Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Choosing the Right Materials
• Part 2 of 3: Planting a Banana Tree
• Part 3 of 3: Caring for your banana tree
• Tips
• What do you need

If you like bananas, you will probably want to know how you can grow them at home. Although many subtropical dwellers grow bananas in their gardens, banana trees can be kept in pots or other indoor containers. With the right materials and proper care of the plants, you can grow a banana tree right at home. In a year, you will be able to harvest your first crop and taste the bananas from your tree!

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Choosing the Right Materials

1. 1 Choose a dwarf banana tree. A typical banana tree can grow up to 15 meters tall and become too large for your home. When buying a banana tree, make sure it is a dwarf tree. These trees grow to a height of 1.5 to 4 meters and can be grown indoors and do not grow outside the pot. Search the internet for different types of dwarf bananas and find the one that works for you.
   • The dwarf varieties of banana trees include varieties such as the Kiev dwarf, Baby (finger) banana, Ladies fingers, Williams banana.
2. 2 Purchase a corm or banana tree at a specialty store or online. The corm is the base of the banana tree and contains its roots. If you do not want to plant a corm and wait for it to germinate and develop, you can purchase a young banana tree or banana shoot. Thus, you will get rid of the need to grow shoots from the corms and it will be easier to plant a tree.
   • Young banana trees or corms are also available from some plant nurseries.
3. 3 Buy a well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Banana trees love well-drained soil. A suitable soil should be a fertile mixture of peat, perlite and vermiculite. For a banana tree, a mixture designed for a cactus or palm tree is perfect. You can buy bags of this mixture at your garden supply store.
   • Some soils, such as standard oily potting soil or soil from your garden, are not good for bananas.
   • For banana trees, soil with a pH in the range of 5.6–6.5 is best.
4. 4 Choose a deep pot with sufficient drainage. Start by planting a sapling in a 15- or 20-centimeter pot with a drainage hole. Never plant a banana tree in a pot with poor drainage. The pot must be deep enough to allow the roots of the tree to grow. When choosing a pot material, consider how much you are willing to spend. You can purchase a ceramic, plastic, metal or wooden pot.
   • When the first pot is small, transplant the tree into a larger pot.
   • After the tree has grown and is large for a 30-centimeter pot, increase the size of the pot by 10-15 centimeters every 2-3 years.

Part 2 of 3: Planting a Banana Tree

1. 1 Wash the corms thoroughly with lukewarm water. Before planting a banana corm, it must be washed in water to help remove possible pests. In addition, in this way you will cleanse the corms from bacteria and fungi.
2. 2 Dig a small hole for the corm. Fill the pot with soil you purchased from your garden supply store. After that, use a shovel to make a small hole in the center of the pot, about 8 centimeters deep. You can also dig a deeper hole so that it fully accommodates the corm. There should be enough space around the corms so that it goes deep enough into the ground. Dip the corm into the hole and check that it protrudes 20% above the ground. New leaves will form in the protruding upper part of the corm. After you plant the corm, sprinkle it tightly on all sides with soil.
3. 3 Dip the banana corm into the soil and sprinkle over the roots. Take a corm and place it, roots down, in the hole you just dug. Make sure that the distance from the corm to the walls of the pot is not less than 8 centimeters - this is necessary for the subsequent growth of the roots. The top 20% of the corms should protrude above the ground until the first leaves are tied on it.
   • After the corms have taken root and shoots, the top can be covered with compost.
4. 4 Water the tree. Water the plant abundantly with a garden hose immediately after planting so that the soil around the corm is saturated with water. Move the pot of corms outside to allow excess water to drain through the drain holes. After the first watering, keep the soil moist, but make sure it is not too wet.
   • Do not place the pot on a saucer, otherwise the accumulated water can cause bacterial growth and rot.

Part 3 of 3: Caring for your banana tree

1. 1 Fertilize the tree once a month. Use a fertilizer that is high in magnesium, potassium and nitrogen - these nutrients promote the growth of the banana tree. Dilute the soluble fertilizer with water or sprinkle the soil with a granular fertilizer. Fertilize the tree regularly to provide its roots with sufficient nutrients and micronutrients and thus accelerate its growth.
   • In the spring and summer, you can fertilize the tree once a week.
   • If you can't find a soluble fertilizer specifically for tropical plants, try a 20:20:20 balanced fertilizer.
   • The largest Russian fertilizer producers include such companies as Eurochem, Phosagro, Uralkali, Akron, Uralchem.
2. 2 Water the tree regularly. Keep the soil under the tree constantly moist. To check if the topsoil is dry, lightly press down on it with your finger. The soil should be wet at a depth of 1.2 centimeters. Water the banana tree daily to keep the soil moist and the roots don't lack water.
   • If the surface of the soil looks wet and muddy, it means that you are watering the tree too much.
3. 3 Make sure the tree is in bright enough indirect sunlight. Banana trees grow best in indirect sunlight and shaded areas. If you live in an area with seasonal climate change, you might want to expose the tree outside during the warm summer months. When doing this, place the tree in the shade of other plants to avoid direct sunlight. Rotate the pot regularly so that all sides of the tree receive their dose of sunlight. If the tree is indoors, place it near a large window to get enough sunlight.
   • A temperature of 26-30 ° C is best for banana growth.
   • Most banana trees stop growing at temperatures below 14 ° C.
4. 4 Prune the tree. After 6-8 weeks of stable, normal growth, the banana tree should be pruned. When the banana tree grows up, it will start to shoot root shoots. The goal is to eliminate all but one of the shoots. Choose the healthiest and largest shoot and use a garden shears to cut off all other shoots from the corm. When the tree begins to bear fruit, it should be pruned again. After harvesting the fruit, prune the tree to a height of about 80 centimeters without damaging the main shoot. The tree will then bear more fruit.
   • Root shoots resemble sprouts that emerge from the corm and have leaves.
   • You can transplant shoots to grow a new banana tree, but in this case, part of the roots of the corm should be transferred along with them.
5. 5 Bring the tree indoors when the outside temperature drops below 14 ° C. Cold and strong winds are harmful to banana trees and can inhibit fruit growth. If cold winds are expected, bring the tree indoors or cover it behind rows of other trees. When the cold season approaches, it is best to bring the tree indoors before the first frost.
   • At 10 ° C, banana trees begin to die.
6. 6 Repot the banana tree when it gets cramped in the old pot. Once the old pot is cramped, transplant the tree into a larger pot before its roots become tangled.If the banana tree stops growing vertically, this indicates that the old pot is getting cramped. Lay the tree on its side and remove it from the pot. Transfer the soil to a new pot and transplant the tree there before completely filling the pot with soil. Be careful not to damage the root system during transplanting.
   • If the tree cannot be removed from the old pot, you can lightly knock on the sides.

Tips

• Keep the banana tree away from strong winds that can ruffle its leaves.

What do you need

• Well-drained soil
• Young banana tree or corm
• 15- or 20-centimeter pot
• Scoop or shovel
• Watering can or garden hose
• Fertilizer
• Gardening scissors