The view from my backyard has turned from a backdrop of woods to a view of a distant highway and a construction site. I’ve been transplanting banana trees (plantains) from one area to the area along the back fence, to try and hide the new ugliness.
The new trees seem to be taking root, as long as I dig in and get some root when I remove them from the original root system. But it’s taking a long time for them to fill in. The first transplant was last September and it’s sprouting a bunch of new trees around it, but the ones I planted this year are just moving really slow.
Can I put root hormone on the roots before I plant them to make the roots spread a little faster?
When I say slowly, I mean “not instantly”. The banana trees can grow 2 feet a day when they’re mature, but when a new sprout is cut from a root, it can take months for it to grow a few feet.
Where can I buy the root hormone, other than online? Is it something Home Depot would carry?
I used to work in a garden center, and the brand we carried was Dragon. It came in a silver foil package. You make a cutting, dip the moistened end straight into the bag, and plant.
If your local greenhouse or nursery does not carry Schultz’s, the other big vendor in the market is Rootone (instructions, here). I have never been in a garden store that did not carry it (although that might be a regional thing depending on whose salesmen did a better job blanketing an area).
