Help on growing a banana plant indoors! any advice or tips? ie, watering, fertilizing, etc?

Answer 1

A Yahoo search for "banana trees" (include the quotation marks in the search box) yields 357,000 results. If you do the same search, and are willing to spend a little time exploring, I'm sure that you will quickly find the information you seek.

Good luck with your search.

Answer 2

The Banana comes from the genus Musa. It is available in both large and dwarf varieties. Banana plants can be easily obtained from many sources today. Florists, grocery stores and discount stores often carry Banana plants in addition to many mail order and Internet vendors.

All Bananas require lots of water and light to thrive. Brown leaves usually indicate that the plant is lacking in either water or light.

The dwarf varieties are easily grown in containers indoors. Growing Bananas inside presents a special challenge to the grower. Under these conditions it is rare that they will fruit or flower, although not impossible.

Most Bananas require two years of being in the exact spot, grown under the exact same conditions before they begin to flower.

Once you decide to try your hand at any of the Musa family purchase a very large pot. Bananas will grow quickly. I have found that using a large pot to start with eliminates the constant need for repotting. The longer the time between moves the better luck you will have of getting fruit. Set the plant in a spot where it will have plenty of room for growth, warmth and receive adequate light.

I prefer to use peat moss as the growing medium for my Banana plants. I feel that peat moss is a better growing medium than most commercial potting soils for Bananas. These are the only plants I would recommend strictly peat moss for growing. I do add a handful of compost from time to time.

When I first decided to grow a Banana I had a greenhouse. I put the Banana in my greenhouse in a large pot with a grow light aimed right at it, which is left on continually. The plant seems to be thriving. It also seems to enjoy the extended hours of light. When I first brought the plant home it was a sickly looking little stick with tons of brown leaves. This condition seemed to continue for a number of weeks until I decided to add the additional light. After that, it seemed to grow by leaps and bounds.

After I moved, I no longer had a greenhouse so the Banana had to come indoors. I put a grow light on it along with positioning it so that it received as much natural sunlight as possible without drafts. The plant has done very well for me under these conditions. You too should be able to grow a Banana indoors.

A good idea if you are growing this plant indoors is to provide frequent misting. If this is difficult for you keep a humidifier close to the plant. A natural method for humidity is to cluster plants together although this can lead to other problems if you are not careful.

This plant should not be pruned. Allow the dead leaves to fall off naturally. Separating the banana pups from the mother plant at the roots is the best method of propagating of this plant although you can purchase Banana seeds. When you separate the pups be sure to break the soil away from the roots and trim them about a half-inch to maybe an inch. This will help your plant to grow. When you repot the plants water the soil with vitamin B-1 or a starter solution fertilizer. This will help to minimize transplant shock.

Frequent fertilization is recommended and you should increase your fertilizer during the summer months to make your plant a bit happier.

If you have access to horse manure add some dried manure to the bottom of your pot. The Banana will love this rewarding you with faster growth. Just make sure the manure is completely dry or it can burn your plant up. If you cannot get any manure, try a product that is high in nitrogen such as “Gardener’s Special,” or “Rapid-Gro.”

While most Bananas extremely dislike drafts and any type of cold weather there are varieties that can withstand temperatures of 30 degrees F. with wind but not frost and still survive. One such variety that can withstand these extreme temperatures is the Orinoco that grows wild in the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Other varieties, such as Rajapuri, might experience leaf damage or some other type of physical damage but still survive.

The best way to know what your particular variety of Musa can withstand is to research it. You can always separate a “pup” from the mother plant to test the hardiness of your plant. After all, you never really know what will happen until you try it for yourself. Different areas of your yard receive different degrees of wind, rain and cold temperatures depending on your sheltering conditions. There are particular varieties of Bananas out there that can withstand temperatures of 5 degrees F. with extended freezes and survive. The only drawback of this is that most likely these varieties will never produce fruit under these harsh conditions.

Lets talk about how to get your Musa variety to produce fruit. In order to get this to happen you must provide at least two growing seasons of frost-free conditions. In addition to this your Banana will need abundant nutrition especially in the early stages of growth. The best variety to pick would be a dwarf variety with a fast maturing fruit.

In the event that you cannot grow your Banana in your house over winter you can dig it up in the fall and store it. Bananas should be kept in a cool, dark place over the winter the same as your other bulbs.

When spring arrives replant your Banana in the ground outside. Allow only one plant per hole. The ideal Banana mat consists of one plant that is fruiting, one that is half-grown, one that is a quarter grown with the final plant just emerging. All of the offsets should not be left growing because this drains the mother plant. The exception being if they are at least a foot away from the main plant then it is ok to allow them to grow.

Most varieties of Musa readily produce offsets, especially during warmer months. The “pups” can be used to produce more plants or cut-off and tossed into the compost pile.

I believe that you will find the Banana plant a fascinating as well as am easy to grow plant. The Banana produces masses of tropical leaves not to mention that if you get the right combination of water, light and fertilizer, maybe you can grow your own bananas!