I went ahead and planted my ornamental banana in a spot that gets dappled sun. If it doesn't thrive, then I'll move it back to a container. Last year it got a couple of hours of morning sun and then shade the rest of the day and it still produced a lot of leaves. I added plenty of composted cow manure and some lava sand and a little topsoil to the clay. I'll add some leaves once the wind dies down. I wish I could re route the kitchen sink to my other banana plant. I'll definitely need to pile up a lot of mulch around it this year.

No, leave it in the ground instead think of how to provide moisture to it and how to retain the moisture. Mulch and manure sounds good .
Regards,
Arif.

Ok I'll leave it in the ground. I mixed enough topsoil, compost and lava sand to make the soil very crumbly. Then I added about an inch more of composted manure as a top dressing. Hopefully it will thrive. Its getting beaten by the high winds we are having.

High winds don't bother it. It is high dry winds that bother it and it seems you live next to a desert for a banana plant to dry to a crisp. What is your average humidity in summer? Think of a windbreak. One, in order to break the force of the wind and two, to trap in the humidity. How about those lime green thin bamboo plants in a line. Hardy, can take gale force winds, will increase the humidity, form a privacy barrier, etc.
Banana plants can withstand a cyclone. Maybe the leaves may get shredded but the plant survives. Lots of moisture in a cyclone.
Regards,
Arif.

Usually Spring and early Summer are really humid here. We have lower humidity typically in July and August. I just transplanted one of my bamboo plants to the other side of the house where it would get more sun. Today its been very humid but the winds are high because of the next storm system that may bring severe weather Wednesday morning.

Then why is your Red banana plant getting baked to a crisp? I think your observation is correct, I read up on this plant, not a normal banana plant but an understory plant. By understory I mean it grows in the dappled shade of other plants of the forest in Sumatra and Sumatra is one very tropical Island. Think of how to utilise waste water and lay a drip irrigation system to the plant. It can go drip drip all day long and keep Moses happy. No bathroom with a handy wash basin around for you to divert? These has to be a way out of some sorts like maybe a barrel to catch the rainwater from the roof.
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en...
Regards,
Arif.

The one that got burnt to a crisp happened in July of 2011. My current Sumatrana is alright. I wish I had a rain barrel but they are so expensive, and since I live in a mobile home, I really don't have a handy way of diverting waste water. Do you think a soaker hose would work?

Very well indeed, if you have enough water. We have a shortage of fresh water so we devise some thing or the other. Enjoy your Musa sumatrana .
Regards,
Arif.

Thanks Arif. We are under water restrictions here due to the drought and part of our main water supply is cut off to stop the spread of zebra mussels. I can only water twice a week, but most of the time, I just water once a week.

Have you planted it into the ground as yet, if you have then never mind. Next time when you dig a pit(pit is a container) line it with plastic sheeting then back fill with soil. Should reduce your water lose considerably.
Why don't you try arid zone fruit trees? Pomegranate, ziziphus, morus, guava, papaya, loukart, opuntia indica etc. these are arid zone fruit trees requiring less water. They take their needs from the atmospheric humidity. If you lose this Morus a second time then go for something else. You choose the wrong tree it seems. Enter into Google "arid zone fruit trees" should get you a quite a self respecting number of fruit trees. Then you have pears, etc grafted on to rootstock that gets on quite well in arid areas.
Water is becoming a precious commodity and soon we will be thinking of how to utilise waste water. Except for commode water for which you require treatment, washing, bathing water is quite except able to plants. I have not seen soap causing much problems but washing machine water should be high in lye(caustic) content plus chemicals. This water will/should/could cause harm. I am thinking of making a tank and diverting all wash water to it for garden use.
Commode water is as far as the plants are concerned is yummy with lot of nutrition except it makes us a bit uncomfortable but I have used that also. No problems as such were ever encountered maybe because a day of sun on it decomposes and deodrises the water quite well.
Regards,
Arif.

I'll have to remember that next year. I have to dig it up at the end of the year since its not hardy in my zone. I have 3 pomegranates and some opuntias. I haven't planted any in the ground because now I may be be moving. I wish my zone was hardy for guavas. I would love to grow a pear tree, maybe I'll look for a dwarf variety. I would love to start using waste water for my plants. I tried contacting the city about using gray water, but they didn't give me a straight answer.

http://www.desert-tropicals.co...

Thanks for that link Arif. I bookmarked it.

Happy gardening, we all learn by our mistakes. So, if a few plants die no lose, at least in dieing they taught us something. Others can tell us how like our parents told us how but who listens, we all learn by our own mistakes .
Regards,
Arif.

You're right. I've made plenty of mistakes and killed plenty of plants I want to look for a guava because its something I wouldn't mind growing.

Guava should be very happy in your garden. Put it in full sun and let it enjoy the heat, once established you don't need to water either. The green leaved guavas will give you white flesh and the red leaved ones should give you red flesh. Lots of cultivars, just look around. Another thing about guavas, let them grow out of control or keep them pruned to six feet in winters plus they make ideal windbreak plants due to their liking for stinking heat. Pruned to a height of six feet is not bad, new growth in spring should take them to ten feet and you can easily get to the fruit.
Lychee is another plant that should do well and if you keep this pruned to six feet in winter it should on the minimum give you 200 Kgs of fruit per season. Also good as windbreak plus beautiful foliage.
Grapefruit and other citrus can also be put into the windbreak but train them and keep them under control with harsh use of the pruning saw. Don't let them get away.
Cobaea_scandens can fill in blank spaces so fast that you will wonder as to what it wants to do. Beautiful flowers though and birds love them. No fear, let winter prune this climber naturally for you just protect the lower five feet of the vine and see it through winter and it will shoot come spring.
Passiflora is another which should do well and here also let winter control it and prune it naturally. Just protect the lower five feet of the vine. Wrap them in long straw in winter.
As a cheap trellis you can stretch GI wire in a respectable gauge between the wall and the camper. That should also make a big dent in your summer temperatures. GI work you can do yourself. Need two 12" pliers if you have the strength smaller size will do and a few bottle screws to provide tension to the wires.
Regards,
Arif.

Do you think guava and lychee would be hardy in my climate? Sometimes my area gets snow or ice storms in Winter. I tried growing the native "Maypop" passionvine from seed but they never sprouted. Thank you for all the ideas Arif.

Guava and Lychee should behave like citrus plants do in your area. Tip and new growth damage will occur but as you will be pruning and shaping after winter you can cut out the winter damage. Snow is alright it is this ice storm which I am not familiar with. What on earth is an Ice storm .
Anyway whatever, you will have to plant them right now so their roots get maximum time to get established before next winter. Also you will have to see them through the first winter, after that they can be left to their own devices. Lychee has been well studied in the U.S and if you make a net search you will find the relevant data for your area.
For winter protection take three sticks and tie the tops together, put over plant then cover with bubble film like a wigwam or you can use straw if you consider your winter to be harsh. Plastic does not give of heat of decomposition while straw does.
Regards,
Arif.

Ice storms are freezing rain. Its the worst type of Winter weather because everything gets coated with ice, sometimes the freezing rain events are accompanied by thunder. When we do have ice storms, it can do a lot of damage to trees making their branches heavy to the point where they break off. Some sites are saying lychee is hardy only in zone 9 and 10. Pineapple gauva seems to be the only marginally hardy guava. The others are from zone 9 and above. Do you think any of them would do well in containers?

Sleet and hail we also get. Hail storms occur during thunderstorms which can also occur in summer while sleet occurs in winter. Starts of as snow high up but by the time it reaches the ground melting and refreezing changes shape to sleet. Sleet occurs in area's which are in between the snow zone and rainy areas. Lychee is hardy to -5c and so are guavas. As to branches breaking off, they will re-sprout.
If you consider your area as too cold then we have walnuts, peaches, apples, strawberries, etc. Can you provide me with a link where I can go and check your average climatic conditions year round in order to get some idea of what sort of area you live in?
As to containers, well you can but the fruit quantity wont be enough or you will be spending extensive time with the plants. In the ground they are not captive to what you can provide and when while you can get on with doing other things in life. Unless you want to become a captive to your plants, ground is normally best. Why, you having space problems if so then there are small grafted varieties available.
Regards,
Arif.