That's all I grow on my second floor apartment balcony is things in containers: palm tree, hibiscus, roses, English & French lavender and a collection of shade lovers (plain & rex begonias, alocaisas, african violets and a dendrobium orchid.) Whew! Thatsa lotta pots...yes..there is still a place to sit and a path through...just barely! I use those plastic, cheapie nursery-style pots inside pretty clay pots or decorative fiberglass planters; just as long as they have good drainage--all good by me. Added bonus: the pot-inside-a-pot tactic provides moisture retension & root insulation in my hot Florida summers. Roses--I have 4 floribundas: Angel Face (mauve & strongly fragrant,) Europeana (red & light fragrance,) Sunsprite (yellow & strongly fragrant,) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (pink & fragrant) is on the way. As far as rose care--I've gone organic, so no icky chemical sprays (they didn't do much anyway!) By far the best care I've found is maintaing overall soil health. Repotting with fresh soil every 3 years with good grade soil (I like Jungle Power, sold by Lowes in these parts,) a good feeding program (I tend to forget, so do it every time I water,) using solid product like Mills Easy Feed (has micro-everything in it so no weird deficiencies) and regular attention. It goes without saying that lack of attention--ahem, water--is the greatest stressor and that invites disease with open arms. It sounds like I work at it, but not really. A little bit by little bit, and it's all turned out wonderfully. Everything blooms & blooms...my DH teases that he is jealous of the TLC the plants get, but I remind him that he is first on the list, well..maybe after the cats are fed in the morning--ok, second on the list and well ahead of the plants.

First off, bananas love heat and sun just like elephant ears. Only difference is bananas will grow very very slow if temperatures get in the low 50s where as elephant ears grow fast as long as its not really cold (in the 30s). Also around late august or whenever you start getting cooler you should water less frequently. Once temperatures are in the low 70s or upper 60s for day time hights they should be kept dry so they grow slower and get ready for being dormat. They also rot very easily if given water when its cool outside. The weather should be at least in the upper 70s with some sun for it to be watered alot and not mind. When its hot, they crave water and will probably have to get soaked almost every day. I think you should aim for a large container size. You can even put it in a really large container that you cant carry in, and take it out of the container for winter storage. Then you can cut the stalk down to about 3 feet anf cut the roots back so it can fit in a smaller pot allowing it to be carried in easier. I like the dwarf cavendish alot. They grow new leaves pretty quickly but dont get too much height with each one. Eventually they can reach 8-10 feet tall and that doent include the pot, but they will fruit at a much smaller size making it easier to pick the fruit, and most importantly its fruiting size is small enough for you to get it to fruit without dragging in a 20 foot plant every year. Super dwarf cavendish are great too and fruit at about 4 or 5 feet tall. Only probelm is they dont fruit very readily, but do grow at a speed of about 1 or 2 feet per summer (reaching maturity in only 4-6 years from a small pup). I also like the eneste species alot, but they dont fruit very easily up north and can grow very tall. the fruit is not edible either, but the flower is no short of being absolutely incredible. They also stay much smaller in pots (around 10 feet) and the beautiful leaves are more than showy enough to make a statement. Im not sure if it would ever actually fruit in a pot unless it was a very large pot and a fairly old plant. Good luck.

tsmith2579, There is no draft our pellet stove blower is blowing in a different direction. The plastic pot has the drip pan attached on the bottom so if there is a little excess water that's where it goes and it probably does sit there until it evaporates. I do have it in the sunniest part of the house with 2 plant lights on them. Are the halogen shop lamp better than the plant lights? Are plastic pots ok to plant orange trees in? Right now I have them planted in potting soil and a little peat moss,and I am in the process of transplanting them into more drainable soil because I don't know what else to try because of leaves and baby fruit falling off. Any other suggestions?

Josh, no determination has been made as to Birdman's pH of his water. Just that it is municipal water. And he doesn't need to test it, just contact his municipal water district for the pH value. If his water is 7.2 or below, no need to add any vinegar. I consistently water all my container citrus with my municipal water out of a hose which is about 8.0 (acceptable range is 7.8 to 8.5 for my WD) with zero issues in micro uptake (see photos above). I pot my plants in EB Stone Cactus Mix, which I believe is on the acidic side with Fir Bark, Lava Rock, Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, Sand, Redwood Compost and Mushroom Compost, and eventually, I'll have to re-pot, if the soil starts to degrade and compact, or the trees get too big for their current pots, so that will start the cycle all over again, as far as total soil pH goes for me. If you feel better about acidifying your water, you can do that, but citrus are remarkably adaptable plants. I think we are probably more guilty of "over love" sometimes, with container citrus. From what I see with Birdman's tree and fruit, I am still concerned that he is dealing with Phytophthora. He needs to contact his extension agent and get a definitive diagnosis. If it is Phytophthora, he really should consider replacing the potting soil (despite this perhaps not being the best time to re-pot, it now becomes essential to remove the organism from the soil and exposure to the roots), and then treat the canopy as well, with Agri-Fos, which actually travels down to the roots, and continues to protect the roots from any leftover Phytophthora. We're sort of swerving away from Birdman's original concerns of his infected fruit, and overall poor condition of his little tree. All fruit really should be removed to help the tree survive, which I know is hard to do, but the tree is struggling to be healthy and putting all its energies into trying to produce fruit at the detriment of the tree's overall health and vigor. pH isn't the issue here, I don't think. Patty S.