Banana Plant Care: How to Care for Banana Plants

A banana tree (from the genus Musa) is an herbaceous perennial with large leaves that sprout from a corm at the base of the plant beneath the soil. A banana tree is not a true tree—the “trunk” is a cluster of new leaves growing from inside one another, forming a pseudostem. With cultivars that can thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones 4–11, banana tree plants are popular as striking houseplants or outdoors as ornamental foliage in gardens in warmer climates—under the right conditions, banana trees will also bear fruit (called bananas) in bunches.

There are many species and cultivars of banana trees, including Musa basjoo (the most cold-hardy banana), Musa acuminata, ‘Dwarf Cavendish,’ and other dwarf banana varieties and variegated forms—each cultivar ranges in mature height, leaf color, and fruit appearance.

With proper sun, water, and nutrients, banana plants are notoriously fast growers—many cultivars can reach their mature height in about one year at a healthy growth rate.

If you have a cultivar that produces edible bananas—and grow it under the proper conditions—most banana plants will be able to bear fruit within a single growing season. However, banana plants without regular nutrients—or ones growing indoors as houseplants without access to full sun—may take years to grow banana fruit or never fruit at all.

Growing banana trees is a straightforward task—here’s what they need to thrive:

• Full sun: Banana trees need full sun to thrive, or a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight per day. Indoors, keep your banana plant near a south-facing window and consider supplementing its growth with a grow light.
• Well-draining soil: Choose a well-draining potting mix or garden soil, which will allow you to water the tree deeply without compacting or waterlogging the soil.
• Regular watering: Banana trees are tropical plants, so water them deeply and regularly until the water runs out of the drainage holes in the pot or the soil is thoroughly dampened. In between waterings, allow only the top inch or so of the soil to dry out. Take care to avoid letting the plant sit in waterlogged soil since this can cause root rot, which can harm the plant.
• High humidity: As tropical rainforest plants, banana trees need high humidity to thrive. If your area has dry conditions, increase the humidity to help your banana tree thrive. For indoor banana plants, set up a humidifier or a pebble tray; outdoors, grow banana plants in a cluster to help the leaves trap moisture, or mulch around each plant to retain soil moisture.
• Nutrients: Banana trees are rapid growers that produce fruit in favorable conditions, which means they are heavy feeders that need a lot of nutrients to thrive. Choose a potting mix or garden soil high in organic matter. During the growing season, fertilize your banana tree regularly with a fertilizer for foliar growth (a balanced fertilizer or one higher in nitrogen), according to the package instructions.
  
• Warm temperatures: Banana trees generally prefer a year-round warm climate, with temperatures between sixty-five and eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit. However, different banana tree cultivars have different cold temperature hardiness. The most cold-hardy banana trees can withstand temperatures as low as thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit (or first frost temperatures) before their leaves begin to brown and soil temperatures down to twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit before the corm will die. Choose the right cultivar for your area.
• Winterizing: If temperatures drop too low in your area for the plant’s needs, consider winterizing your banana tree by planting it in a container and bringing it inside during the cold winter months.
• Occasional pruning: Banana plants are fast growers that naturally lose leaves as new ones grow—prune your banana plant by removing old, withering leaves to encourage healthy new growth.
• Pest control: While banana plants are not major targets for pests, keep an eye out for the usual attackers, like snails, spider mites, and aphids. Shoot pests off with a jet of water or treat the plant with an organic pesticide like neem oil.
• Occasional propagation: Since banana plants grow from corms beneath the soil, they can begin to overcrowd a container or garden plot as more stalks sprout from the rhizome. Division is the best way to propagate a banana tree—simply dig up the base of the plant, and use sharp garden shears to divide the individual stalks. Repot the mother plant and each new plant in separate containers or areas in the garden.

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