Fruits provide vitamins, nutrients and fiber that are essential for maintaining good health. That’s why many people with space at home prefer to grow their own orchard. Today you’ll learn how to plant a banana tree !
Bananas, besides being delicious, are an excellent source of potassium, a fundamental nutrient for the functioning of the digestive and cardiovascular systems. They also help with brain functions! By the way, did you know that dogs can also enjoy this fruit?
So, why not get your hands dirty and find out how to plant a banana tree? You have access to all the information you need to start growing one of most beloved fruits!
Benefits of banana
In addition to being a great option for regulating the intestines, helping to avoid problems such as constipation and diarrhea, the fruit also helps to prevent cramps. Potassium helps to keep muscle cells healthy and functioning properly.
Fruit is also a big supporter in building the immune system. Rich in vitamins and minerals, it protects the body from infection and diseases. It also controls cholesterol, lowering levels of LDL or “bad” cholesterol and raising levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol.
How to make banana seedlings?
It’s time to learn how to plant a banana seedling . Planting is done from an adult seedling, called a rhizome. The most practical way is to buy it ready-made, in a nursery. If you want to do it at home, you need to have some technique.
Finding the rhizome is the first step. It frequently grows horizontally, slightly below the soil line. A banana seedling can only be obtained in this manner.
Unlike what happens with other species of fruits and vegetables, it is not possible to reproduce a banana from a ripe fruit, as there are no seeds to guarantee planting.
How to plant a banana tree?
Knowing where to get the cutting from makes it much easier to learn how to plant a banana tree and ensure that the plant grows successfully, producing good fruit. Take a look at some important details for reproduction below!
- Choose the right place to plant a banana tree , with sun and heat, as it loves warm environments;
- Prepare the soil, removing stones, branches and other particles;
- Fertilize the soil with organic fertilizers;
- Use a shovel to dig a 30 cm hole and place the seedling in the hole;
- Sprinkle some more fertilizer on the sides and fill the hole with soil.
After that, it is a good idea to sprinkle some water on the soil to compress it and activate the fertilizer. However, do not over-water, as this can kill the plant before it develops.
Where to plant banana trees?
There are numerous choices for pot plants, such as fruit trees, that can serve both as a source of food and as an ornament. Is that true for bananas? Yes! Discover how you can grow a banana tree in a container!
This is also a perfect solution for individuals who do not have a garden or a yard, or even in the case of apartment dwellers. Here, you will require to purchase a dwarf banana tree seedling measuring between 2 and 4 m in height. You will also need to have the banana trees in a pot with drainage holes and with ample room for the roots to develop.
However, the most classic option for growing banana trees at home is growing them outdoors, directly in the ground. In this way, adult plants can reach up to 15 m in height and can bear fruit within a year of planting. It all depends on the right techniques for planting banana trees!
Banana tree care
Just like any plant, fruit-bearing or not, success depends on how you grow it. Banana plants love humid environments, but not excessively so. For their wellbeing, a 50% humidity level is excellent.
This is essential for it to grow well. For this reason, when grown in environments with milder temperatures, the banana tree must be placed in a place where it can receive sunlight to grow and bear fruit.
In addition, analyzing the plant’s leaves is part of how to care for a banana tree in a pot or garden. If the hue is yellow, it is a sign that it is lacking nutrients. So, it is time to fertilize it with nitrogen during the development stage and with a 15:5:30 fertilizer regularly during the adult stage. For maintenance, check out other details!
- Eliminate weeds to increase the vigor of the banana tree and prevent pests;
- Water the plant frequently, avoiding the soil from looking dry;
- Remove old leaves to avoid friction and damage to the banana bunch;
- Use plant debris to mulch the soil around, but not directly below, the trunk.
The last point of attention occurs at a more advanced stage, during the fruiting season. After cutting the bunch, the banana tree trunk must be pruned to half its height. This causes the daughter plant to draw nutrients from the rest of the mother plant’s trunk. Only then can it be removed completely.