The Work Goes Forth

So, it has now been a few weeks and guess what? My plant is still alive!

Nanners has yet another coil coming up! It is about 3 inches. the first full coil i noticed since i got it is now a 13 inch leaf! Little Lello has two 2 inch leaves! Nanners says she feels great and healthy! She is ready to get done with the semester though, so she can get into a warmer climate and not have her life threatened so like it is here in rexburg. She is ready for the summer.

Cucumbers?!?

So I just peeled back 2 deadish leaves from Nanners. I never did that before so i was preatty amazed on how easy it was. The weird thing is that the plant, especially when you peel and cut off the leaves, smells like cucumber. It is really weird. I kind of wonder why....

Well, now that the crappy leaves are gone, the plant looks great! go nanners!

Nanners had a BABY!

CONGRATS NANNERS!

Nanners had a baby plant!

Right next to nanners there is a little bitty banana plant! HORRAY!
It's about an inch tall.

Baby plant shall be named Lello.

Thriving In The Cold

I am not going to lie, I am surprised the banana plant is doing so well in this cold climate. It is way too dry and too cold than it really needs to be. My apartment however is fairly warm and I squirt it with a water bottle for pretend humidity. I also water it was miracle grow.

You know how I said there was a new leaf? Well there is that leaf and out of nowhere another coil came up in the new leaf, making 2 new leaves since i got it. (you have to remember these leaves are pretty big, about a foot long, so it is pretty impressive.) There are a total of 7 leaves. 2 are pretty bad so I plan to peel them off soon, which I think you do. 3 are in fairly good condition, and then there is the first new leaf that is almost all the way open and the approximately 8" coil. They are perfect. YAAAAY! GO BANANA PLANT!

It is cool how the plant grows from the inside. The leaf comes from the inside and spreads out, more and more coming out. pretty darn cool.

Great News!

The small coil that was in the middle of the plant is now a big coil! It has successfully grown to 10.5 inches! It looks more like a funnel now, about to uncoil into a leaf! It is beautiful green, unlike the outside leaves which are not looking so hot. Thas ok though because new ones are on the waaaay!!!

Do the Leaves Leave?

The picture on this post is an old picture of me on a banana from high school. I used it as a senior picture. It was one of those boring days of high school so I ditched school. However I worked after school nearby, and to go home and come all the way back would be a waste. I ended up going to my dad's shop which was close and hung out with him. That is what we ended up doing...

I took a few more beginning measurements of Nanners today.

- from the soil to the leaves the 'stalk' of Nanners is 11 3/4 in. (almost a foot. woot!)
- Nanners in a total of 1 ft 9 inches tall
- The New coil coming in in the center of the plant is currently approximately 8.5 in.

When i first obtained Nanners a few days ago the new coil was probably only around 4 inches, so it has grown quite a bit already.

The leaves on the outside not looking so hot. I wonder if they die like palm tree leaves and you chop them off. On the other hand, I don't really know much about palm trees either since I only saw palm trees when I visited Vegas in the past. It almost appears like that is what you do though. The bottom of the plant has markings where it looks like it has been cut of old leaves already. I plan to research this and I still have to look up my questions I had in the last entry.

I purchased miracle grow on Saturday and fed Nanners. I was hoping to find something better but because Rexburg has limmited resources I had to settle. It looks like CoolAid and I made it in a pitcher (I don't know whose pitcher), so i had warned my roomates not to drink it.

Over and Out.

Specs.

As I said earlier, I purchased the plant today. I purchased it on campus while passing through a campus building. I had other classes and groups to attend before trudging back to my apartment so the plant had to attend them all with me. It was a fun packed day, for apparently a girl walking around campus with a banana plant in the middle of January gets a lot of attention. I met a lot of new people and friends today and had some hilarious conversations, including with some pretty cute guys. ;) The only problem was that it is January in Idaho. It was -15 today while this was happening, and Banana plants (aka Nanners) are used to warm, wet, tropical weather.

So now that Nanners and I are happily warm and cozy in my apartment, I sat down with Nanners and spent some time with Him, getting to know him more...this is what i found out.

-Nanner's current largest leaf size is 1 ft. long
-His base 'stalk' diameter is approximately 1 3/4 in.
-The pot size He is in is 9 in. in diameter
-A few of the ends of His leaves are a little brown and withered, and the people I purchased Him from said it was because He is Potassium deficient, which is a little weird considering He is a Banana plant. That is a little weird but I guess if everyone was normal the world would be boring.
-There looks like there is a new leaf coming in. In the center of the top of the plant there is a fresh, beautiful green coiled leaf

The plant tab thingy that is sticking in the dirt when you attain a new plant says it is a Musa, or "Little Prince." It goes on to say 'Please use the plant responsibly!' (I would like to know how to not use this plant responsibly...) It says to keep the soil evenly moist to prevent leaves from drying out (duh).


Homework: So I guess I have to go look for proper vitamins or fertilizer for Nanners since he is a little deficient in all of His important vitamins. (Maybe when Nanners is feeling better I can take him back to school in order to make more friends and meet more guys. =p )
I will be also researching the Musa Banana plant and how to raise it properly to be a big strong 'Little Prince.' Untill next time, dream about big bananas that Nanners will one day produce. Peace out.

The Beginning

Hi. My name is Dani. I currently am studying Geology at a University in the western part of the states. Recently I have been trying to decide what to minor in. I am considering Biology so this winter semester I began to take Biology classes. One of my classes is a Botany class. For extra credit in the class we were assigned to obtain and raise a plant for the semester, so that is what I am doing.

I purchased a Banana plant for $15 today. I have to record and write about my plant throughout the semester. If it is still alive at the end, I receive extra credit. If it dies (which it may) I apparently get nothing.

Join with me on the exciting adventure of raising my Banana plant I appropriately named Nanners. It is now not just a plant I have to watch over for the semester, it is a beloved friend.