How to grow banana trees

Do you want to know to grow banana tree? Start by learning more about the available species and variants. A key factor to success when it comes to banana growing is to choose the right species. Do you plant to grow your banana tree indoors? Choose a banana tree that will not get to big for your home. Do you want to grow your banana tree outdoors? Choose a banana tree capable of handling the climate in your garden, e.g. severe colds. Is the aim of your banana efforts to produce edible bananas? Make sure that you get a banana variant that produces delicious banana fruits of a suitable size.

Some banana variants still produce viable seeds, but most gardeners prefer to start with a so called “pup”, the sprouting root chunk of a banana tree. (Truth be told, bananas are not really trees, they are herbaceous plants and the stem is only a pseudostem.) To plant the “pup”, dig a whole into the ground in a sunny spot of your garden. Many banana varieties stop growing if the soil temperature falls under 68 degrees F so a sunny spot is really important. Stick the pup in the whole and refill. Sandy loamy soil is recommended for most banana varieties, but it is always a good idea to research your particular variety.

How to grow banana tree is not only about finding the right spot for your tree – spacing is also important. Banana plants need some room, at least of you want them to grow big and produce a lot of fruit, and cramming them together is therefore not recommended. For most varieties a distance of at least 6 feet between each plant is recommended, unless you are okay with them staying somewhat smaller and yielding fewer/smaller bananas. If one of your banana plants fails to thrive, it can be because surrounding, stronger plants are depriving it of water and nutrients. One way of combating this problem is to dig a trench between the strong plants and the weak plant. The aim of the trench is to form a barrier between the roots of the different plants. Once you have cut all the roots, you can refill the trench with the old soil.

How to grow banana tree and prevent disease

It might be tempting to accept banana plants from fellow gardeners, but such plants can carry unwanted micro organisms such as fungi. It is therefore safer to purchase sterile banana pups from commercial nurseries. Even if your bananas are strong enough to resist the fungi, it might harm other plants in your garden that are not equally resilient. If you still want to use non-sterile pups, dip the roots (and any soil) in a weak Chlorox solution before you plant them. Also remove as much soil as possible, since the soil can be filled with fungi.