J. D. Anderson loves to grow bananas
By Dan Weisman

DE LUZ – A California banana plantation is hard to
find.

For starters, there aren’t any producing fruit for the
marketplace. That concept is fruitless due to the low
cost of imported bananas found in markets everywhere.

Yet, what passes for a California banana plantation
does exist. Jerry Anderson 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, Anderson found the perfect microclimate
for propagating banana trees at very, very rural De
Luz. It’s miles and miles from nowhere.

J.D. Anderson 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 Anderson 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,” Anderson
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.”

Anderson 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, Anderson grows 400 to
500 palm species, believed to be the largest
collection of different palm species in California.

Anderson 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 Anderson 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. Anderson
Nursery.

“I think the boulders absorb heat and release it at
night,” Anderson 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,” Anderson 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.”

Anderson 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,” Anderson 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. Anderson 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
Anderson 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,” Anderson 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,” Anderson 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, Anderson 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.

Anderson’s son Dan, 22, handles De Luz duties while he
is away. “I’m producing a lot of seed material in
Hawaii.” Anderson said. “Going back and forth to
Hawaii is crazy.”