thebes11

The story behind my trees is (to me at least) an interesting one.




Needing plants for two big pots we have beside our pool, and a bit short on cash, I came across a road side plant vendor. He had two really cool looking plants, about 2 feet high with big, broad, green leaves. I though they were perfect, and at only $4.00 each, how could I go wrong? The vendor told me I was buying banana plants.

Fast forward 3 months...the plants are doing wonderfully, now pushing 4/5 feet and the leaves are even larger. One day I come home from work to a total mess in my back yard. Palm berries everywhere, fronds in my pool and my two banana plants broken at the main stalk about 8 inches above the dirt line. Turns out my neighbor had hired a slovenly tree trimming service for his palms. As they cut them, the just let them fall over the fence into my back yard. They did pick up what they could reach, but still left quite a mess.

After complaints, they did come back and clean up the yard, but offered nothing for plants as they were, "a dime a dozen". Figuring the plants were dead, I just tossed them behind my deck (meant to throw them into the woods behind my fence, but missed and they landed behind some bushes. The next spring (2007), while doing yard cleanup, I noticed both stalks had rooted ever so slightly in the ground, had "telescoped" and had little green rolled up leaves coming out the top. What the hell, I figured, I'll plant them behind the deck where no one can see them and see how they grow.

As you can see they've done quite well. I have literally done nothing to these plants, other than stick them in the ground. No fertilizer, no water (except for when it rains), nothing. I've been amazed at their growth rates. Over the winter every single leaf on both trees turned brown and collapsed. I cut all the stalks (there were 5) to the same height (about 3 feet from the ground). One died completely and has been cut down to the ground. You can see how well the other 4 have done. Currently, I have 3 pups (see, I learned something here already!) on the ground beside the trees.

On Friday, my wife noticed this:


Cool, bananas! I thought. And I figured I'd better find out what kind of trees these actually were. In searching, I found this web site. Looking at other pictures, the best I can do is either Musa Bajoo or Musa Orinico. Can any of you experts tell me what kind of plant I have, and if the bananas will be edible?

This morning I noticed this small leaf walking across my blooming tree. Here is a poor quality picture of the bug:



It's basically a green, triangular shaped bug. Is this a bug I need to be worried about? If so, what should I do about it?

Sorry for the poor quality pictures, they are taken with my phone as my camera got drunk over the 4th of July and went swimming.

Oh, one last question, a friend told me after a tree get bananas the first time, it need to be cut back down to the ground or it will never grow them again. Is this true?

Thanks in advance for the help.

hydrojeff

the most common nana on the gulf coast or southern coast is orinoco, it will have triangular fruit with thick skin, and about cutting them down after they fruit, a nana stalk only produces 1 bunch and then it dies the pups will continue to do the same year after year.

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Tropicallvr

Ditto what Jeff said, don't worry about it, just let the fruit grow, and after harvest, then chop down that trunk(pseudostem).

thebes11

So I'll have edible bananas!

Think maybe I'll use them thusly:


INGREDIENTS

* 2 ripe bananas, mashed
* 4 fluid ounces cream of coconut
* 6 fluid ounces rum
* 4 fluid ounces banana liqueur
* 3 cups crushed ice

DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender, combine bananas, cream of coconut, rum, banana liqueur and ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.


Though I'll probably add some pineapple juice as well.


Any need to worry about that bug? Am I correct in assuming November-ish for harvest?

Tropicallvr

sounds like a good drink. I'm no expert on fruit ripening times but I bet the fruit will ripen before then.
That bug doesn't look like a problem, aphids, spidermites, and nemotodes are a bigger problem, but doesn't look like you have them.
BTW good banana survival story, I got my first banana(M.basjoo) out of nursery trash bin totally wilted, and I still have the pups from it today.

thebes11

Well that's a relief. I had spider mites on a crepe myrtle once, believe it or not, windex took care of them (on advice from my neighbor, not from My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

Geez, these things went crazy being ignored for almost two years, now they get one bloom and I'm obsessive. Watch me kill 'em now.

Bananaman88

The alcohol in the Windex probably dried the mites out. Interesting story on your bananas there.

magicgreen

Hey Gary I liked the story as well!!
Be careful of that drink; you don't want your cell phone to go swimming next!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhahahahahahahhahahahhah..............

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

magicgreen

And Ive read that you will have to prop up that stem when the bananas start getting heavy, or it might snap from the weight of them.
I'll be glad if I ever have THAT problem!

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

thebes11

Actually, the phone was drunk too. Luckily it was time for contract renewal anyway, so I got it replaced free. No such luck with the camera. I was wondering if I would need to prop up the fruit, so thanks for the heads up!



Off topic a bit, after seeing bananaman's name, and the fact that I'm addicted to diving, I should have chosen scubabanana!

lorax

Your bug looks like a leafhopper; nothing to be worried about, really.

notrecruiting

That's an awsome survival story, I hope that you get some nice fruits off your plant.

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If it'll hold soil or grow don't throw it out