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Thought I would give a big September update since we are nearing the end of the growing season. This update will feature before and after pictures to show the growth throughout the season. After the before and after pictures will be some miscellaneous pictures.

Trachycarpus fortunei, March 7th, 2010:



Trachycarpus fortunei, September 2, 2010:



Trachycarpus fortunei #2, June 18, 2010 (planting date):



Trachycarpus fortunei #2, September 2, 2010 (not much growth, establishment year?):



Ensete maurelii, musa basjoo and black magic EE's, May 2, 2010:



Ensete maurelii, musa basjoo and black magic EE's, September 2, 2010:



Another angle, September 2, 2010:



Banana circle, musa orinoco and siam ruby, June 22, 2010:



Banana circle, musa orinoco and ensete maurelii (replaced siam ruby) September 2, 2010:



Another with daughter in picture, September 2, 2010:



Trachycarpus fortunei and phoenix sylvestris on one corner of yard, September 2, 2010:



Same layout, other corner of yard, September 2, 2010:



Front yard overview, September 2, 2010:



Potted siam ruby (they don't like being in ground here I guess), September 2, 2010:



Potted Trachycarpus wagnerianus and Washingtonia filibusta, September 2, 2010:



Castor beans in back yard, tallest is just over 7 feet, didn't do too great this year, September 2, 2010:



Figured I would post pics now as we're expecting strong winds tomorrow with a cold front. If bananas get shredded at least I took pics! Hopefully I can get final pics in early October before frosts (and things don't get shredded tomorrow!)

Thanks for looking!

Looks good Tim!! You're older trachy has grown quite a bit this year. Looks nice and healthy too!! Are you protecting it the same this winter?
The nanas have grown a lot too!!

I will be putting the same style protection around the trachys this winter. I have been using miracle grow WEEKLY on everything this summer. Seems to have had a promising outcome! Thanks for the kind words.

Tim,
beautiful daughter. Keep her away from Ricinus, please. That plant scares me.
Super Trachycarpus growth. Mine did great in spring/early summer but then pretty much stopped. They seem to be picking up again a bit now. That same cold front is supposed to hit here (I see lightning outside now) and I think they'll like it.
As I say on every banana thread, great results. I'm jealous. Mine are doing well, but I need to learn your secrets.
--Erik

TerdalFarm wrote:Tim,
beautiful daughter. Keep her away from Ricinus, please. That plant scares me.
Super Trachycarpus growth. Mine did great in spring/early summer but then pretty much stopped. They seem to be picking up again a bit now. That same cold front is supposed to hit here (I see lightning outside now) and I think they'll like it.
As I say on every banana thread, great results. I'm jealous. Mine are doing well, but I need to learn your secrets.
--Erik

Erik,

I cut all the flowers off the castor bean as they appear and we keep a VERY close eye on her when she's outside. My trachy has been growing like gangbusters since April. It's on frond 8 or 9 now for the year. As for my secret, it's lots and lots of water and miracle grow weekly. I did hit them with epsom salts in the early part of summer too.

Beautiful yard.

Everything looks great Tim-

Your Bananas and Abyssinian really have taken off-

just wait until you see what your Abyssinian does next year!
Did you ever see the post I did on Abyssinian's growth-in 1 year?

Siam Ruby can be slow to get established,give it as much strong light/sun/high humidity as
you can this winter-they tend to stretch out inside-it will grow better for you next year.

Your Washy replacement Trachy probably won't grow tall as much as wide
next year,it's pretty stretched out now from being pushed in a hoop-house/
g-house under an opaque cover,it will start to put out more stout leaves/petioles
next year and then take it's characteristic shape- it will be growing- in Wisconsin!

Jim-

Yeah I saw your post about your ensete maurelii. I can't wait until next year to see what kind of growth it does. The siam rubies I had in the ground croaked even though I dug and potted them. One sent up a pup, so we'll see what happens with that one. The potted one did the best all summer, lol. Yeah I figured with those long petioles on the trachy that it was grown stretched. It will almost definitely put out shorter petioles and lose height but gain girth over the next few years. That's ok with me. As long as it's growing a healthy root system right now I'm happy.

Hopefully be easier to protect too!

I love the purity and calmness of countryside scent the banana creates .

Everything looks good dude:D Thats some crazy growth on the bananas, and the palms.

That cold front came though here on thursday, the temps were steady 30C+ for the week before. We got 3 inches of rain thursday night, into friday, and 60kmph sustained winds. Everythings alive.... just not happy, like me

Yikes on that wind!
We got down to 11 oC this morning but are up to 27 oC now, but with no humidity at all. A few cm of rain so the soil is good.
My bananas have tolerated the wind so far (1 consolation to minimal growth compared to y'all).
Hope the daughter likes the garden. My youngest (10 years) loves the pool but is tired of garden chores by now. Swears he'll live in an apartment when he grows up. --Erik

Looking good! I'm interested to see what happens with that Phoenix! I still think a theorphrastii would be a better bet in a northern zone, but then they aren't common and those that are available are very expensive!

I guess I assumed the Phoenix was coming in, like my P. roebellini. --Erik

What a great looking yard, Tim (and delightful pic of daughter).

Love the phoenix...magnificent looking palms.

Trachies love cool weather...will continue growing right to end-October or later if it's not really cold early.

Thanks for the update.
Barb

Tim,
Your yard is looking great as always, very nicely done!

Your phoenix palms have grown a ton since planting them

Cute little girl too, she'll love to see how much bigger the plants are then her when she grows up.

Bill

Great garden! Loads of growth! Love that Siam Ruby!!!

Well, the winds came the last 2 days. Banana leaves are all shredded and some of the petioles broke off at the pseudostem. Does that every happen to you guys? The broken leaves now hang straight down by the pseudostem. I guess I will have to cut those off and the plants will probably remain ugly looking the rest of the season, ugh! Glad I took pics when I did. Only plant that suffered the broken leaves were the basjoo though. The maurelii and orinoco are just fine. I wonder if basjoo have weaker attachments from the petiole to the pseudostem. The key to great growth I think is lots of water and lots of miracle grow. Palms and bananas got it weekly and my trachy has really pushed out fronds, phoenix really grew for being first year in ground and bananas exploded!

I'm going to keep the bananas alive in tubs all winter in basement under bright grow lights. Hoping for 15 footers next summer.

Thanks for the tips.
I have not used miracle grow at all this year. I guess I assumed natural (= manure! This is a farm) soil fertility would do the trick. It has for Canna, but maybe the Musa and Musella would have responded to the extra. All but one banana have grown fine, just not spectacular.
They have also held up to winds so far. That is good as I am in a very windy micro-climate. I have trimmed old leaves on Musa basjoo recently so the trunks that do have are more apparent.
Back to your Phoenix. Will you dig that and bring it in or protect in the ground? --Erik

TerdalFarm wrote:Thanks for the tips.
I have not used miracle grow at all this year. I guess I assumed natural (= manure! This is a farm) soil fertility would do the trick. It has for Canna, but maybe the Musa and Musella would have responded to the extra. All but one banana have grown fine, just not spectacular.
They have also held up to winds so far. That is good as I am in a very windy micro-climate. I have trimmed old leaves on Musa basjoo recently so the trunks that do have are more apparent.
Back to your Phoenix. Will you dig that and bring it in or protect in the ground? --Erik

I'm not sure yet. I will have to analyze finances and see what I can afford!

Wx

What you said (glad I took pics when I did),is so true.

Once we get into Sept the calm days of summer quickly come to an end as the season changes,
it has been windier here the past week than all summer.

Basjoo leaves are some of the weakest of any Banana for handling wind,all
my Banana plants are pretty shredded,the Basjoos have the least windy spot but
the North,northwest and southwest winds really rip them up where they are,
I can't keep my potted one off the ground!

Erik

Bananas are HEAVY feeders and benefit from constant feeding,easy on the N(slow release if possible) as they burn easy.