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  • Gene and Susan Taylor stand in their banana grove at 1001 S. SR 257. They have more than 30 trees total, and this year two trees bloomed and have sprouted tiny bananas. Kelly Overton

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September 1, 2012

Going bananas on SR 257

By Andrea McCann Washington Times-Herald

WASHINGTON — Though the fruits of their labors are few and far between, not to mention pretty much inedible, Gene and Susan Taylor love tending their banana grove on SR 257S.

“They get a lot of tender loving care,” Susan said with a laugh.

They also get a lot of outside attention since bananas aren’t a typical Hoosier commodity.

“Most people think they’re palm trees,” she said.

The couple knew nothing about caring for banana trees when they got their first ones. Susan said they learned “by doing.”

“Gene’s friend Elmo Ramsey gave us two of them, and they just kept on multiplying,” she said.

The couple currently has 28 of the tropical fruit trees in their backyard and four in the house. They’ve been raising them for seven or eight years, they said, and have only had two blooms in that time. This year, two of their trees have bloomed and sprouted little bananas.

Gene said the blooms just kind of sneak up on them; one day he’ll walk by and there are none, the next day he’ll walk by and spot a bloom.

“It may be another three or four years before we get another bloom,” he said.

Susan added: “Or we may get one tomorrow. This is the first year we’ve had two blooms in one year. The tree has to be at least three years old before it produces.

“The bananas never ripen. If they did, we’d have to cook with them. We couldn’t eat them. They’d do better in Florida.”

She said if the bananas matured, they’d be like the small ones in grocery stores. The couple expects their baby bananas to reach about 5 inches in length.

The Taylor’s clay soil is a far cry from what Florida banana trees sink their roots into, but the Indiana trees don’t seem to mind. Gene said the root system is like a bulb with shallow hair roots. This year, strong winds blew some of the trees over and they had to be propped up.

“Last year they were real tall,” Gene said, estimating they reached 15 feet or so in height.

The bigger trees will shoot out smaller ones from the root system. They’re pretty hard to kill, according to Gene, who said Susan accidentally mowed one off while cutting the grass, and it shot back up right away. He said when they cut the trees back, a half-inch start will be out the next day, and it will be bigger than that if the weather is very warm.

Susan said they don’t fertilize the trees or do anything really special to make them grow — except keep them inside during cold weather.

“The important thing is: Don’t leave them out all winter,” Gene said, adding they’ll live forever if they’re not kept outside in freezing temperatures.

Susan explained that, before the first frost every fall, they cut the plants back, dig them up, move them inside and let them go dormant. They don’t get water again until spring when it’s time to move them back outside.

“We put them in an area where they won’t freeze,” Gene said. “You can put them in the house and they’ll grow year round if you want.”

Susan said she does pot some of the smaller plants to grow inside during the winter months.

“My whole kitchen and utility room will be full,” she said. “It’s not uncommon for me to have 22 to 24 of them in there.”

Gene added with a smile, “It’s like a jungle in our house.”

He said some people move their banana trees inside without cutting them back, but they have to have space for them.

“You have to get them through the door,” he said, logically.

Besides the trunk growing tall, the leaves grow large and broad, eventually getting a fringe.

“The leaves come out huge and full, and then the wind shreds them,” Susan explained.

The couple said the trees can be a handful to maneuver when they dig them up to move indoors. According to them, banana trees are a good 90 percent water. They said the plants love water, and this summer needed regular watering.

But that makes them heavy at the end of the season. In the spring, when it’s time to move them back outside, the dormant plants have dried out and aren’t so cumbersome. Gene said he’ll water the dormant plants before putting them back in the ground to give them a boost.

The Taylors explained once the threat of a spring freeze is past, they’ll move the trees outside and let them acclimate before planting.

“It takes us a day to do it,” Susan said.

But it’s worth it for the enjoyment — and maybe the banan bread —  they get out of their banana grove.

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