How to Care for a Banana Tree Planted Outdoors

Bananas growing and ripening in the sun

A common kitchen fruit, bananas are a great source of potassium. The banana is a tropical perennial plant, often mistakenly referred to as a "banana tree." It can be a picky plant when grown in more climatic areas, preferring high humidity, constant moisture and high temperatures. The amount of fruit that the banana can produce in one growing season can often be astounding, producing upward of six or seven bunches of bananas.

Things You'll Need

• Banana plant
• Water
• Balanced fertilizer (20-20-20, for example)
• Compost
• Mulch
• Pruning scissors/knife

Instructions

1. Plant the juvenile banana plant in a sunny, wind-protected area. The hole you dig should be just slightly larger in diameter and the same depth as than the pot that the plant comes in.

2. Fill the remaining spaces in the hole with compost so there are no spaces between the root ball of the plant and the sides of the hole you have dug.

3. Water every other day, or daily during hot weather. Once a week, a balanced liquid fertilizer should be added to the water to ensure adequate nutrition. Every fertilizer concentration is different, so follow the directions listed on the back of the bottle for the correct mixture.

4. Pile on fresh compost or other organic matter once a month to the soil around the banana. It should only be 1 to 2 inches deep and should spread about 4 to 5 inches around the plant's base.

5. Lay mulch around the base of the plant to prevent weeds from cropping up around the banana. The same spread and depth as the compost you laid down should be applied here.

6. 

   The large flower of the banana with the juvenile fruit behind it.

   Cut off the large flower that hangs below the fruit, known as the "bell." The flower stalk will emerge after about a half a year of growth and will fall forward, exposing the fruit.

7. Feed and water the banana plant for a few more months until the banana fruits become much larger.

8. Cut the fruit from the plant, when the fruits begin to lighten from a dark green to a lighter green.

9. Cut the banana plant down to the base once it produces fruit because it will not produce fruit anymore. A new plant will grow from the stump.

Tips & Warnings

• The easiest way to start a banana outdoors is by planting an already established plant purchased from a nursery. A more challenging way to grow bananas is by planting "suckers," which are juvenile bananas that grow from the base of a plant that has already fruited. These suckers can be cut from the "mother" and planted in the ground.

• When growing bananas, plant them in multiples. A stand of bananas will provide more shelter from wind since the leaves are easily damaged by strong winds. A cluster of banana plants together will also help to keep the humidity at a constant.

• Before starting the growing process, make sure that you have a fruiting variety of banana rather than a showy ornamental variety that will never produce fruit.

• Bananas prefer constant warm temperatures with little fluctuation. The temperatures should stay between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal growth.

• Bananas require constant moisture and nutrients; they will suffer if not regularly watered, fertilized and given organic material to feed from.

• When you cut the banana fruit from the plant, the fruit will ripen pretty quickly, so only cut off what you need or else you will end up with a lot of rotting bananas quickly.

References

• "Vegetables, Herbs, & Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia"; Biggs et. al. 2006