Plants like to grow for me.
All kinds of plants, it doesn't seem to matter what type they are and the less attention I give them the better they seem to do.
This all changed when we moved from a spacious three-bedroom house into a smallish two-bedroom apartment.
I left all the gardening behind or, so I thought.
My husband and I had discussed dwarf fruit trees for years but we never could seem to decide which ones to start with or if it really was a feasible idea to even try.
I talked with the owners of greenhouses, friends, family and searched the web intensely for any ideas or help I could get with this decision.
Needless to say, I came away more confused than when I started.
That is why I am writing this article so that hopefully I can help others get some clarity about dwarf banana trees.
It seemed a bit daunting at first to think about trying to grow any kind of tree here in a small apartment that has a balcony facing Northwest.
Let's face it, everyone knows that bananas are "tropical" plants, what chance do they have to thrive in the mid-west United States? I am here to tell you to forget what you think you know about dwarf banana trees.
I almost killed all of mine listening to the so-called "experts".
I was almost in a panic as their lovely green leaves started to wilt and turn brown.
The more I read and researched and did what "seemed" to be right for them the worse they got.
I did unfortunately loose one dwarf banana tree but the rest are now thriving and threatening to take over our living room.
Yes, we brought them in for the winter so that they would be out of the cold, harsh winter weather we have in this region.
I have kept notes about my dwarf banana trees and all that I did right and wrong with them so that I could share the information with others like you.
I am no scientist consequently; everything here is going to be in layman's terms so that anyone can benefit from it.
Let's start at the beginning with the small (barely 4" tall) dwarf banana trees I received in the mail.
Through a mix up when ordering, I ended up with eight dwarf banana trees (yes you read that right I said "eight").
The instructions that came with them were extremely basic and as I soon found out, did NOT cover any contingencies other than perfectly healthy specimens.
I started my dwarf banana trees out in 6" pots and used a professional potting mix w/fertilizer 0.
10-0.
08-0.
06) for those that keep track of that sort of thing.
I do not even know what those numbers mean even though I've read the bags several times I constantly forget.
It was May and we were still having frost warnings so I kept all the dwarf banana trees inside and placed them by a window that faces Northeast.
Since I know that dwarf banana trees are native to the tropics, I gave mine as much sun as possible and liberally watered them making sure that their little catch trays didn't stay dry for long.
This was great for at first as they adjusted to their new homes however, it did not last long.
My poor dwarf banana trees soon started to wilt, which caused me great distress.
Almost in a panic I read everything I could find on dwarf banana trees which needless to say wasn't much.
Nothing worked, I put them in a window that got more light for more of the day and still they kept wilting.
After exhausting all the "expert" advice on dwarf banana trees I decided to do what I've always done with my plants, I followed my instincts.
What I discovered is that yes, dwarf banana trees like water however, they do not ever like to sit in water.
I had to get rid of the catch trays that were keeping the water near their roots.
That lead to a new challenge of how to make sure they got enough water without making a mess out of our living room.
That challenge led to what we now call "plant shower & bath day".