I'm planning to keep my banana tree in a container indoors, currently the container is too small so I'm forced to transplant the tree. I don't know if it's recommended to separate the "mother stalk" from the smaller stalks if I only have 2 others. I also want to know what soil mixture I should use in the pot I will be transplanting the tree into, what minimum temp.I should keep the tree at, and what organic fertilizers are recommended by other gardeners to use on this plant.

i'm not aware that mexican tarragon sets seeds... it might be sterile. i have several very large bushes--tons of beautiful flowers (it's a tagetes), but never once have i seen a seed. 'they say' that mexican tarragon is inferior to french in flavor, but i don't find it so. my all-time favorite salad is fresh, slightly-green tomatoes with some olive oil and tarragon sprinkled on top. it's really the only way i eat tomatoes... i spilled a package of parsley in my garden in the fall (butterfingers) and not i have parsley EVERYWHERE. i have no idea how the seeds got as widely distributed as they did. i grow tons of herbs from seed. the easiest are, i think, parsley (SLOW to germinate) and basil.

Yes, you can grow it from seed. Under ideal conditions, it'll self-sow.

Pineapples will not be worth your time. You can keep then as potted plants and they will bloom and fruit eventually, but the fruit wont taste very good They are really interesting plants though so I would give them a try just because of that. Bananas are a great choice for your area. It will take a few years to get fruit, but once your plants are mature, you will be getting fruit (or at least blooms) every year. Again, its not really a plant that you can grow for fruit in your area, but they are really beautiful and you will get fruit eventually if you give them lots of care (and sun, water, plant food, and heat). Here are some varieties with a short description Musa Basjoo- They will survive your winters and they are the most cold hardy banana currently known. I would mulch them during the winter just to make sure they come back, but if you get them from a good nursery they should be fine. They are not evergreen and they will not make edible fruit. However, they look beautiful and they will make bananas (just ones with lots of seeds). They can grow 20 feet tall or more when older and they grow at least 5-10 feet in height a year! Musa Velutina- They might survive your winters. You can easily dig it up if you dont want to risk it. They are small plants as far as bananas are concerned. The fruit is very interesting because its a pink color. Its edible, but you have to work around the large seeds. Apparently they taste pretty decent, but I never tried them. They look beautiful in bloom anyway. Musa Saba- They could also be hardy, but I would dig it up and store it in a garage or your home just to be safe. Bananas are actually very easy to store. You just dig them up around the time of first frost (probably best to dig them up right before first frost) and you can pot them up and bring them in. They wont grow much indoors, but you cant take them back out in the spring and they will grow again. Musa Saba is one of the largest bananas in the world. They can grow up to 40 feet! They make edible bananas but I think you can only eat them if you cook them. These bananas taste pretty good! Musa "Ice cream"- A very popular banana because it taste very good. They are especially popular in Hawaii. I have seen people get these to fruit in pretty cold climates. They dig them up and bring them in for the year and you should do the same. They can reach 20-30 feet tall according to conditions. The bananas are kind of bluish so some people call them "Java Blue Bananas". They are not cold hardy to your area so definitely dig them up. There are tons of other banana species (1000's) and you can try to grow them. They all grow the same way and to be honest, the plants themselves look pretty similar to each other unless you really know a bit about banana plants. Good luck! Banana plants are really fun plants to watch grow. You should at least grow them for the tropical look and if you get them to fruit, you will instantly feel like you have been transported to the tropics! -Alex