How to care for a potted banana tree: all the care you need

Don’t know how to care for a potted banana tree? It is one of the plants that can give your home an exotic touch, plus you can enjoy bananas. Yes, as you read.

However, in a pot, it needs some care that we sometimes forget. For this reason, on this occasion, we are going to give you the keys to everything a potted banana tree will need to be well cared for.

Location

When taking care of a potted banana tree, the first thing you should take into account is, without a doubt, where you are going to place it. Actually, it can be put both inside the house and outside. However:

If you put it inside the house, we recommend that it be in an area where there is a lot of light, if it is direct, even better. The banana tree needs a lot of light; so place it in an area where it gets as much light as possible.

If you put it outside the home, can you guess where we recommend? Yes, in direct sun. If you see that the summer is too hot, then you could put it in semi-shade.

Even so, the banana tree develops better with sun, so keep that in mind when it comes to having the ideal location.

Temperature

Along with the location, the temperature is also important. We are talking about a tropical, exotic plant, and therefore the temperatures must be warm. In fact, it is requested that there always be a minimum temperature of 21 degrees. Its ideal ranges from 21 to 26 degrees but the truth is that it tolerates higher temperatures.

Now, the same does not happen with the cold. It doesn’t tolerate temperatures falling below 21 degrees, much less frost. What to do at that moment? If your winters are cold but summers are not, we recommend that you take it outside in summer and in winter, either protect it in the garden with a mesh or greenhouse, or put it at home.

Of course, be very careful with drafts as well as with heating or air conditioning, because it does not like either of them.

Tierra

To care for a potted banana tree, the substrate you use is one of the most important needs it has. As well as the pot itself.

Let’s start with the latter. You need to provide the banana tree with a large pot. Taller than wide if possible. And it is that potted banana trees can easily grow up to two meters, so they will need space.

You will have to transplant it when you see that the pot is getting too small. This is done mainly in spring or fall.

As for the substrate, it is a bit selective about it. You need to give it a soil that is sandy. In addition, it likes it to be very loose and drained, so we recommend that you mix it with mulch or compost, perlite and sand. Of course, control that the pH is neutral or a little acid. If you put another type of soil, the most likely thing is that the plant will get sick.

Irrigation

Irrigation is one of the most important needs that you must meet to the letter. As a tropical plant that it is, it needs water. A lot. Due to its large leaves, the plant consumes a large amount of water and it must be constantly replenished to prevent it from getting sick.

Therefore, in winter you may only need to water it once a week (as long as you keep the soil moist), but in summer it is best to water it daily, even twice a day if it is too hot.

Now, do not confuse irrigation and moisten the earth with flooding it. Care must be taken not to overwater. It loves water, yes, but if you put too much in it, the roots will rot. That is why the land must be as drained as possible, to avoid accumulations of water. That includes removing the saucer from under the pot so that no water remains.

Humidity

Apart from watering, it also requires some humidity because the leaves need to be hydrated. So having a humidifier, or even spraying it daily, can help keep the leaves looking healthy.

If you start to notice that they wrinkle or turn brown, it is indicating that there is a problem with humidity.

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As you have seen, the potted banana substrate is usually very nutritious. However, that does not mean that you cannot pay it. But it will not be in the usual way for your other plants.

We explain ourselves. The normal thing is that it is said that during spring and summer it must be paid every 15 or 30 days. But in the case of the potted banana tree, it is not done this way.

You have to pay it, yes, but you only have to do it twice a year. The first should be done with an organic fertilizer (the best is worm humus). This should be applied at the end of winter, or before winter, as it serves to nourish the plant and cover its nutritional needs. In this way, you make sure that the plant is healthy enough so that, when the good weather arrives, the plant wakes up and begins its development.

On the other hand, the next fertilizer that you should give it will be before the summer and a mineral fertilizer so that it can get stronger and have plenty of energy to develop (and hopefully add bananas to it).

pruning

One of the parts of caring for a lighter potted banana tree is pruning. Yes, the plant will grow, and therefore it will lose some leaves. Therefore, it is important that you remove them to prevent them from being a source of infection by pests and diseases.

Plagues and diseases

The aphid, the mealybug or the red spider are some of the pests that feel a weakness for the banana tree. So you have to keep it well cared for and, above all, observed at all times. In this plant, prevention is better than treating it when it already has a pest.

In the case of diseases, the main ones are related to the lack of sun and excessive watering.

Multiplication

Finally, we come to the reproduction of the banana tree. And in this aspect the truth is that it is not easy at all. For starters, banana trees cannot produce seeds that germinate. In other words, the seeds are not viable and they will not be worth anything to you.

The only way to reproduce it is through propagation.

Now that you know how to care for a potted banana tree, would you dare to have a large plant with huge leaves that can give you delicious bananas?