Jean is right. If a banana has few roots, cut off most of the leaves. Maybe all of the older ones and half the length of the newest one. You can leave all the cylindrical stalk though. Bananas are tough as nails. In warm weather they are harder to kill outright than to keep alive. Seemingly hopeless parts tossed onto the compost pile not uncommonly "come alive" in rainy weather. There is a 1920s book on subtropical homestead gardening with instructions along the following lines (paraphrased from old memory): "Get your banana "pups" from a neighbor or nursery. Toss them under some bushes out of the sun. Dig a big deep trench where you want the bananas to go. Over the next few months throw every bit of yard debris, kitchen trash, old newspapers, bedsprings, etc. into the hole. When the hole is finally filled to the top, seek out the pups in the leaves under the bushes and plant them in their new prepared bed."

proper watering is all i ever recommend for conifers ... or any plant.. never feed a stressed plant ... and i dont buy into all those homeopathic goos ... when all it needs is PROPER WATERING .... do not water a conifer.. in a pot.. like you water annuals or perennials.. they simply do not need that much water ... and potting media is different for conifers/trees ... as drainage is imperative ... you will never make the brown green again ... so its just an issue of getting the root working.. to avoid future damage ... and if that happens.. it will eventually outgrow the damage ... you must have a pretty big balcony.. my Holstrup is going on 10 feet tall .. in about 7 years ... ken

Thanks Josh for the reply! I have them under the ledge of the patio, so they are getting some wind protection. I could put them in the greenhouse away from the fan and they would be better protected wind wise, but I think it may be still too hot for them in there? Yes Josh, I love blood oranges! I have another blood named Vaniglia Sanguigno I got from Logees when I was on vaca in CT, but it is not in fruiting stage yet. I just think blood oranges are so beautiful! And i am also excited for tasting a finger lime. The vesicles are round and the juice is suppose to just pop in your mouth. I was reading some fancy chef article or something that says because the vesicles are round and closed until bit into, the release of flavor in very intense and tasty along with the added addition of texture when it pops open. Again, the article explained it much better than I am here. I hope they have the red finger lime in the US one day. What is considered "too hot" for newly transplanted citrus? Mike, I know the worst part is the change of seasons and hauling the citrus in! I did this for years. But now I have the greenhouse and it has made a tremendous difference! For the first time i did not have to worry about leaf drop due to indoor lighting issues. If I remember correctly Mike, you have a greenhouse, but still bring them in around February when it gets real cold? I kept mine in the greenhouse all winter with heat of course. I only kept it in the low 40's on the coldest nights, sometimes even getting to the upper 30's, experimenting since it was my first year, and the citrus had no issues! I was suprised! Definitely reacted much better to the greenhouse than all the years being in my house with lights. Although I did not have the greenhouse up yet when Sandy came, which was a good thing because who knows if it would of gotten destroyed. But when Sandy came, I had my one room in the house filled with all my citrus and figs and other special plants so I would not lose them in the storm. Then, I had hauled them all back outside just to have them all hauled back inside less than a week later because of our freak Halloween snow storm! I am sure you had part of that too Mike? Oh, before I go, should I give them any epsom salts or vinegar now, or when I first fertlize over the weekend? Thanks guys! Christy

Digging and planting trees of any size is never advised in the heat of late summer. Best done when the trees are dormant - in late fall/early winter or late winter/early spring, depending on location and severity of winter and how much your soil freezes. It is just too stressful on the trees. It is even not highly advised to plant containerized or previously dug B&B trees during this time of year. If the tree is not lifted or the soil removed and properly graded away from the trunk a good circumference away from the base so that the root flare is exposed, the tree will eventually fail and die. May not happen immediately but it will happen. If you do need to replace the tree, pick any maple you like suited to your climate (I'd avoid Norway maples simply because they are becoming an invasive species). But start out smaller - much smaller!! I would never suggest anything larger than 2.5" caliper and prefer to go even smaller. Smaller, younger trees are easier to plant or transplant, suffer much less transplant stress and establish much faster than larger, more mature specimens. If properly selected, in decent soil and with adequate watering, a smaller tree will grow quite rapidly and often equal or overtake in size a larger specimen in just a matter of a couple of growing seasons.