Tropical Plants Can Be Fun to Grow in the Desert

Q. A couple of years ago I sent you pictures of my ‘Cavendish’ banana. I continue to overwinter the plants in the garage, cutting the leaves back and providing a little water once a month. I put them outside when the night temperatures reach 50 degrees. I separated the mother plant from the biggest baby this spring as I moved them outside, and now another baby has developed and is bigger than the mother. No bananas yet, but the plants are pretty and fun to grow.

Tropical plants like bananas can be fun to grow in Las Vegas. Just protect them from the cold winters. Growing plants that don't belong here take more time, effort and money but can be fun.

A.  Bananas are a lot of fun to grow. Some varieties, like the plain old ‘Cavendish’ variety can get 8 to ten feet tall and 4 feet wide. ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ are about the same size! The reason ‘Cavendish’ and ‘Grand Nain’ (Chiquita) bananas were successfully exported is because of their long keeping quality and acceptable flavor. There are other bananas that are sweeter, but their keeping quality is not as long. The smaller types, usually denoted as “Dwarf”, are usually better for containers when moving them into a garage during freezing winters.

No, this is not a grocery store type of banana but a variety grown usually in the Philippines called 'Lakatan'.

            The usual temperature for getting chilling damage when growing in the spring is around 50F. During the winter many can handle near freezing temperatures better which is why many types survive the cold of garages. The low temperature of the garage negates their need for light and reduces their water use. Just make sure when you water, water until water comes out of the bottom of the container. You don’t want salt build up which will happen with tap water originating from the Colorado River.

This is a smaller banana given to our Farm in the Philippines. Very sweet! We have lots of bananas on the farm.

            Bananas are what we consider “herbaceous perennials” meaning they don’t develop any wood, they are called “trees” because of their size and main trunk. They develop flowers from the newest growth when they get to a certain genetic size and height. From these flowers, fruit (called bananas and usually seedless) develop. Another term we call this type of seedless fruit are “parthenocarpic” because of its lack of seeds.

Bananas are what we consider as herbaceous perennials which means they grow again from suckers from their rhizomes once they flower and fruit.

            Bananas are started from suckers taken from the mother plant. Suckers are removed when they are small and replanted in a new location or allowed to grow in the same spot when the mother plant is removed. The mother plant, after the fruit has been harvested, is cut down and composted. At our farm in the Philippines the mother plant harvested, chopped, mixed with molasses, and used for animal feed.

This is a molasses truck. We get molasses from a truck like this and mix it with chopped tropical plants for animal feed. This molasses is not for human consumption.