ATM I can't remember exactly what I put in that container -- definitely unscreened home made compost, sand, and some pine bark nugget mulch that sat around for the whole season, some alfalfa pellets for extra boost. I'll see if I can jog more details out.

Currently not feeding much -- just diluted AA"C"T made of a dollop of organic molasses, UCG (used coffee grounds), rice rinse water, etc. and a cup of organic potting mix with mycos. Added 3 or 4 live night crawlers from DH's fishing bait. Just like last winter, each time a new leaf grows out, an old leaf dries up and dies, so I have been cutting them up with scissors and using as mulch.

[PunkRotten]

I ordered one of these Bananas and Dwarf Mulberry off ebay. I potted the banana today in a 12 inch cubed container. I made a mix of 2 parts fir bark, 2 parts peat, 2 parts perlite, 1 part pumice, a few lava rocks, 1 part worm castings, a pinch of dolomitic lime, pinch of azomite, and pinch of citrus tone. I also added a little compost which had some earthworms too.

[applestar]

I trundled my big little banana tree outside. The first day out, I gave it a bit of aged alfalfa and oat bran slurry water (too stinky to use while it was inside). This is the 3rd night it's spending outside, but I've covered it with a heavy weight spun-bonded fabric last night and tonight. Monday night's forecast is 41°F and I'll probably have to trundle it back inside -- at least into the garage.

The smaller one is on the brick patio where it's a little warmer and protected. I haven't covered it but hopefully it will be OK. That one will either have to come back in the kitchen or be covered.

...I'm thinking of planting them both directly in the ground this season... But if I do that, and the bigger one actually develops fruits (because it's at the right age) would it stress the plant too much if I have to dig and pot it up in the fall?

[applestar]

Here they are! A little worse for the stressful winter indoors

I'm thinking about planting them in the ground for this season.

[PunkRotten]

Cool, I got one too. But not as big as any of yours. It is growing fast though. I'll probably post pics later.

[applestar]

Latest photo

I was REALLY hoping to see a flower stalk by this time....

[applestar]

Moved it to a spot that is not shaded by a tree since the sun angle has lowered:

Even though this is a super dwarf cavendish, it's gotten so big now that I'm thinking of overwintering it -- actually three in this container -- in dormant state. I wonder if they will survive the process?

...at least it will give me a chance to practice the technique, and then maybe. I'll consider getting one or more larger varieties next year....

[applestar]

Oooh! Seeing that last photo of the big mama banana is renewing my trepidation and giving me second thoughts about leaving her in the garage. She's already considerably yellowed even though we've only had plummeting temps a few times and are not yet in "the depth of the winter" -- I think the garage temp has mainly been in the 40's.

The garage is too crowded for me to step back very far and, in any case, the plants are draped with sheets and garden fleece so I can't get a full view photo, but it's a stark contrast to the green and growing 4 ft pup inside:

[PunkRotten]

I am wondering if I should up pot mine. It is in a 12 inch cubed container and is about 3 feet tall with several little pups. I left it outside and the weather beat it up a little. Will moving it to a bigger part interrupt its potential to flower? I hear they make bananas about 18 months from planting.

[applestar]

I wonder if I have been posting about my banana plant somewhere else this year....?

I lost the one in the wheeled bucket due to extreme low temperatures in the garage, so --

I planted the backup plant cluster (two plus a couple of pups) that I kept in the house in the center of the Spiral Garden. It LOVED the location and grew HUGE. If you remember, center of the spiral was where I had a compost pile last year. Also, the inner spiral path acts as a swale and holds ankle deep water when it rains or when I thoroughly water the garden.



Today, I shrouded the inner spiral with double layer of 3-mil vented plastic. Not a greenhouse, but I'm hoping to keep the banana going for a while longer. I'm going to try to overwinter it in dormant state this year. I'll take a backup pup off of the cluster to keep in the house as backup.

...depending on how it goes, I might close up the gaps and raise the ceiling with the PVC tubes, especially if I decide to move some of the other container plants inside.

[applestar]

Continuing saga of my banana growing adventure -- I dug up the banana plants today since overnight forecast is low 30's with frost and tomorrow overnight is supposed to get down to upper-mid 20's with freeze.

...it was hard to cut off all those perfectly good looking leaves... But this is the method I'm trying this winter. You can cut off all except one leaf, but I tried to save a few more. Unfortunately the whole thing fell over while I was futzing with the garden gate and one more leaf got crushed on the big plant.

I didn't realize but the middle plant of the three had died at some point. So I considered keeping the two plants together on a single mat, but it turned out I couldn't lift them as a single mass.

So Plan B ... Or actually BACK to original Plan A -- separated and planted the smaller tree in a 5gal nursery pot to keep in the house over the winter. I managed to wrestle the bigger plant and the corm/roots into the wheeled bucket and trundled it into the garage for tonight.

...I am in soooo much pain...

[ButterflyLady29]

Hopefully you are recovering from the strain of transplanting and moving your bananas.

I have a question on your wheeled tub, how is it holding up to the heat and sunlight? I've had many containers, even ones meant for plants, fall apart or break down after a couple years of use. It would be very helpful to have my little citrus trees in wheeled containers but the cost of the containers and not knowing how long they will last has kept me from trying that.

What I have read about bananas is that they have to be kept warm and thriving in the winter months. Supposedly they need a 10 month growing season in order to produce bananas. I'm thinking about adding a sunroom or covered porch to my house to keep the bananas and citrus happy during the winter.

[applestar]

According to descriptions I read at a banana forum, some people dig up much bigger banana plants -- Even ones WITH flower and fruit trusses developing -- and overwinter in their basements and crawl spaces. -- after the effort it took with this one ...SUPER DWARF cavendish... I'm seriously doubting that I could lift and carry larger specimen.... (again, HOW? Without banging them up...?)

So I have two problems when contemplating growing other varieties of bananas -- one is that it was very hard to manage this supposedly tiny SUPER dwarf plant with trunk height of approximately 3-4 feet. According to catalog descriptions, DWARF banana grows to 5-6 feet and some smaller bananas to 7-8 feet. The other is that my house is on a slab with no crawl space or basement. My only option is the garage or maybe the attic (but pretty sure there is no way to carry them up)

...

This wheeled tub is pretty sturdy. This year, I'm seeing the rust on bolts that secure the handles to the bucket, which had been mentioned in reviews. I will probably replace them with galvanized bolts while I still can. I thought the price was moderate and better value than combination of large tub and plant dolly, though I have a couple of better rated dollies that I use for the fig, avocado, and biggest of the citrus, as well as the coffee (now that it has been uppotted to a terracotta pot) for moving them around. I also have a strap with handles for two-person lifting and moving.

The wheeled tub is better when you need to trundle them around on uneven ground. A handtruck and bungee is also essential for moving the bigger containers on your own.

[applestar]

What kind of bananas and citrus are you growing ButterflyLady29? Are they ready to fruit?
I would love to see some pictures. Put the citrus in a citrus thread or start a thread about all your babies.

[ButterflyLady29]

I don't know the banana variety. It was a swap meet special and unlabeled. It's produced a lot of pups, I gave a pot of them away to a friend with a sunroom and sold the other pot a couple weeks ago. Mine is in one of those really big rope handled tubs and it takes 2 people to move it. The tallest it ever got was 2 or 3 feet. I had planned to put one outside in the garden this past spring but work interfered and I didn't get it done. I just moved it into my basement last week because I wasn't sure my greenhouse would be warm enough when we had our hard freeze.

The citrus are a tangerine and lemon tree I started from seed, and store bought Meyer lemon, some variety of lime, and some variety of orange. I got 2 lemons off the lemon tree last year but nothing this year since none of them flowered. And the only reason I got the lemons was because they were outside and got pollinated by the local bees. I've tried hand pollinating and got nothing. Those are still outside in hopes that a slight chilling spell will get them to flower again in the spring.

They all look pretty pitiful right now. The bananas are battered from moving and the citrus have lost most of the leaves and are in desperate need of pruning and potting but I'll get some shots when I can. Maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for the info about the tub. If you could get some stainless steel nuts and bolts to replace the rusting ones they'll outlast your tub. They won't cost much more and will never need to be replaced.

[ButterflyLady29]

Trying to see if I can post pictures

Whoohoo, it worked.