Information on Banana Tree

Information on banana tree propagation

The best way of propagating your banana tree depends on which type of banana tree you have and why you want to propagate it. Big commercial banana growers can for instance use expensive propagation methods that ensures 100% disease free plants, but such methods are normally beyond the scope of the ordinary hobby gardener.

If you keep a banana variety that produces viable seeds, you can plant them just like you would plant any other seed. Wait until the banana is ripe, remove the seeds, clean them and let them germinate on a wet paper towel. If you have well-drained sowing soil you can skip the paper towel stage and plant them directly in the soil.

A majority of the most popular edible banana variants contains no seeds and must therefore be propagated in other fashions. You can for instance remove suckers during spring or summer as soon as the sucker has developed its own independent root system. Use a knife or a sharp spade to cut the sucker from the main root and gently ease the roots out with a garden fork or similar. It is very important not to injure the mother plant. You can find more information on banana tree suckers and the best way of planting them by researching your particular banana variety.

Information on banana tree over-wintering

How to care for your banana tree during the winter will depend on which banana variant you have and how cold you expect the winter to be. It is therefore hard to provide any general information on banana tree over-wintering. Some banana variants can be left out in the garden even during harsh winters, while others must be brought indoors during early fall even in warm temperate regions. If you decide to let your banana stay outdoor it is advisable to use plenty of mulch to protect its rhizome. The leaves and the pseudostems will wilt and decay, but as long as the rhizome survives it will produce new pseudostems and foliage in spring.

Some gardeners choose to protect the trunks during the winter as well. It is however important to keep in mind that as soon as a trunk (pseudostem) has produced fruit, it will automatically die and decay, no matter how much you pamper it. This is the natural way of life for bananas and new pseudostems will be produced by the rhizome to take the place of the old ones that have already yielded bananas. If you still wish to protect the trunk, start by removing the leaves during late autumn. You can then create an isolating cover by using chicken wire and canes to hold a straw coat in place. If you want to make it even warmer for your banana, add horticultural fleece.