Banana

By Tools for Gardeners

Planting banana

Bananas grow from suckers or tissue-cultured plants, not from seed, since cultivated bananas are seedless. Plant in spring into rich soil in a spot sheltered from wind, which shreds the big leaves. Fruiting banana is a zones 9b to 11 plant; in zones 8 and 9 the tops die back in a freeze and the mat resprouts, but fruit then waits another full season. Colder gardens have two options: grow a dwarf type in a large container and wheel it into a bright frost-free space for winter, or plant hardy Musa basjoo for the look alone, since it survives to zone 5 or 6 with mulch but makes inedible seedy fruit.

Planting details

• Plant suckers or nursery plants in spring, after frost risk passes
• Spacing: about 8 feet for dwarf types, 12 feet or more for tall clones
• Shelter from wind, which shreds the leaves into ribbons
• Rich, moisture-retentive soil; bananas are heavy feeders
• Container dwarfs need a pot of about 15 gallons or more

Growing requirements

Full sun, heat, wind shelter, and more food and water than almost anything else in the garden. Bananas want fertile, moist soil at pH 5.5 to 7.0 and regular feeding through the growing season, because the trunk is mostly water pushing out enormous leaves at a remarkable pace. That trunk is a pseudostem of tightly wrapped leaf sheaths, not wood, which is why the plant grows so fast and why frost takes it down completely. Water deeply and often through summer; drought stalls the plant and undersized bunches follow.

Harvesting and care

Each pseudostem flowers and fruits once, then it is finished. After harvest, cut the spent stem to the ground and the mat pushes new suckers to replace it. Keep two or three stems of different ages per clump for a rolling harvest, and remove the extras, because a crowded mat makes little fruit. Cut the bunch while the fruit is still full and green, then let it ripen indoors. Before a freeze, cut stems down, pile mulch over the mat, and let it resprout in spring.

Common mistakes

• Planting in a windy spot, which shreds the leaves into ribbons
• Letting too many suckers grow, which starves the mat of fruit production
• Waiting for a stem to fruit again; each pseudostem fruits once, then dies
• Buying banana seed for edible types; cultivated bananas are seedless and grown from suckers
• Leaving a potted dwarf outside past the first frost

Companion plants

In warm zones, bananas sit well with other tropical moisture lovers like cannas, taro, ginger, and turmeric at their base. Give the mat room, since it expands outward every year and shades out anything planted too close. In containers, underplanting the bare lower stem with sweet potato vine or shade annuals fills the pot attractively.

Varieties worth growing

• Dwarf Cavendish: the standard home fruiting type; compact enough to protect from wind
• Grand Nain: the commercial Cavendish clone; productive where winters stay mild
• Musa basjoo: the hardy fiber banana; foliage to zone 5 or 6 with mulch, but seedy inedible fruit
• Zebrina blood banana: red-splashed leaves; grown for looks, not the fruit

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Banana Growing in the Florida Home Landscape
• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Musa spp., Banana