This just in from De Luz, in the far northern nether reaches of San Diego County. A banana plantation grows there.
Jerry Andersen, of San Clemente by way of Hawaii, has a one acre banana tree plantation producing plant material for sale to nurseries and collectors.
And it’s very hard to find.
A past president of the Palm Society of Southern California, Andersen found the perfect microclimate for propagating banana trees at very, very rural De Luz. It’s miles and miles from nowhere.
J.D. Andersen Nursery that also has eight acres of rare and exotic fruit trees and palms overlooking Ross Lake. The hilltop nursery is about 20 miles northwest of Fallbrook and 30 miles southwest of Temecula.
To get there from anywhere, the hardy seeker of the Haa-Haa, dwarf Brazilian, Manzano, and 57 other varieties of banana must take winding, dirt roads that turn muddy in the winter rain and crack dry in summer.
“Believe it or not, we get people coming out here,” said Andersen with a laugh as he considered the trek that is difficult at best in this remote part of North County, about 75 miles north of San Diego.
“We’re not the most convenient location,” Andersen continued. “Some people start out grumpy when they get here, but their attitude changes as they walk around. We’ve been here almost 15 years. I was a plant enthusiast way back when. The place just evolved.”
Andersen is a San Clemente resident whose vast palm and rare fruit tree collection outgrew his Orange County home. This sent him seeking the semi-tropical; microclimate in a no-frost zone he found at De Luz.
“This is a very unique location with a mild climate that allows us to grow many of the tropical plants that we love,” Anderson said. “We’re just plant nuts.”
The nursery sells five separate categories: palms, cycads, bananas, tropical fruit, tropical plants. As befits a palm society leader, Andersen grows 400 to 500 palm species, believed to be the largest collection of different palm species in California.
Andersen also grows 20 varieties of mangoes, 100 cherimoya trees, 150 avocado trees, jack fruit, lichiis, longan, jaboticabas, and other fruit. Trees are used for cutting that nurseries and collectors re-plant and grow.
It’s all good, but in the course of his pursuit of rare and large tropical trees Andersen discovered a niche and a need. Nobody grew banana trees on the West Coast. So, it was hello Haa-Haa and full speed Manzano ahead.
The Haa-Haa is a dwarf banana plant with yellow skin and orange-colored flesh. Manzano produces large bunches of fruit with a sweet apple-like flavor. Dwarf Brazilian, Maia Maoli – 60 varieties in all – jut from the giant boulders and craggy soil at J. D. Andersen Nursery.
“I think the boulders absorb heat and release it at night,” Andersen said. “Banana plants will grow in poor soils if you give them what want in fertilizer and mulch. They take some room to grow. We water them every couple of days through drip irrigation. The largest problem is gophers. They just love banana trees and will eat right into the bulb. We set traps for them.
“A lot of people think if you don’t eat it, why grow it, but I like the aesthetics,” Andersen said. “I like the look of a banana tree, It’s very tropical. A lot of people get turned off by the banana trees because they look bad when heavy winds hit them. If you clean them up, they make wonderful landscaping plants.”
Andersen added: ““I like to be able to sit out and enjoy the looks of the garden. You forget all about what is going on. The world could be falling apart and you are at peace in the garden. Enjoy. It’s relaxing. Home Depot isn’t the only place to buy plants. They dominate, but you’re not going to find certain things.”
Anderson’s enthusiasm appears to be shared by many although he declined to reveal sales figures. A recent special sales event at the remote nursery drew hundreds. On this particular day, Kimberly Cyr, a Point Loma financial consultant and husband Steve, an architect, took the two hour drive north to stock up on palm and banana trees.
“This is way out in the middle of the boonies,” Cyr said. “A lot of plants you get here, you can’t get anywhere else. I’m morphing my garden to a tropical garden. I have some bananas we grew from pups. Bananas grow so fast, give your garden quick shade and that tropical look.”
A collector, Cyr said she also had 18 different palm trees, adding, “You can become obsessed with this stuff. You find yourself getting sucked into it. All these neat plants that are so beautiful; you have to have them.”
Banana trees are hot, too. “People have come from Texas and out of state,” Andersen said. “Somebody called from Denver and wanted mysore ( a reddish-brown plant with sweet fruit). We get a lot of drive-up traffic in the summer. We get a lot of collectors along with landscapers.”
A nursery visit isn’t necessary for those craving banana trees. Andersen ships anywhere. He takes the pups, or offshoots – “basically like a bulb,” he said – cleans and packs them for shipment.
Pups go for $15 to $45, depending on type, and Andersen suggests starting them in a pot before transplanting. He also sends along growing instructions.
Dwarf varieties grow 7 to 10 feet; others can get up to 15 to 18 feet, or more, and plants can display a wide variety of leaves, fruit and other characteristics.
In the United States, only Hawaii has commercial banana plantations, with 1,600 acres that yielded $9.2 million in crops in 2003. “They grow like a weed in the tropics,” Andersen said. “It’s more of a hobby in California.”
Actually, at least one person has tried a Californian commercial banana operation in recent years, Anderson said, referring to Doug Richardson’s seaside Gardens along Highway 101 in Carpenteria.
“Doug had 30 acres of bananas and an exotic fruit stand,” Andersen said. “He sold bananas for $1.50 a pound. That’s kind of a crazy venture since you’re really not going to make money. They bulldozed his plants (in 1998 or 1999).”
Yet, amid the glory of his banana jungle, Andersen has one regret. “Coconuts,” he said. “We can’t grow coconuts here. I’ve tried many times.”
To that end, Anderson’s palm society contacts hooked him up to the ultimate tropical connections on the Big Island of Hawaii. Anderson bought a three acre property at Pahoa in 2001 where he can propagate even more varieties of palm and banana trees and maybe coconuts, too.
Andersen’s son Dan, handles De Luz duties while he is away. “I’m producing a lot of seed material in Hawaii.” Andersen said. “Going back and forth to Hawaii is crazy.”
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For more, visit the source at http://www.jdandersen.com/
Other links: Palm Society of Southern California, International Palm Society
Larry Lamb
barbnlarry@sbcglobal.net
858-277-4147