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Wombat ~ Brat's care is Tina Turner and Michael Jackson and the kitchen window. Do they need a lot of sun b/c we have a REALLY shady yard. If you keep her in an 18" pot. I wonder if that will kill her? I have a problem with killing things.
~ Curbie
uh oh ..... when I thought Brat was dead (6 leaves ago) I ordered another banana tree. He arrived today. Now seriously, I ordered this 2 months ago. IT is 2 plants<<< >>>9<<<< leaves on each.. oh geez, now what? I have 4 puppies and am wandering around with puppy pots
Geez....talk about a dum bunny."The guilty person here is.." I will be the first person to raise my hand and then go 'Pittsburgh' on them. You know.. I HAVE FOUR (as in 4) banana trees now. Talk about a wiz kid
I'm going on Jeopardy ~ just ask me a question about bananas......... "Bananas for $1,000." What do they call stupid people who buy banana trees? Banana Brain! I cannot believe i have 2 more.
well ~ I hope they get along with Brat. No more Tina Turner ♫ ! It makes them sprout leaves. Can't watch 'The View' . I'm sure every banana 'farmer' has this theory.
Curbie
Lurk lurk.
Awesome about the new leaf and the 2 new pups!
If you have any probs just ask. I haven't had much time to post but I always check this thread every day. If I see you have a question I WILL post an answer.
You're doing great!
Please post pics of the new pups when you can.
I don't know what to DO with these as they grow....so you and Wombat will certainly be hearing from me
Thanks for your help!
Curbie the Banana Farmer
Hey congrats on your 2nd grandchild........bananas need a lot of sun and a fair bit of fertiliser and water. Try to make sure that the pots don't dry out. An 18" pot will do them for a while as they haven't got a huge root system. Eventually you may need half barrels as they will be quite top heavy as they tend to grow up more that out. They do grow rather tall, I can't recall if you dwarf varieties or not.
Great idea about the half-barrels, Wombat!
I'm gonna try that with mine this year. I didn't have much luck with over-wintering. I still have of chance of getting 1 or 2 pups out of 2 big corms but I have to wait and see. The only banana plant I have now is that one dwarf Cavendish pup so I'm glad it's healthy. But I still wanna try to find a Zebrina.
Anyway, I'm not gonna do the bare-root over-wintering thing again. I had a lot better results keeping them alive as house plants.
This tag from my plant says ,"Pineapple banana" and my other one says,"This is a giant tomato plant" but I KNOW
(b/c I'm so clever) it's a banana tree b/c it also had banana instructions! "When all danger of frost has passed, it can be placed outdoors in full sun." I am carrying these things hither and yon. I'm going back to listening to Tina Turner and Michael Jackson for a while. "Want to hear Lionle Ritchie today?" Thanks for all of you advices. They shall sit and be tortured by ♫.
Curbster
Now that I know what I did wrong
Brat A and bratettes B & C are safely in the house. I apologize for possibly killing them and bear full reasonsibility. NOW HOW about THAT from a Banana Brain! Maybe I should be a lawyer instead of a football coach. I could coach Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen. "If YOU don't know what you're doing ~ I don't know what you're doing." ~ Coach Curbie
Lol at Charlie Sheen! There's a great thread at another site about him!
Well, a youtube interview. He does great TV stuff!
Okay. Quick lesson about sunlight!
Indoor or window light is weak. Outdoors in the shade is medium. Outdoors in the sun is strong.
Banana plants have to be in medium light (in total shade outside) for 2-3 weeks before you expose them to full sunlight. If you leave it inside now it will heal itself and be okay but remember to have it in full shade for 2-3 weeks before you let it have any full sunlight.
You'll prolly lose the burnt leafs but it will make new ones!
Darn skippy, she will make new ones! Do I pick off the burned leaves, Trax? Our whole backyard is nothing but shade b/c of the cherry trees but I cannot carry her in and out every day. She kind of looks like me right now but I think a little TinaTurner will perk her up. Aren't you supposed to play ♫ to your plants? I believe ~ I believe ~ I believe in Brats and bratlettes.... I believe I can fly and I believe in leaves on banana trees..... SO Trax, do I keep her inside until she gets new leaves? ~ Curbie
Well-Known Member
Staff member
Curbie....you can put it outside if you start with a shaded area with no direct sun. Gradually move it so it will get a bit of morning sun each day...and slowly add more sun every couple of days until it is in full sun!
Do this and you wont have any burnt leaves!
oh...... i really did goof. I thought behind the Easter Egg tree was fine but...I guess I really did goof. If 'Learning Curve' rings a bell, that would be me. ONE of these 3 will survive ~ I'm getting the hang of this. Ron, do you have banana tree? How did you and Wombat and Trax learn so much about banana plants? ~ Curbster
Well-Known Member
Staff member
When I was a lot younger I tried my hand to grow one!
Had it for a few years, then gave it away when I went to university!
The fellow I gave it to killed it with too much TLC!
I learned about banana plants by making all the mistakes (and more) that Curbie made.
Leave the banana plant inside until it gets well. You can trim the dead parts off the leafs but dont cut off the whole leaf. You'll prolly need to keep it inside by the window for 2-4 weeks. And keep it warm. I'll keep in touch and I'll be asking you questions about it till it gets well.
It will survive!
Make sure it gets water but let the dirt dry out before you give it more water. And remember, cold wet dirt can cause rot so keep the pot warm.
Oh, and please take a photo of it so I can see how bad the leafs were damaged. That will help me decide what needs to be done next.
I learnt about bananas just from watching my Mum and Dad. We always had a tree in our yard and as most kids love bananas, my brother, sisters and I were always hanging around waiting for the bunch to ripen, so they put us to work looking after them. Most places around here have a tree in their yard and I suppose I'm fortunate in just being able to put them in the ground and away they go with a minimum of care.
Wombat~Did you ever learn to climb a banana tree? I keep wandering around with Brat and bratlettes. MTM asked today,"Should we put them in the sun today ?" NO! I LEARNED SOMETHING! You are fortunate Wombat. It's great to be able to rely on you and Trax for information. I appreciate it.
Curbie
I HAVE GREAT news
Mom Brat has a NEW leaf. Baby bratettes have 2 new leaves! I know SO MUCH about how
not to do this
I know it has to do with Tina Turner, Lyle Lovett, Lionel Ritchie, The Beatles. Boy, I really don't know what I'm doing
. They're alive so ~ we're all a work in progress.
~ Curbie
Congrats on all the new leafs!
That's 3 more A's!
I wish i lived in Australia cause i'd have bananas in our front yard too!
Thanks Trax. You and Wombat have been lovely advisors. When I asked my daughter the other day,"Do you want a banana tree?" , she looked at me like I was nuts. "MOM! You KNOW I can't even grow a HOUSEplant!" (She really can't ~ her 'green thumb' got stuck in a cinder block.) I keep encouraging her and she keeps saying,"Mom...I'm not taking seeds." " MOM..." But seeds are easy to start and.... "mom..." I'll give you a container and all you have to do is... "Mom...." She really is a nurturing person. I know it's the lighting in their home. They have a Cape Cod so downstairs they have windows on the front but upstairs, they have windows on the sides. Their light is really rather funky. Oh well ~ Brat and bratlettes are hanging in there. I shall continue to mess them up but this is how you bond with plants
"I'm the stupid person and you are the smart plant" .
~ Curbie
Hi Curbie glad I was able to help you out. It was funny as all your questions were about things I don't even think about, as I said previously, we just plonk them in the ground and away they go. Thanks for jogging my memory young lady. Nope never climbed a banana tree as it's like climbing a light pole, no branches! Besides I think the tree would fall over as the root system isn't that strong. They even topple over when they have a large bunch on them, so stay out of your tree for a while ok?
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