If you like it exotic in the garden or in the living room, you can also grow your own banana tree. There are some hardy varieties that can also be cultivated in the garden, while others should only be used as indoor plants. Ornamental bananas can be grown over the seed, but unfortunately the fruits are not edible. If there is already a banana tree in the household, it regularly produces offshoots that can also be used for further breeding.
sowing
Propagation and cultivation via seeds is only possible with pure ornamental bananas. The seeds are available in well-stocked specialist shops. Since the local cultivated banana trees hardly have any fruit and if they do, then none with seeds, the route via trade has to be taken here.
seed
prepare seeds
So that the seeds from the trade for the new banana tree can also germinate, they need a pre-treatment. This is important and necessary because the seeds have been lying around for a long time and do not come fresh from the fruit. So the preparation should proceed as follows.
- Sand seeds in two places
- a clean nail file can be used for this
- Seeds are very tough
- must be soaked in lukewarm water
- Use potting soil with a pH below 7
- create drainage in the breeding pot
- depending on the size with quartz sand or potsherds
- Fill in the substrate and press down lightly
- Insert seeds and press in one to three centimeters
- pour with lukewarm water
A transparent film is stretched over the growing pots to improve humidity. Daily airing is mandatory here, otherwise mold could form on the surface of the earth. If small, round pots are used, a PET bottle with the neck removed can also be placed over the pot. The germination of the seeds of the banana can last up to several months.
cultivation
In order for the first seedlings to appear from the seeds after a few months, a few conditions for cultivation must be observed. The purchase of an indoor greenhouse is particularly suitable for hobby gardeners who often grow their own plants from seeds. Because here the care is easier to handle, especially if many, even different plants, are to be grown from seeds.
location
The growing pots need a warm location, which should have a temperature between 25° and 30° Celsius. However, until the seedling breaks through, it is irrelevant whether the seed is placed in a dark or bright place. If the temperature is not reached, you can also help with a heat lamp, which is aimed directly at the growing pots. For example, the following are ideal locations for growing bananas.
- in winter near a heater
- however, this should run continuously
- in a heated conservatory
- in the boiler room
- in summer in hot weather outdoors
- sheltered place on the terrace or balcony
- avoid direct sun
- Otherwise the soil will dry out too quickly
Even if the seed pots are in a room that is usually not used very often, the seeds should be checked daily.
maintenance
cultivation
When growing your own banana from seed, there are other care instructions to consider and follow in addition to the ideal location.
- Keep substrate constantly moist
- no waterlogging
- never water in direct sunlight
- Use lukewarm, lime-free water
- place collected rainwater in the sun
- even briefly on heating heats the water
- as soon as a seedling appears, remove the foil
Now the breeding pot must also be moved to a new location with lots of light if it was previously in a dark place. If the pots were already light, they can remain in the same place. Direct sunlight should be avoided.
seedling
If after several months the first green, small leaves appear on the substrate, the banana has been successfully grown from a seed. But the young seedlings also need special care so that they can quickly grow into a large banana plant. If several seeds were grown in a pot, the small plants should now be pricked out carefully and placed in their own containers. If a larger pot or seed box was used, the seedlings can remain in them if they don't get in each other's way. Otherwise, the following should be observed when caring for the now very young plant.
- Keep the substrate moist
- spraying the soil is ideal
- so the seedling is not damaged by the water
- continue to use lukewarm rainwater here as well
- Do not place pots in direct sunlight
- Otherwise seedlings will burn
- after two months the first fertilization takes place
- only use a minimal amount
- special liquid fertilizer for the banana tree
- is available in well-stocked gardening shops
If the young plant is very warm and bright, then weekly fertilization is recommended, if this is not the case, it is sufficient to fertilize the young banana tree every two to three weeks at the beginning. However, the adult banana tree still needs a bright and warm place that can be warmer than 25° Celsius.
repot
Only when the first roots of the small banana plant can be seen in the water drainage holes of the container does the banana, grown from seed, have to be repotted into a new, larger container.
This is done as follows:
- choose a larger vessel
- not too big
- otherwise the banana can grow unhindered
- create drainage over the drain hole
- Use shards of pottery, pebbles or stones for this purpose
- lay plant fleece over it
- Use peat-sand mixture as substrate
- Fill in half of the soil
- Carefully remove the plant from the pot
- insert and fill in the remaining soil
- water well
The desired location for the banana tree can now be selected. This can be the case in a bright corner of the room with enough light, as well as on a windowsill for a smaller plant or next to a balcony or patio door. In summer, the plant can also move outside to a sheltered balcony or terrace once it has aged a few years. Hardy plants are then allowed to go outside in a garden bed.
offshoot
Anyone who already owns a banana plant should primarily use the offshoots for propagation, which the plant forms independently. Because the banana tree only has a limited lifespan, it is definitely worth growing yourself. Because once the banana bears fruit, it unfortunately dies afterwards. If the children that form at the base of the plant and which are already finished new plants have not been removed for propagation, then they will die off as well.
children win
The offshoots of the banana plant, the so-called children, form directly at the base and usually grow out of the mother plant to the side. It is ideal to win the offshoots when repotting, because then they are easiest to reach and remove. The following must be observed in this regard.
- Use a sharp and disinfected knife
- otherwise bacteria will get in
- not only in the offshoot, but also in the mother plant
- start with the knife directly at the base
- cut off here at the pseudo trunk with the small roots
The kindel obtained in this way is already a finished banana plant, only without large roots. Each banana tree usually has several of these children, so that several new bananas can be grown from a mother plant.
grow banana tree
In order to grow a large banana tree from the offshoots obtained, further steps are required.
This should be done as follows:
- Allow the interface on the Kindel to dry for one to two days
- put it in a warm, dry place
- Prepare vessel
- create drainage
- Stones or shards of pottery over the drain hole
- plant fleece over it
- Fill in sand-peat mixture as substrate
- prepare small hole
- insert children
- water well, avoid waterlogging
Allowing the cut to dry is important so that the young banana does not start to rot as soon as it is planted in the ground. If it is slightly dried, the roots form faster, within one to two weeks this can be expected.
Kindel care
Once the child has been used, care begins. The procedure here is usually the same as with an adult banana. It is important that the fertilizer is given sparingly so that the young roots do not burn. Therefore, with the two to three-week fertilizer application, care must be taken to ensure that less liquid fertilizer is used than would be the case with the adult perennials. Otherwise, the following should be observed when caring for the first few years.
- bright and warm location
- without draft
- do not expose the young banana to direct sun
- always keep moist
- only after about three years outdoors in the summer
- Repot when the roots grow through the drainage hole