“This is kind of like our little oasis out here,” Jane said, as she pointed to the various plants growing in the yard, which also has the standard tomato and cucumbers plants.
A few years ago, Randy was visiting a neighbor and noticed an interesting plant in her yard.
“It was one of the prettiest plants I’ve ever seen,” he said of the banana plant.
The neighbor brought him a plant and unsure of how to properly care for it in Ohio’s climate, he turned to some co-workers for help.
“One of the people I work with who grew up in Jamaica, his grandfather farms 3,000 to 5,00o banana trees and he told me what to expect. I’m still learning,” Randy, 64, said.
What Randy has also learned is that it takes two years to get a banana plant to grow. The real trick, he said, is waiting until the soil is warm enough to plant them in spring and then store them in a sunroom during the winter to preserve the plant for next season.
He’s been at it for about 10 years, and there’s now about 20 banana plants and 50 elephant ears living among the giant Cedar trees in his backyard.
Jane said it can be a challenge to move the plants into their home’s sunroom when the frost comes.
“I had to cut some of the leaves of the banana plants so they’d fit and then we just sit them at an angle,” Randy said. “I have a heater and air conditioner in the room to control the climate. I wash the plants off good before bringing them in to avoid the bugs.”
Sierra and her five siblings all applaud their dad’s green thumb. Randy said he developed it when he was a child growing in up Appalachia.
“He just wants our state to just be a little more beautiful,” Randy’s daughter Leah said.
A rabbit and chipmunk have been among the hurdles that Randy has faced over the years to keep his tropical backyard garden growing strong.
“It is a lot of work and I usually have to water the plants for about two hours a day,” he said.
Randy wanted to retire and take the family to Florida, but relatives there have complained about the sand in the grass and lack of floral beauty. After a recent visit, he sent them all home with banana plants to put in the ground.
“I think we will be here for a bit longer,” he said.
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