“I’ve seen some other banana trees around and none of them had any bananas on them,” Meyers said. “I just thought they would never bloom.”
But then one day he saw something growing out of one of his seven trees. Now he has about 35 bananas, with possibly more to come.
“I was tickled to death,” Meyers said. “It was like having a baby. I called everyone I knew and told them I had bananas.”
He said the banana trees that line his Riverside Street front yard are about nine feet tall. Meyers said he has tried planting palm trees in the past, but “they just didn’t take.”
“It looks like Florida out there,” he said with a chuckle. “Everything else is dead in the yard, but they keep growing. It’s pretty neat.”
Butler County Extension Educator Cindy Meyer said she is not surprised that Meyers is getting bananas from the trees, thanks to the area’s hot weather this summer.
“Banana trees need constant warmth of around 80 degrees during the day and 67 at night,” Meyer said.
But she also expressed concern that the tree won’t be able to survive without proper care in the winter.
“There is a proper amount of care that is needed,” Meyer said, suggesting the tree be taken inside during the winter. “Gardeners sometimes take chances because they want to see if they can grow something. We can grow a lot of tropical plants here in the summer, but I just don’t know if this one can continue to produce in the future without the proper care.”
Meyers said he will let his bananas ripen just a little while longer before tasting them.
“I just want to make sure they are ripe before I try eating one,” Meyers said. “Seeing these bananas grow has really got me interested in doing this again. I might even try a coconut or orange tree next year.”
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