Banana originates from East Asia and is one of the oldest cultivated plants. The banana tree, which is in fact not even a tree, has more than 400 varieties, many of which are popular potted plants worldwide. With its large leaves, it is suitable to decorate even larger areas.
If you want to have your own banana tree at home, consider the following things to make it happy and healthy:
Before buying a banana tree
Before you buy a banana tree, check its leaves. The larger the leaves of a plant, the greater the area for various pests. Bananas are therefore more exposed to this danger. If you find sticky spots on the leaves, these indicate the presence of lice. If the plant is kept too dry, spider mites can also find a perfect home on its leaves.
When you take it home
If you’ve bought the plant, you will almost certainly need to transplant it right away. The pot in which banana tree are sold is probably too small for the plants, as in stores, the purpose is to keep the plant alive during storage without crowding up the available space. However, the balanced development of a plant can only be guaranteed by a bigger pot. If you buy more than one plant in a pot, you should plant them separate, as banana leaves are very vulnerable, and will be damaged if the available space is not large enough.
Temperature
Banana tree is an exotic plant and therefore it loves heat. In the summer you can keep it outside, but don’t wait for the frost to take it indoors, as temperature below 11-13 degrees are too cold for banana trees. You need to ensure that the plant receives plenty of sunshine, but be careful not to keep in glaring sun.
Water demand
Through the large surface of its leaves the banana evaporates a lot of water, so it constantly needs to make up for the lost water. Still, be careful, because if the soil remains too wet for a long time, the roots will start rotting and the plant will stop growing.
Feeding
Buy a special nutritional solution suitable for the needs of a banana tree and apply it every two weeks to make your plant strong and beautiful.
Pruning
If you feel that your banana starts to grow out the room, remove some of the lower leaves. This way the plant will begin to become bushier instead of growing upwards.
Harvesting your own banana?
A banana tree kept as a houseplant is very unlikely to produce fruit. The most common type of edible bananas is Cavendish, but it takes at least 3 years to bring the first flowers. To encourage a banana tree to flower, promote its growth with plenty of sun and high temperatures.