. I’ve always tried to limit my banana families to a mother, who is fruiting, and only two or three children. You want to know that when you put in a single banana plant, in a few years you will have many banana plants. Well, with some luck from Mother Nature and a bit of skill, it really is possible enjoy the majestic and mighty banana tree right in your own desert backyard. Among the first words out of my two year-old son’s mouth every morning are, “Can I have a banana?” He’ll eat five a day if allowed. A longtime member of the San Francisco professional food community as a chef and trainer for All-Clad Metalcrafters, Shaddix recently bought a house in Bayview, and wants to show residents of the community how they can take advantage of the market's offerings to start their own small food businesses. Do you know where we can buy them here in san diego. Bananas do not come from trees but rather plants that bear a resemblance to trees. Dwarf Red is another to consider, though it can take a few years to begin fruiting. Do I also need to cut all the leaves off? Thank you for sharing. I used to live near the, I’m now in the foothills, Sunset Zone 20, where we get at least a touch of frost every winter. I had dug a pit and filled it with food and garden scraps, and then planted four bananas around the edge. The south side of a wall or building will get the most warming sun, and if there is an overhang, this will block falling cold air. The sucker I chopped out above, now transplanted with leaves cut in half. In any given winter, temperatures might drop too low, or not. That rhizome continually sprouts up new banana plants. A friend grows Raja Puri and they seem to do well for him. So I’m hearing the call to get better about growing them in the yard. I planted a banana a week ago and it’s doing great. It is now July an can see little fingers now. I just planted 3 here on a hillside in Whittier on June 13th and they are doing spectacular. It’s possible in parts of Los Angeles for winter nights to get cold enough to do some leaf damage to bananas. Required fields are marked *. (hybrid) Related species Abyssinian Banana (Ensete ventricossum Cheesman), Musa balbisina Colla, M. ornata Roxb., M. textilisNee AdaptationBananas and plantains are today grown in every humid tropical region and constitutes the 4th largest fruit crop of the world. Neither are banana plants trees like, say, orange trees. I just bought 4 little blue java pups. I have a rich neighbor with a deck that overlooks most of my yard. If you wait, don’t bother putting them in bigger pots. Thanks again. So, the banana tree started to grow. But I’ve also seen how much faster bananas grow in fertile soil, and how much bigger bunches they produce in such conditions. Absolutely! I think your plant must be one commonly called red Abyssinian banana (Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'). Actually, they continue to grow very slowly, but nothing like they do in summer. Your original plant, the mother, will fruit and then by the time you have harvested all of its bananas, that pup that is second in line will be big and ready to send out a flower stalk itself within months. I’m sorry I don’t. Green onions: These can be grown from sets (purchased small bulbs), transplants or from seed. Sometimes a plant will start fruiting in fall and then the baby bananas just sit there like statues all winter until it warms up in spring, when they resume maturing. In warm climates like those found in the southern US and many Mediterranean countries, growing bananas is a popular pastime for gardening enthusiasts. I'm interested in growing papaya, banana, guava, and pineapple. Much flowering and fruit ripening happens spring through fall around here, but that’s only because banana plants in Southern California are very active in the spring through fall. These Old Navy face masks are just $1.25 each, Get a 7.5 foot Christmas tree for only $68 at Walmart, Everlane is hosting its first-ever Black Friday sale, Walmart's selling Xbox controllers for $20 off, This Lego sale shows off how many collaborations they do, Powerbeats are at their lowest price the day after Cyber Monday, Amazon has the Nintendo Switch Fortnite bundle in stock, 12 Advent calendars that aren't just full of chocolate. Possession. In the catalog, the caption says the flower is the size of a basketball. But when you grow your own, you’ll likely grow a different type and you’ll be able to experience new banana flavors and textures. It will get to growing rapidly this time of year. Here is a comprehensive guide to current San Francisco weed laws. Your email address will not be published. But don’t despair. Banana plants are more like giant stalks of grass that grow out of a bulb-like base called a rhizome. So, if you live up a hill, then you’re probably safe planting those pups out. Then it takes some more — frustratingly slow — months for the bananas to grow fat and ripen on the flower stalk. Hello. Bananas with brown or black spotted peels only indicate ripeness, while the fruit itself remains unchanged. The bananas are bigger than the ones in Safeway and I remember them tasting a lot less chalky and sweeter. I had about 5 pups growing. But of course there is no real night-blooming cereus, just several species of plants that have the same nickname. This is where it’s a suitable combination of humidity and winter warmth. The number of bananas that grow on this single stalk can be upwards of 50, and the weight of them can get so heavy that the plant topples over. I am unable to bring it inside, but I was wondering how often I need to water it in the winter and if I need to insulate it for the winter? Just wait. Like I mentioned in the post above, almost all of mine have come from friends or neighbors and they weren’t always aware of the variety they were giving me. Oceanside is a deceptive area. Estimates of the temperatures it can tolerate range from 30 to 20 degrees F. It puts most of the Bay Area in the gambling zone. Zoom in to see that he has multiple large bunches on multiple mats. You may be surprised to learn that there are oodles of different kinds of bananas out there. Banana leaf for cooking fish. If it seems likely, you can build a prop to support the stalk. The growing season is March to November with summer temperatures averaging 75 degrees. Bananas are fast growing plants that burn through food quickly. Like most bananas and related ornamentals, this plant is sensitive to frost. So you can, after harvesting all the fruit, cut off that particular plant. But being out of the wind is certainly not necessary for fruit production. The San Diego Zoo cultivates 24 types of banana plants on its 100-acre grounds. Watch a most fascinating spectacle. Thank you for your suggestions, I was able to get three varieties of banana from Walter Andersen, Poway, and they are all happily growing now. Species: Musa acuminata Colla, M. X paradisiacaL. I’ve been waiting two years to hear. A long thick stalk with a purple spearhead at the end thrusts out from the top of the trunk (technically called a pseudostem) and then groups (usually called “hands”) of bananas form along the stalk. Some banana varieties are more cold hardy than others (such as Lady Finger and Japanese Fiber Banana), so if you live somewhere that is a bit cold, you may be able to grow bananas, especially if you’re prepared to wrap the tree during the cooler months. And he’s not just growing your typical bananas. A: You have chosen an anniversary gift that, planted where it is, is likely, as marriages often are, to suffer some adversity. Bluefield bananas in Hawaii are Gros Michel. So much that i’ve planted some Platano Macho and some Mahio to add to the mix. They are on ya foot tall. Earl’s Organic expands; fair trade banana program to grow. Other gardeners will have a different result depending upon the microclimate, variety chosen and willingness to … One of them flowered in November of 19 then, the winter here in Granite Hills brought some freezing weather and all of the leaves on that stalk died leaving the bunch of fruit behind. Hi Greg, thanks so much for the gorgeous layout, photos, and information. He has a friend growing it in Pinole. Here I’ve learned to put my bananas near a south-facing wall for the best frost protection. 2015 Date of first flower opening: Aug. 2017 (2 years from planting) Mature bunch to the left, bunch that flowered perhaps 2 months ago to the right: There is a variety called “California Gold” that is probably OK for cooler areas. Doesn’t seems to hurt plant. In Southern California, bananas take a pause in growth during winter. Not at all. If you want more banana plants in another part of your yard, or if your neighbor wants some, you can grab a shovel and chop a small plant out of the mat and give it away or transplant it. In addition, he buries his food scraps near his banana mats. You need only to attempt to slice a chunk of rhizome along with the base of the sucker, as well as some roots if possible. I would like to try the apple one. The transplanted sucker may lose a couple leaves in its first weeks in the new spot, but that’s no big deal. So bizarre! Hi Greg, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Bananas can be grown well and easily throughout most of Southern California between the mountains and the ocean, specifically Sunset Zones 24 down to 21, I’ve grown bananas within this ideal band. How long until a banana plant flowers and fruit ripens. Bananas are the world's favourite tropical fruit. by Greg Alder | Aug 10, 2018 | Fruit | 42 comments. Grow in most San Francisco neighborhoods: Fertilizer - Bananas are heavy feeders, so fertilizing will help the plant to stay healthy, particularly when grown in a container. And actually, epiphyllum wandered into this confusion by accident (probably because of the dark), since most of the epiphyllums we grow are hybrids with brightly colored flowers that bloom in the daytime. Bananas don’t like frost, of course. Indeed, strong winds are as big a danger to bananas as frost. It's actually quite easy, once you understand the needs of a banana tree. Harvest dates are for my garden in El Sobrante.
This year looks like very small crop. But I also don’t know anyone who uses them around here and all of their bananas mature and ripen fine although the peels sometimes get a little scratched up. Hi Greg, Sites that protect against both wind and cold include a walled entry, a courtyard or an atrium. I thought of ordering from Florida Hill Nursery, but no good reviews. I live in Simi Valley, CA. The good is that your original banana plant is always multiplying itself. There is nothing tricky to transplanting a banana pup, also called a sucker. The ones we buy at the grocery store are only one type called Cavendish. A string of holiday lights or a couple of small spotlights under the shelter (with proper outdoor cords and outlets) can help keep the temperature a bit higher. Epiphyllum oxypetalum, a spectacular white flower. I live in Los Angeles and I have a dwarf namwa growing in a 20 gallon pot. It’s a keeper. And sure enough, when I looked it up, cereus was given as another name for it. Hi Greg, How to Prune a Banana Palm Tree. Greg, we put in our first bananas In the spring of 2019. Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. You can grow up to 6 cannabis plants in your home or in a locked and enclosed yard. Join the discussion today. Cultivar: Musa Blue Java aka Ice Cream Location: San Francisco Bay Area (zone 9B) Propagule: Very healthy Sword Sucker (thank you Crazybanana!) Beware of rootstock suckers on citrus trees. Can you please suggest where I can buy more plants. While this probably sounds strange to some of you, if you stop and think about the way I live and shop it’s easy to see how this idiosyncratic habit evolved. Opt for a dwarf variety that will stay small. Looking for a couple of dwarves and a few with 15-20′ habit. If you would like to know how to get a massive harvest of bananas then this is the video to watch! And so what. (Mere frost won’t kill a banana plant, but it does slow down its fruit production by damaging leaves.). According to Sunset Garden Climate Zones, this coastal region is marked by cool and foggy weather. So what do you do when your banana plant flowers? Some ideas: Are yours watered a lot in summer? Watering and soil conditions that bananas like. Here’s a producing mat of banana plants that caught my eye a couple weeks ago as I was visiting Carpinteria, in Santa Barbara County. That’s another difficulty: banana varieties seem to always have multiple names. Plant was originally in container, which I moved Bananas are not growing during the winter, and are very drought tolerant during this time. Facts: Origin - Ryuku Islands, Japan. When it’s warmer. If they don’t have the variety you want in stock, ask them to order it. But I like all that I have, and I THINK I have Ice Cream (also commonly called Blue Java), Goldfinger (also called FHIA-1), and Brazilian Apple (also called Apple, or Manzano). If you want to try growing bananas, you’ll need a large container in which to plant them. People also grow bananas in other warm, non-tropical areas like California, Louisiana, Arizona, Texas. Give a banana ample water when the air is warm and it will unfurl new leaves before your very eyes. Might as well wait. You can only sell cannabis if you have a Retail Cannabis Permit from San Francisco and a license from California. We have had 4-5 days in a row 100 plus. The trunk of the banana tree is a pseudostem grown from … Chopped down the plant in order to harvest this bunch. He waters his a lot. Observe the leaves and make sure they never wilt from thirst. How to Grow Ornamental Bananas. Bananas are a non-seasonal crop. Some of those parts are capable of getting cold enough to damage bananas. The “family” is not dead, only that single mother plant that just fruited. Do you have any suggestions on any fertilizer. Common names are like nicknames, and the one most frequently used for this species is queen of the night, but it is also sometimes called Dutchman's pipe and night-blooming cereus. They should be able to get many varieties for you. Try any of these fertilizing practices, but don’t feel the need until your plant starts growing again when the weather warms. This plucky tree was eventually knocked over by a storm, and had to be removed because it was too big to set upright. These bananas are growing in my aunt’s yard in Encinitas, started from a pup given to her by my uncle who lives in Covina. I will tell you the risks, and then maybe you can choose a few other less risky plants for future anniversary gifts, so that you have sturdier symbols of your love to fall back on in case this one doesn't make it. Thank You! So if you can put the pot close to the house on extra cold nights that would help. Pam Peirce's classic regional book, "Golden Gate Gardening," has been helping California gardeners grow food since 1993. Herbs can grow year round in San Francisco and make for a good starting point for a family plant project. The annual few days to a week of freezing winter weather did do some damage, but the tree looked good in summer. Viente Cohol is a small, fast fruiting variety. California law allows each person over 21 years old, to possess up to an ounce of flower or up to 8 grams of cannabis concentrate. Your fruit tree is grafted — Why? Being tropical plants, bananas require great quantities of water, heat, and rich humus-type fertilizers. ), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window). We’ve also been 100 the last couple days, and I’m always amazed at how well bananas handle such heat. Considered a virtually perfect food, the banana is very low in sodium, high in potassium, and contains approximately 6 vitamins and 11 minerals. My Mexicola last year over 500 plus. They can be dug and left in the garage for 3 months, watering only once per month. We will give them another month or two and see what happens. Or should I just try another variety? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
, I’m now in the foothills, Sunset Zone 20, where we get at least a touch of frost every winter. Are there any species of these fruits that can withstand cold better than others? Do you leave the bunch on long enough before harvesting? Charles Anacker. I know this because I’ve done it and I’ve seen friends and neighbors do it. Is it too late to plant a small banana tree from Home Depot in my yard? We stuck a food stake in the ground by the roots and let this year’s bananas ripen on the plant to see if they would taste sweeter. If you want, you can cut off dead, brown leaves anytime. discussion from the Chowhound Markets, San Francisco food community. That’s good and bad. Even though it’s considered Sunset zone 24, there are parts that get surprisingly chilly in the winter such as near the harbor or inland up the San Luis Rey river a bit. Earl’s Organic Produce, San Francisco, is expanding into space it originally occupied at the San Francisco … Obviously, they primarily care about maximum fruit production. We are concerned about its health this winter in the Oakland hills. If you like, I can try to get you some fruit sometime and if you like it, get a pup for you from that mat. Bananas are not growing during the winter, and are very drought tolerant during this time. Southern California food gardening calendar for 2021, San Diego Zoo where, incidentally, many bananas are also grown, talk called “Let’s Grow Bananas” given by Carol Graham, slideshow called “Banana Basics” made by Jon Verdick, handout that accompanies the slideshow here. Nevertheless, bananas can be grown to decent production even in many parts of the valleys and foothills. You can even cut off all the leaves and the plant will soon start shooting out new ones. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area right by the coast, although we still get our hot and sunny days, the majority of the time it's foggy and cold. As you suggested, now my bananas are growing well and looks more green. Thank you discussion from the Chowhound Markets, San Francisco food community. Where do I go to buy them? After three or four seasons and a lot of money spent on heating, I harvested some not-very … The photo is from tropical plant specialists Logee's Tropical Plants (Logees.com), which sells the plant. One of these, Cereus peruviana forms a treelike plant that can reach 25 feet tall. Sometimes I’ve seen bananas mature a bunch well despite the plant getting some damage from heat or cold or falling over, but I’ve also seen bunches not mature properly after the plant has been damaged. You can grow delicious fruit trees in San Francisco. If you have a Medical Marijuana ID card, you can buy, carry, and grow more. The pups under your new plant will start showing up later this summer. He gave me some last summer and they were plump and edible. Do you know any place where we can buy pups, I assume during this time they might be available. I am in SD and wondering if there’s any chance of over-the-fencing a few pups Unless you’re in an exceptionally warm spot, the bananas will prefer to be planted outside after this series of cold storms and chilly, frosty mornings. Thanks for your reply Greg. Gave to my neighbor who returned donated to her church. I love the new gardening nickname. When I first tried growing bananas in my Rhode Island greenhouse, I kept the greenhouse warm all winter, knowing that bananas prefer temperatures over 77 o F (26 o C) year round. You can either cut off one banana at a time (starting at the top where the most mature ones are), or you can harvest the whole bunch at once and hang it somewhere, like in your kitchen. into soil, but not growing well. I was concerned that having that stalk and bunch in the mat with the five other stalks might inhibit their ability to fruit. I have given up trying to figure it out. Banana palm leaves blow in the breeze like elephant ears, creating a tropical, lazy look for gardeners in U.S. Department of … Avocado trees get sunburned — what to do? All the Gardening Gurus will tell you, “Bananas don’t grow in Sacramento.”But we found someone who IS growing bananas in West Sacramento… and has been growing them for the past 15 years!. It’s generally helpful for bananas to grow where the wind is not strong. The banana plants grow about 18 feet tall so they're not a house plant. We stayed out of the backyard until someone could remove the bees. Once your original plant is tall and ready to send out a flower stalk, the largest pup will already be at least half as tall. Her book "Wildly Successful Plants: Northern California" provides basic instruction in ornamental gardening while profiling 50 heirloom plants that are easy in regional gardens. Lives in Norwalk. So after waiting two years for my tree to fruit will I have to wait two more years for the pups that it produces to produce or will they fruit at different times? Sure, many plants appreciate fertile soil, but bananas appreciate it more than most. I’ve been growing a variety named Raja Puri for 10+ years. That winter, the deer smashed it down. Q:We purchased a red-leaf banana plant as an anniversary gift to each other two years ago. My house came with glorious banana plants. If you have very little room you can grow a few banana plants together and grow … This latter method can be more convenient with varietes that are tall and hard to reach. Here, I’ve learned to put my bananas near a south-facing wall for the best frost protection. I'm growing 5 plants outdoors in my back yard in San Francisco. Bananas don’t tend to use much water in the winter in Southern California, but the location of your plant might have slightly different requirements if it’s extra sheltered and warm and new leaves continue to unfurl through December and January. Surprisingly, this is the one fruit (Aside from Citrus) that the critters have left alone. in San Diego. Used to have some trees when I lived there. Q:In your Oct. 29 column you showed a photo of an epiphyllum, and I sure thought it was a cereus flower. What did you do with all those Mexicolas?! You could contact me we are getting our first pod of bananas and are trying to find protection bags. An ornamental banana (Ensete ventricosum) growing in San Francisco. I loved being part of it! Transplanted 2 of them. Bananas can be grown well and easily throughout most of Southern California between the mountains and the ocean, specifically Sunset Zones 24 down to 21 (find your Sunset zone here). Now I will patiently wait for my bananas to ripen…, Thank Greg for an informative article on bananas! I used to live near the San Diego Zoo where, incidentally, many bananas are also grown. That’s probably fairly close to you too. of its kind. The X is wedged under the leaning plant. Bananas with brown or black spotted peels only indicate ripeness, while the fruit itself remains unchanged. Bananas don’t like frost, of course. The other thing bananas appreciate is fertile soil. I water it about three times a week and it is looking good. While many people in subtropical climates tend to grow these trees outside in their yard, banana trees can actually thrive in a pot or container inside of your house. (Mere frost won’t kill a banana plant, but it does slow down its fruit production by damaging leaves. What time of year does a banana plant flower? Gladly though, this mother plant has pups coming from the rhizome to take its place. Water - once a week during warm months. Maybe you have something other than Raja Puri? I live in North Poway, trying to grow bananas. Can they really produce? My pup Grew super fast. The bananas in the photo above come from a plant in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County. Herbs can grow year round in San Francisco and make for a good starting point for a family plant project. A: Yes, the plant I wrote about in that column certainly is part of a tangled web of common and scientific names. or do i wait? The fruits are rich in fibre, potassium, vitamins A, B6 and C. But it's also about flavour - and you just can't beat the taste of a home grown banana. How can we protect this large plant from the cold? Hey! They’ll grow and fruit even if you never fertilize them. If you love bananas, you'll be ecstatic to learn that you can grow banana trees yourself. Once ripe, the Manzano may be refrigerated for a few days. To keep a banana plant happy in Southern California, the main thing you need to do is give it water in the dry months of the year. Therefore, planting to eating ends up being around two years plus. And in fact, a friend who lives near me in the hot and dry foothills of San Diego County is producing these wonderful bananas: Bananas need little water during the winter here, when they’re almost dormant, but in the summer they love to drink. My plants are small right now and hidden by a tree. So I’ve decided to focus on growing more bananas to feed the beast that is my younger son. Think of the areas that the marine layer consistently rolls over each summer night. . But we know what’s going to happen: By the time I’m bringing in bunches from the yard he’ll start waking up each morning asking, “Can I have an apple?”. I would have enjoyed it if the local wild parrots had eaten them – but not beetles!! To add to this question, would late June be OK? Finding Your Microclimate You’ll notice there are a few sections for “Foggy” and “Sunny” neighborhoods. Sadly, a banana plant that has fruited is a banana plant that has fulfilled its end in life and will begin to die. I’ve never tested this personally, but from observing the banana mats of others it does seem true. I surfed around there and worked near the airport for a handful of years. It was 4 feet tall. At this point, we need to call out, "Will the real night-blooming cereus please stand up?" After cutting off the hand, the remaining fruit is seeming to get a bit larger and plumper. Bananas need very little water in winter in Southern California, and they need no fertilizer either. The outside rows, especially the western side, always look sad. I just came across your website and wanted to plant a banana tree now in the beginning of May. I’ve never used this product, but judging by the results he gets, it is doing no harm. I live in Oceanside zone 24. If they don’t have any or many bananas in stock at the moment, they’ll surely be getting some in the next month or two. Also, of course most of our large outdoor cereuses are called night blooming, even though they often begin to bloom in midafternoon before tapping out the following morning. I cut off the highest hand about 10 days ago, they sort of turned yellow, I tasted them and they were soft but flavorless. Many herbs do well in San Francisco’s foggy, … Four plants total seems to be an effective number for a banana mat. I’m guessing it depends a bit on the time of year the flower comes because winter dormancy can come into play. Bananas in Southern California just stall and don’t grow until it starts warming in February (unless they’re in some kind of artificially warm environment). Should I wait till spring? You should go to Walter Andersen’s there in Poway. This only sometimes happens. You’re exactly right about it depending on the time of year, but the approximate range is 3-6 months from flower emergence to eating bananas. And there are folks who try to grow bananas in places like New Jersey and Connecticut. You can do this easily by chopping off the baby banana plants with a shovel as they pop up. She taught horticulture at City College of San Francisco for 30 years, and continues to lecture and teach independently. Mine have always stalled growth for a couple months in winter, and they don’t seem to want much water then too. Greg, The growing season is March to November with summer temperatures averaging 75 degrees. I have others that are totally unknown to me. My thinking is that if there are no leaves on the stalk, the fruit isn’t going to mature properly, what say you? What does it matter how bananas grow? I also know that many commercial banana plantations only allow two plants in a mat. They can be dug and left in the garage for 3 months, watering only once per month. Many herbs do well in San Francisco’s foggy, … Pam also helped to found the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, or SLUG, an organization to support community and home gardeners, and served on its board from 1983 to 1999. Eric George Grows Bananas in W. Sacramento. That said, much of the local fruit we eat comes from hotter areas to the east or south of the Bay Area. Don’t cut any green leaves off. Are they ready!!?? I have a hard time making any recommendations because I’m not sure which varieties I have or which are which. I’ve done so in the past. Within a year, that transplanted sucker will multiply into a mat, a family of banana plants. They are dry with almost no meat. Store at room temperature. Greg, Master Gardener, Carol O'Donnell, has prepared several charts for the specific weather conditions that exist on the Peninsula -- Hot, Sunny, and Foggy.She has also prepared a schedule for a 200 square foot planting bed showing how to most efficiently use the space for a year-round veggie garden!! Thank you so much for your reply. They bloom best when a little potbound. We cut the damage off, and now it's 15 feet tall and beautiful. After an 18-year-absence, Southern California-grown bananas have returned to the Santa Monica Farmers Market. People usually call the group of banana plants emerging from a common rhizome a “mat,” but some call it a clump, and I sometimes think of it as a family. Bananas’ love for soil fertility was once illustrated to me when I grew some around a compost pit. Some say that covering the bunch with a plastic bag speeds this up, but I’ve never tried it so I can’t comment. Any suggestions? San Francisco is a very mild, summer-dry, winter-wet climate, where it almost never freezes and gardens are growing 12 month of the year. If more are allowed to grow, it’s said that they won’t fruit quite as well. But if you live in a gully where it’s colder then I’d wait until March 1. According to Sunset Garden Climate Zones, this coastal region is marked by cool and foggy weather. Whenever it feels like it. There are others. Learn more about growing bananas in Southern California: -Watch a talk called “Let’s Grow Bananas” given by Carol Graham, Master Gardener and member of the California Rare Fruit Growers; Carol has decades of experience growing bananas in north San Diego County, -Look through a slideshow called “Banana Basics” made by Jon Verdick, also located in San Diego County, and also a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers; see the handout that accompanies the slideshow here, Great post! Also, if we get a stretch of cold nights, the leaves may brown a bit. I’ve grown bananas within this ideal band. So overall, banana plants in Southern California look their worst exactly now, early February. I inherited the plant from the previous owner, so I am not sure Nevertheless, bananas can be grown to decent production even in many parts of the valleys and foothills. I do the majority of my grocery shopping (~80%) at the farmers market, and as you might expect bananas aren’t common in San Francisco. This is for two reasons: they look better (leaves get tattered in wind), and the wind draws moisture out of the leaves. A half oak barrel would be a good size. Gardeners in borderline climates such as ours often leave the plants unprotected, knowing that bananas damaged by as much as a week of moderate frost may look terrible afterward but will most often recover in summer. Probably, your plant doesn’t appear to be growing well right now just because of the time of year. I’ve always just given my bananas compost, but as I mentioned in the post above, a friend who grows bananas very well fertilizes his with ClassiCote 15-8-23. The plant needs 10 – 15 months of frost-fr… Like you said, just add water. This video is about planting bananas in Arizona. I haven’t started fertilizing, will watch for some more time and might try out more potash ones. Her Q&A column, "Golden Gate Gardener," appears in the San Francisco Chronicle, and her website, pampeirce.com, links to the columns online as well as to her blog. Banana trees have a tough life in Bay Area. All others have been given to me by friends and neighbors, or I’ve transplanted pups from my own banana mats. How long is it for you / in your climate does it take to go from when you see the flowers to when you harvest? In just 2 days, our bananas had 20-40 of those huge beetles eating them!! Common Names:Banana, Bananier Nain, Canbur, Curro, Plantain Origin:Edible bananas originated in the Indo-Malaysian region reaching to northern Australia. Read the Where to buy Gros Michel bananas? That’s curious. Got a couple years now of about 10 banana pods up here on the hillside in Whittier, haven’t had any disturbances on any of the pods. Banana plants aren’t individuals like, say, tomato plants. Bananas are grown in the warm, tropical corners of the US, namely Hawaii and Florida. Nothing says more about the tides of change that have swept over San Francisco than two homes being offered for sale just now. The best bananas grow on the inside. You can also check with Armstrong in Rancho Penasquitos. Most banana plants I’ve seen will send out a flower sometime around two years after planting — depends on the weather, variety, soil and watering. About to plant. He also uses a fertilizer called ClassiCote 15-8-23. Yup! Just let your plant rest. Considered a virtually perfect food, the banana is very low in sodium, high in potassium, and contains approximately 6 vitamins and 11 minerals. This plant does indeed also bloom at night, as do many white-flowered plants that seek to attract night-flying moths as pollinators. I think this will just be a wait and see thing. Just water a lot. Once it warms up and the plant starts growing, then water and consider fertilizing it. The delectable fruit comes courtesy of new farmer Andy Sheaffer of Vista Punta Gorda ranch in Ventura County. The Botanical Garden is a showcase of plants from similar summer-dry (sometimes called mediterranean) climates but because it is so temperate, many plants from many parts of the world thrive. So you’ll end up getting a bunch of bananas from the mat approximately once a year. Later in the season I'm pretty sure my plants will be in full view of my neighbors deck. Pic of the sword sucker about a year after getting established: Date of Acquisition: Aug(?) One more thing is that I’m skeptical about some banana plants being labelled correctly. There is a variety called “California Gold” that is probably OK for cooler areas. Now, the fruit is 3 – 4″ long, unchanged from the winter and some of them are starting to turn yellow on the stalk. Fruit Growing in the San Francisco Bay Area Idell Weydemeyer iwgarden@sbcglobal.net Fruit listed below will grow in some to many locations. Now (May) is a fine time to plant a banana. Some months later I dug one of the plants out and found that it had far more roots on the side facing the pit, where it could feed on the compost. A simple prop can be made with 2×2 wood that is connected in one spot with a bolt, such that it can be opened into the shape of an X. Well, cry no more. Its third edition, released in spring of 2010, includes much new material, including new planting calendars that carry its usefulness much farther inland than previous editions. Another complication is that a number of plants once in the genus cereus have been reclassified into other genera, including hylocereus, nyctocereus and selenicereus, and some of these also are still known as night-blooming cereus, even though they are no longer in the genus cereus. Can I grow my banana tree in a large planter or does in need to be in the ground? Now it is so tall and robust that the leaves are touching the ceiling and it has bananas. Growing banana trees, like growing sugarcane, is normally a task left to those in the tropics.But at HomeFixated, we’re not really about being normal. PS how do you keep them from not going brown? While I don't pretend to know all about the classification of the tropical cacti to which it is related, the one fact I'm sure of is that the big white flower in the photo was Epiphyllum oxypetalum. Bananas are an “over the fence” type of plant, as they say. It’s all about the temperature. And in fact, a friend who lives near me in the hot and dry foothills of San Diego County is producing these wonderful bananas: I’ve seen good banana bunches on plants farther north too. They will grow in any garden, on a wood deck, rooftop, even a narrow fire escape, so long as you catch the sun. via email…thanks! Ganesh. But lucky neighbor has a plant.