Our housing doesn't have a compost heap either, and I believe it is for aesthetic purposes. Yah whatever. We have a community plot but can't have a compost heap. They keep things neat and tidy here and that is a plus but there is a limit. And those black plastic things or whatever similar man made unit just don't work that great. I had to trench compost my kitchen waste in my plot. Dig a trench, put in the smelly ripe kitchen waste and bury it. Tamp 'er down good. Now that the tomatoes have taken over I can't move in there anymore and so cannot dig anymore trenches :o) I have a container on the counter just for coffee grounds and banana peels. The peels get cut width-wise into ribbons and mixed in with the coffee grounds. Shaken, not stirred. When the bucket is full the roses get a little snack.

Gabe15, What?? Is Aaron's aka TyTy?? I hope not!! On the bamboo forum, of which I am a regular poster, there is a constant on-going show of dislike for TyTy. I guess the feeling is the same everywhere. The Orinoco that I received was just a mushy mass of rotting tissue that really stunk. I planted it anyway, and after most of the Summer went by, I decided to plant something else in it's place, when I noticed that a tiny tiny little banana tree was trying to grow. With a lot of care, it finally became a healthy large banana plant. In my defense, I must say that if you noticed in my earlier posts, I did not recommend them, just stated where I purchased the bananas from, and no, I have not ordered from them since. I'm looking for a Saba, but will order from another nursery. WHEW!!!! Kt

The guy who sold it too me said it is one of the much hardier ones but I will need to remove the leaves and cover the main part of the plant with fleece. Firstly is this correct? Not neccesarily. If you are just moving the plant to one location from another, dig up the banana, wrap the root ball with some plastic bags ( large garbage bags ) and tie it shut. Do not leave the bag on the root ball very long, as the root ball may rot. Just leave it on when transporting the banana. This will help keep the root ball and corm from drying out and keep the dirt from getting all over. As far as moving the house and taking it with you, that will be a lot more trouble than moving the banana itself! :) I've never seen anyone move a whole house, so it will be a challenge! LOL, all joking aside, leave the banana in the ground till you move, assuming that it will not be exposed to freezes or frost. I don't know exactly what kind of temps your location is having now. As for the potting the plant when moving it, you should not have to do that. See above paragraph for my response. If it starts snowing, as you said..... before you move and before the snow and freezing weather, dig up the banana, trim off the dirt and roots ( it's ok ) but do not cut into the corm of the banana which is the whitish hard ball-like thing that the roots grow from. Store the banana in a dark location, without any cover on it and UNpotted with no soil, till you move. You may cut off all the leaves, except the top leaf if you do this method. Good luck and let us know how you fare!

Well, I said I'd post some updated pictures in a few weeks since others will run into this problem sometime so here we go. My second Mahoi put out its fruit stalk much sooner than I'd expected so I decided to try staking the tree to compare how the two plants do. I purchased some 15" anchors and staked this one. The placement of the lines is not optimal but was necessary as I really couldn't place the lines in my neighbor's yard where it would have posed a problem mowing.... The first Mahoi is doing well with its 2x4 supports. Tom