Newbie with banana problems!!! - July 22nd, 2005 at 09:46 AM
Greetings! I live in Southern IN (zone a) and received 6 banana trees last spring. With good luck, I ended up with 21 trees. Before the first frost, I took them out, wrapped the roots in trash bags with a little soil and put them it my outside room. I kept the heat on to keep my washer from freezing and cut off most of the lower leaves (to save space). They were in there almost 6 months. Spring rolls around, the sun comes out and I pop a few beers. Long story short: I did'nt dig the holes big enough, I added no sand to the soil, I did'nt even plant them straight! So I am down to 7 trees and they are not growing like they did last year. Will the big trees (9 foot tall 6 feet to the bottom branch) sprout leaves closer to the ground? Should I dig the small ones out, add sand and peat, and replant trees? Should I not cut the leaves off in the fall when I dig them out (to save moisture?). Any secrets to get healthy trees? Any info helps. Thanks for reading!