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What to do with my Dwarf Banana plant?

13 years ago

I live in the mojave desert, gets up to 110 in the summer, and freezes over winter. I planted a dward banana plant in a 2-3 gallon pot (the plant was only 4" tall when I planted in May, and it's now almost 1.5' tall). I keep it mostly shaded due to the harsh sun (now it's in full sun since it's only 85 deg. out now).

What should I do over winter, bring it inside? When will I need to upgrade to a bigger pot? When can I expect to get fruit out of it? Is it true you have to fertilize nearly every week for banana plants in order to get fruit? Any help would be appreciated. I got it for free, and didn't expect it to live, but it's done great so far!

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Comments (5)

jordanz
Original Author
13 years ago
Anybody have advice for me?
greenchic
13 years ago
hello!

I dont have much in the way of advice but I recently bought a banana plant and Im wondering what to do with it also. I live in NYC and dont have much in the way of yardspace to put it so it stays inside mostly. Im pretty sure i wont see the quick growth you have seen but I'd certainly like to keep it alive long enough to get some experience. My first banana (a blood red)succumbed to spidermites about two yrs ago so watch out for those. The one I bought today has 3 pups growing in the container so I assumed its really healthy. Good luck and hopefully someone comes along with really great advice
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Don't worry about spider mites. You can manage them by taking your plants into the shower and blasting them with water in the winter time. In spring and summer,take them outside and blast them with a hose and then let them spend the summer outdoors. If you still have problems with this method, add a little soap to the water to break the surface tension of the water so it can get into nooks and crannies better. My gardenias and pygmy date palm always get spider mites in the winter and that's how I handle things. Also, for the palm only, I keep the mite population down by vacuuming them off. I use the narrow nozzle and go along the back of the frond. These methods work well to keep things in check. Just remember, mites love dryness and hate water. Any they wash away quite easily. So go get yourself that banana plant and enjoy it.
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Double Mahoi. It stays shorter than most of the other dwarfs that I have (Dwarf Brazilian and Dwarf Namwah). The only shorter plant that I have is Zan Mareno, but its fruit is pretty small. I tried Mauritius, but the fruit got "cigar end rot'. (I heard it was susceptible to it, but I tried it anyway). And, of course, I tried Super Dwarf, but like everyone, it kept choking. Double Mahoi is my favorite Dwarf also because by the second or third generation, you get two stalks of fruit and it has never choked. I also like Gran Naine. It doesn`t get too tall and it produces good fruit.
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Go to winterizing bananas-Illinois. It tells you exactly what to do with your dwarf as I have one too, except mine is on it's 17th leaf. But I plan to listen to them. My nursery told me to leave it outside, the banana tree would die along with the pups. they never mentioned covering up, just leave it out in the open. The Carolinas can get frigid, as last year it went down to 11 degrees. Read what these growers say and follow their instructions.
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Dwarf Cavendish are not cold tolerant at all. It will be very difficult to grow this particular banana, protect it during the winter and expect fruit in the summer. There are better choices for the Gulf Coast area. A previous post mentioned Orinoco, Raja Puri. I agree with these choices. Dwarf Orinoco, California Gold, which might be a sport of Dwarf Orinoco, Dwarf Brazilian are also choices. On the Gulf Coast, we should expect to see fruit 18 to 20 months after planting a pup. This means a banana needs to be able to survive at least one winter by whatever means the grower can provide. In mild winters, a grower needs to do nothing, In cold winters, the grower needs to protect the pseudostem. A banana plant needs to flower by May generally for the fruit to mature and ripen by the first frost of the fall. If the fruit is not ripe and experiences a frost, that fruit most likely is history. Steve
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danny1893
13 years ago
I have had a Dwarf now for a few years and I have had it in WI the whole time. to respond to jordanz questions. First for the winter keep it inside you really shouldn't need to upgrade the pot I have on that is almost three feet tall and it is in a 14" pot plus if you keep it in the same pot if it reaches its max capacity in the pot it won't overgrow your house! just because they are a dwarf they can still reach sizes up to 5 feet! I have 5 banana's and they range from sizes from 2 feet to about 4 and a half feet in height. For you second question, it is true that they are very heavy feeders. I feed mine twice a month but not heavy either time more like a moderate feeding and the plant will not start to produce fruit until it is fully matured. It can take up to two years if it is growing at a continuous rate. I have had fruit a few times from my dwarf. the fruit is only about 6 to 8 inches in length but it is neat to see them grow and I think makes them even more delicious when you can eat them. I hope it helps a little and if you have any other questions I can try to help the best I can. Good Luck
jordanz
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you so much for the response! That's cool that you can keep it in such a small pot. I thought it might hinder it's growth/fruit, but it's sounds like yours is doing pretty good danny! I'll definitely bring mine inside soon then, and start feeding it twice a month. Do you fertilize yours through the winter too, or just during spring/summer?

How long did it take before you got your first banana's then? Thanks again for the info.
jordanz
Original Author
13 years ago
Did you have any more info danny?

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