Banana Tree Plant Care

First and fore most, banana plants should be protected from cold drafts since they are not good at coping with sudden fluctuations in temperature. There exists several cold hardy variants, but even those prefer slow and gradual changes in temperature, not rapid ones. This is a very important part of proper banana tree plant care.

Secondly, you have to take good care of the rhizome. Each year, the rhizome (the “root”) will produce a new “banana tree”, the tree will flower, bananas will be produced and the visible part of the plant will die and decay. What we call banana tree is actually only a pseudostem and a well cared for rhizome can produce such pseudostems for years and years to come. It is perfectly natural for the pseudostem to die once it has produced bananas and you can not save it. The right course of action is instead to focus your banana tree plant care on keeping the rhizome healthy. 

The best way to get lots of bananas is to carry out proper banana tree plant care year round, not only when there are fruits. Give the plant sufficient amounts of water, keep it in suitable soil, and provide it with some type of fertilizer. Devoted banana tree plant care can actually increase the number of bananas fivefold, from barely 20 to almost 100. How big your bananas will get depends chiefly on which banana plant variety you have picket and will not have much to do with care or other environmental factors.

One single banana rhizome can be very productive when it senses favorable conditions, but if you want it to focus on banana production it can be a good idea to limit the number of pseudostems to no more than 2-3 at a time. One big pseudostem, one medium sized pseudostem and one small pseudostem is ideal – that way you will never be without pseudostem. As soon as any other pseudostem emerges, use a sharp knife to cut it below the soil line.

Once banana no more banana hands are forming around the flower of your banana plant, use a sharp knife and cut off the flowering stem. Always place the cut below the spot where no more hands can form (if the flower is upside down as it normally is). When the bananas have stopped increasing in size, they should be left to mature on the plant for at least 4-6 weeks. When they are ready to be cut lose, try to place your cut as close to the banana stalk as you can. Another method is to cut right through the top of the banana plant. Having cut your bananas doesn’t mean they are ready to eat – they need to ripen and this process can take several weeks. Hang the banana stalk in a shady place and check on it once in a while to see how it progresses.