I have several bananas, including Ensete ventricosum/Abyssinian red, that do much better in partial/bright shade than in direct 95F full Texas sun. In that sun and heat, they stunt if don't actually burn up. Move to shade, and they take off. the En. ventri. also stays much darker green, more wine color out of the direct sun.

I don't think the bananas are that sensitive hard water, but if you want you could acidify a bit.

Thanks Jenna, Do you grow any plants in a container?

Yes, I grow lots of plants in containers, but if you mean do I grow bananas, I only have one in a planter. It's a Sabrina which is a pup from another that I have inground in my garden. The mother plant is in full sun until about 4 pm and the containerized pup is in a spot that gets full sun until about 3 pm.

I also have 4 brugmansia's in containers and grow several types of cannas in large planters. Mainly because I'm running out of room in my back gardens. I have about 15 brugs inground and can't even count the different varieties of cannas that are inground.

Jenna

Jenna

Do you move your container bananas inside during the winter? I know zone 9 is supposed to be fairly safe but on occassion we can dip to the 20's.

No, I don't. The only plants I bring into the house in the Fall are the house plants that I've had growing on my covered patio during the Summer months.

I do move my containerized brugmansia's under the awning/patio cover in the Fall, however. This helps to keep them from suffering from some of the hard frosts that we get from time to time. The small Zebrina banana that I have in a pot will also be moved into this area. All my other bananas will stay where they are over the cold months. No way am I going to dig those monsters up.

Last Winter the mother Zebrina bit the dust, but I had several pups come up from the roots to take her place. The other inground bananas looked pretty bad by the time last Spring rolled around but with some pruning, fertlizer, and water, they picked up really fast and have looked really good throughout the entire Summer, despite the heat.

The Ab's and the Zebrina are the only bananas that I've ever grown so I'm definitely not an expert on 'naners, that's for sure. But if I can find a good spot where I won't overly mind pulling something out, I plan on trying my hand at a fruiting banana next year. The real problem is trying to figure out what type would do good in this climate.

Jenna