Many people dream of growing bananas at home. The idea seems quite unusual, since this tropical plant mainly grows and bears fruit in hot climates and high humidity air. But if desired, nothing is impossible, especially since the adaptation of this culture to different climatic conditions has been happening for thousands of years.
Despite the fact that the banana is a large plant (some specimens in tropical climates grow above 10 m), it is not a tree. And although it has a very characteristic crown, it is not a palm tree either. All types of bananas, and there are more than 70 of them, are herbaceous plants. What is called the trunk is actually tightly woven leaf petioles. But the real stem, short and thick, is almost entirely located in the ground. It forms side shoots, which develop alternately, replacing each other. Leaf plates that form a rosette at the top of the false trunk in an amount from 6 to 20 pieces, at different types differ in size and color. But they are always large (from 0.7 m to 2.5 m) and elongated oval in shape. Root system in natural conditions very powerful for a herbaceous plant. It can reach a depth of up to 1.5 meters, and the lateral shoots extend up to 5 m. In size, this grass is second only to bamboo, which is also a herbaceous plant.
The development of green shoots in tropical climates lasts about 10 months. Then comes the flowering period. A powerful peduncle appears from the center of the false trunk, at the end of which a complex inflorescence is formed. Initially, the inflorescence is covered with a common shell and is shaped like a huge pistachio of purple or green color. Then the shell opens and a multi-tiered inflorescence appears. At the base of the inflorescence are female flowers that have only a pistil. In the middle part of the inflorescence there are bisexual flowers with both stamens and pistils. They are smaller than female ones.
At the end of the inflorescence there are small male flowers. All flowers are tubular, consist of 3 petals, 3 sepals. Wild bananas bloom at night. At this time of day they are pollinated the bats. IN daytime Flowering bananas attract insects and birds, which also pollinate them.
Fruits develop only from female flowers, since the rest are sterile. Bananas are a multi-seeded berry covered with a dense shell. Fruits of different types and varieties vary greatly in size, color and shape. The length of a banana can vary from 5 to 35 cm. The shape can be cylindrical or triangular. Most varieties and species have fruits different shades yellow color, but there are also green (when ripe), reddish and whitish bananas. Up to 300 fruits can ripen from 1 inflorescence, but usually there are no more than 50 of them. After the fruits ripen, the above-ground part of the plant dies off, and a new shoot appears from the stem.
U wild plants the fruits contain a large number of seeds, which also vary in shape and size. Banana seeds are very hard and dense, their number in 1 fruit can reach 200 pieces. Those fruits that are sold in stores and on the market are obtained from an artificially bred variety called “Paradise Banana”. Banana varieties that do not have seeds are suitable for propagation only by vegetative means.
Banana is a very demanding crop to care for. Being a tropical plant, it needs high temperature, bright lighting and high humidity. In the absence of these conditions, the plant will grow poorly, will not bloom or bear fruit, and may dry out and die.
Growing banana in a pot
Growing a banana at home is even for experienced flower growers a troublesome matter. It reproduces by seeds and vegetatively. Growing a full-fledged plant from seeds at home is very difficult, and finding them is not very easy. But you can try. Important Feature: bananas propagated in this way with inedible fruits.
Both ornamental and fruit varieties can be grown in pots. Decorative varieties They are distinguished by their greater unpretentiousness, compact size and attractive leaf colors. These varieties also produce fruit, but they are not suitable for food. As house plant They grow bright red banana (its height does not even reach 1 m), lavender and velvety, which can grow up to 1.5 m.
Fruit varieties look less attractive, but you can get small edible fruits from them. IN room conditions They grow Kiev dwarf (1.5 m tall) and superdwarf (up to 1 m). In greenhouse conditions or a high-ceilinged room, you can grow varieties such as Velvet Pointed and Dwarf Cavendish. These plants grow up to 2.5 m.
When growing bananas from seeds, the plants are more viable, since their adaptation begins from the moment the seeds germinate. How to plant a banana? Since the skin of the seeds is very dense, to make the sprouts hatch faster, it is sanded with a nail file or sandpaper. Through the artificially thinned shell, moisture will quickly reach the seed embryo, and it will begin to grow. The polished seeds are soaked in warm (35°C) water for a day. During the day, the water is changed every 6 hours, maintaining required temperature. After the sprouts appear, the seeds are placed on a sand-peat substrate consisting of 1 part sand and 4 parts peat, and slightly deeper into it. Containers with planted seeds are covered with transparent film and glass and placed in a warm, bright place.
Seed germination takes a long time and takes 2-3 months. During this time, it is necessary to carefully monitor the soil moisture and spray it from time to time with a spray bottle. It is necessary to ventilate the crops daily. The room temperature should be about 30°C during the day and at least 25°C at night. The emerging seedlings grow very quickly, so several transplants will be needed in the first year. This is usually done as soon as the plant's roots become visible from the drainage holes.
These plants are propagated much easier and faster by cuttings. This method is started at the moment when fruiting is completed, and the above-ground part of the plant has died, and the new one has not yet grown. To do this, the underground stem is dug out of the ground and the part with the bud that has begun to grow is carefully separated. This part of the stem is planted in a separate prepared pot. As the pot grows, the capacity of the pot increases when transplanting. Don't plant small plant straight into a large pot. The root system of a young plant is not able to absorb large amounts of moisture, which will lead to acidification of the soil and rotting of the roots. As a result, the plant may die.
When transplanting, the young plant is removed from the pot along with a lump of earth. This will prevent damage to the fragile root system. A larger pot is selected, the diameter of which is 2-3 cm larger than the previous one. A drainage layer consisting of expanded clay or small pebbles must be placed at the bottom of the pot, then a layer of sand and only after that a layer of fresh soil. The basis of the soil for growing bananas should be leaf soil, to which humus, wood ash and coarse sand are added. Adult dwarf plant For fruiting it needs a 50-liter container; a 35-liter pot is enough for a super-dwarf banana. Despite its dwarfism, this is not a small plant and needs a spacious pot. At suitable conditions in the 3rd year of life, you can get quite edible fruits from the plant.
You can purchase a ready-to-grow plant at flower shops or greenhouses. You should not buy a large banana, as after greenhouse conditions it will be difficult for it to adapt to the climate of the apartment. It is better to take a young, recently germinated plant.
For homemade bananas, you need to choose the brightest place in the room. This plant can feel normal only in bright light. In the autumn winter period In any case, the banana will need additional lighting. But the burning summer sun can harm the tender young leaves, so during this period the plant should be slightly darkened.
Optimal temperature, at which bananas grow fastest, is 30-35ºС. IN winter time this plant can withstand 16ºС, but its growth will stop completely.
Despite the fact that bananas are very moisture-loving, they tolerate slight drying out of the soil much more easily than waterlogging. Therefore, you should be careful with watering. Bananas need to be watered generously, but not very often. The criterion is that the top layer of soil has dried by 2 cm. For irrigation, only warm (about 30°C) settled water can be used. IN warm time This plant needs to be sprayed as often as possible every year. It’s even better to place the pot on a wire rack with a container of water underneath it, or place a humidifier next to the pot.
Obtaining fruits from dessert varieties is very problematic without the use of fertilizers. This culture takes well organic fertilizers in the form of infusions of manure or fish broth. Can also be used ready-made fertilizers For fruit trees or vermicompost. It is recommended to water bananas with infusions of ordinary weed. You can also add crushed banana pulp and peel to the soil. In the warm season, the plant is fed once a week, and in winter - once a month. Growing a banana at home, and even tasting its fruits, is not an easy task, but it is quite realistic and interesting.
Is it possible to grow a banana at home or in a greenhouse to see flowering and fruiting? Can. But it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to enjoy the taste of its fruits. If you do everything correctly, there will be both flowers and fruits. But their edibility will be very relative.
The fact is that bananas are different from bananas. The ones we buy come from plants that did not exist in nature before human intervention. In wild bananas, approximately 90% of the fruit consists of large (about a centimeter long) black inedible seeds. But people noticed that some bananas had few or no seeds. They began to purposefully propagate the offspring of plants that have a minimum number of seeds in their fruits.
This is how (with some simplifications, of course) the varieties of bananas that we know arose.
In addition to the already mentioned cultural forms, there are others in which the presence of seeds is not only allowed, but even encouraged.
For example, the notorious textile banana. And there is also decorative bananas which are grown to decorate rooms.
Start by preparing the seeds. They have a fairly hard shell, which must be damaged in order to allow water to penetrate inside to the embryo. This treatment is called scarification. You can do it using sandpaper, nail files or simply scratching with a needle. The main thing is not to overdo it. The shell should not be destroyed, but only damaged.
Another important point- choice of dishes. If there are no more than 10 seeds, then the easiest way is to plant them individually in plastic disposable cups. Large quantity It is more convenient to sow seeds in a common bowl. It should be wide enough, but not too deep. Do not forget to make holes about 10 mm in diameter in each corner and in the center of its bottom to drain excess water.
First pour a drainage layer of small pebbles or expanded clay 1.5-2 cm high into the selected dish. Then - a layer of substrate. Its height is largely determined by the depth of the dish, but it should be at least 4 cm. There should also be about 3-4 cm of free space from the surface of the substrate to the edge of the bowl so that the emerging shoots do not rest against the glass covering the greenhouse from above.
And you definitely need to cover it. The fact is that the germination period banana seeds(even fresh ones) is quite long - at least 3 months. Before planting, the seeds need to be placed for 30 minutes in a fairly saturated (the color of very strong tea) solution of potassium permanganate. It is advisable to generously water the substrate with the same solution (and a hot one at that) an hour before sowing.
Substrate in in this case- the simplest mixture of coarse river sand(previously thoroughly washed and calcined on a dry metal sheet) with a small amount steamed peat (4:1). Introducing something “nutritious” into the substrate is not only pointless, but also harmful - it will attract to the crops a host of those very putrefactive bacteria and fungi that we want to get rid of.
The seeds are evenly laid out on the surface of the substrate and lightly (!) pressed into it. They need light to germinate.
It is clear that the bowl itself with the crops should be in a fairly bright place. But exposure to direct rays of the sun is unacceptable, as overheating and death of the seeds will inevitably occur.
When the substrate dries out, immerse the bowls with crops in a slightly larger container filled with warm water. boiled water, slightly painted over with potassium permanganate. The immersion depth should ensure that the bottom of the substrate comes into contact with water. But no more. A reliable sign of the end of watering is the appearance of wet spots on the surface of the substrate.
When mold appears, which can appear as a small white rash on the seeds themselves, cotton-like white lumps on the substrate, or white fluffy cobwebs, you must respond immediately. Using, for example, an ordinary teaspoon, affected and suspicious seeds and areas of the substrate are mercilessly removed. This is done with a fair amount of area and to a depth of at least a centimeter. At the end of the operation, the entire surface is generously sprayed with a previously prepared strong solution of potassium permanganate, and the cover glass is immediately returned to its place. By the way, it should also be disinfected.
Everything will change with the appearance of seedlings. Banana grows amazingly fast. In suitable conditions, tender seedlings will turn into powerful plants 2-2.5 m high and about 15 cm thick (at soil level) within a year.
But for this they need to be given plenty of everything: light, heat, water and fertilizers. Prepare for the fact that by the end of the first year of life, your pet will no longer need flower pot, and a tub or box holding 30-40 liters of earth.
There is one consolation - this will stop the wild growth of the banana, it will bloom, the fruits will appear and ripen, and the plant itself will safely... die. Yes, yes, don’t be surprised and don’t be indignant. Banana- this is grass, albeit large. And the destiny of all herbs is the same - to grow quickly, produce offspring and make room for a new generation.
By the way, if you don’t stop there, you won’t need to bother with the seeds. Next to the dying old banana, babies will appear (10-15 pieces), which you just need to carefully separate and plant in the appropriate container. And everything will happen again.
Many Exotic fruits You can not only buy it in the store, but also grow it at home. It is enough to make some effort to enjoy the sweet fruits in a couple of years.
Growing a banana at home will not be difficult if you take into account some of the features of growing this exotic plant.
Banana is a perennial plant
Banana - perennial herbaceous plant"Banana" family. The plant reaches a height of 15 meters. The stem of the plant is thick and powerful, almost does not protrude above the soil surface. At the top of the plant there are sheet plates. They are very large, elliptical in shape and light green in color. The leaves are about 270 cm long and about 50 cm wide.
At the top of the plant there is a racemose inflorescence, the length of which ranges from 70 to 150 cm. The inflorescence consists of large quantity flowers of a yellowish-green hue, which are collected in tiers. Gradually, most of the plant's inflorescences begin to bend down.
Bananas bloom for a whole year, each flower lives for about 1-3 months. After the flowers fall, the fruits begin to ripen and turn into bunches of bananas. The fruit can reach from 6 to 30 cm in length and 2-5 cm in width. The shape of the fruit is cylindrical, oblong, slightly curved. Due to the large mass of fruits, the stem droops, as a result of which the bananas end up upside down.
After the plant bears fruit, its vegetative part dies. A new plant is formed from the underground part of the plant - a spherical stem with a rhizome.
The optimal temperature for growing bananas is 25-35 degrees. They grow mainly in well-drained soils and can withstand drought for about 3 months.
There are many varieties of bananas grown that can be eaten or used as a banana.
One of the banana varieties that you can grow yourself
Reaches a height of 2.5 meters. The fruits are bright yellow in color and medium in size. Unlike other varieties, it can withstand temperatures down to 0 degrees. Like other varieties from the Cavendish group, the dwarf species has brown spots on the skin of already ripened fruits.
This type of banana is included in the Cavendish group of varieties. This is the tallest plant: it can reach 490 cm. The size of the fruits ranges from 15 to 20 cm. The fruits are poorly stored, so this variety is rarely grown.
The length of the fruit is 10-15 cm. The pulp of the fruit is yellow-cream in color with high sugar content and juiciness. There are 3 fruits in one core.
Included in the group of Cavendish varieties. Its characteristics are similar to the Lakatan variety. Distinctive feature from the variety "Lakatan" is its small height. It is actively grown in tropical and subtropical areas.
Ornamental bananas are grown only for decoration or landscaping, summer cottage. Such varieties should not be eaten. These include: lavender banana, velvety banana and others.
Bananas can be propagated in several ways: using seeds, dividing rhizomes or shoots.
At the core of the banana are seeds that resemble small black beads. These bananas reproduce only vegetatively. If you extract these seeds, there will be no result.
Planting material for growing bananas at home can be purchased at flower shop. These seeds are designed specifically for growing indoors; they are no more than 1.5 meters in height.
Before planting, the seeds should be soaked in warm water and left for a couple of days. The temperature should be about 35 degrees. When the soaking period has come to an end and the seeds have sprouted, they are cleaned of mucus and remaining pulp. After this, you should prepare bleach and disinfect the seeds in the solution. Then rinse thoroughly with running water.
To grow a banana, the temperature must be at least 35 degrees
To prepare the substrate you will need good soil. It can be dug out from under trees such as birch and acacia. It is recommended to take only upper layer.
Dilute the prepared soil with wood ash (500 g), humus (1 kg) and river sand (2 kg). This amount must be taken into a bucket of earth. The resulting earth mixture should be poured with boiling water to get rid of harmful microflora.
Before planting, the soil must be moistened and then not watered at all for several days. This is done so that the sprouts can adapt to new conditions.
Choice is important. For plants that are about 20 cm long, you will need a 2-3 liter pot.
Pour a layer of wet river sand into each separate container, and then prepared soil mixture. Place banana seeds at a depth of about 1 cm.
Do not plant seeds in the ground deeper than 1 cm
It is important to remember one feature: in order for air to flow to the roots, it is recommended to place the pot on a wire rack and not in a tray. In the soil, seeds germinate for quite a long time. The first leaves may appear in 3-4 months.
Bananas should be planted in the ground at a distance of 8-10 cm from each other.
The process of growing bananas at home is simple. The soil should be properly prepared and the seeds should be planted.
Banana is a heat-loving and moisture-loving plant that requires special care and attention. It is necessary to water the plant rarely, but abundantly when the top layer of soil becomes dry. Water for irrigation should not be cold. The optimal temperature for water is 25-30 degrees.
Air humidity should be high. With its deficiency, the plant begins to dry out. IN hot weather It is necessary to constantly spray and wipe off dust. For spraying you should take settled water room temperature.
In winter, the temperature drops. In this case, it is necessary to water even less often so as not to cause rotting of the roots.
Banana grows in a well-lit place. Lack of light leads to yellowness and loss of color. As a result, the plant may die. It is especially important to comply with this requirement when the plant reaches a length of 1-1.5 meters. For good growth a banana and the ripening fruits of light on the windowsill will not be enough. In this case, you can use artificial lighting.
A plant of this size requires a lot of space. If bananas do not have enough space and space, the plant's growth begins to slow down.
Don't forget that bananas need to be fed regularly.
Any plant needs feeding. Fertilizer can be purchased at a specialty store. For this purpose it is better to use humus. Sometimes herbal ones are used nutrient solutions based or quinoa.
The plant should only be introduced into moist soil. IN summer time You can fertilize once a week, and in winter - no more than once a month.
At proper care There are no pests in bananas. To prevent their occurrence, it is necessary to inspect the leaves daily. For preventive purposes, the top layer of soil can be sprinkled with tobacco dust or watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Occasionally, due to low humidity in the soil, it may start. The plant can also be affected by fungi, weevils or roundworms.
By watching the video, you will learn more about growing bananas at home.
Many people think that growing bananas at home is quite a difficult task. However, practice shows that everything is quite simple.
With proper care fruit tree the fruits will be tasty and sweet.
The banana plant is often called a banana tree, but this is a misconception, because it does not belong to tree crops. Essentially, it is a grass that can grow from 1 to 8 meters, depending on the variety. In addition, homemade bananas are always much smaller than those grown in wildlife. The large stem consists of dried leaf petioles. With normal growth, the banana blooms profusely and bears many fruits. After the harvest ripens, the plant begins to die. Instead of old and withered stems, new shoots begin to grow, which soon repeat the entire life cycle at first.
Growing bananas at home often does not cause serious problems for gardeners. The plant is able to bear the first fruits after three years growth. The banana grows green mass quite quickly, and during the normal course of the growing season, one leaf will appear on it per week. The older the plant, the larger its leaves will be. They can reach up to 3 meters in length and up to 1 meter in width. The color can vary from contrasting green to greenish-reddish. With proper care of the plant, it will be able to bloom and bear tasty fruits (it all depends on the variety and type). The flowers are usually yellow and red in color and are clustered at the top of the inflorescence. Banana fruits are commonly called berries. In the first days of ripening they have, but over time they become yellow or red. The ripe fruit is sweet, sometimes with a slight sourness.
There are two types of bananas - decorative and fruit.
All types can be divided into several categories - decorative bananas and fruit bananas.
Decorative bananas are grown for interior decoration; their fruits are inedible.
We list the most common varieties:
The most common among fruit varieties– the following:
The last two varieties were developed by Ukrainian breeder Anatoly Patiy in 1998. He assures that even at home, with high-quality care, the presented varieties can produce up to 160 fruits, which will be no different from store-bought ones.
You can use seeds to plant bananas.
Those who are not afraid of difficulties in growing can buy seeds for planting bananas. Some varieties are considered indoors; they rarely grow more than 1.5 meters. This is especially important for residents small apartments and houses.
In order for a banana to grow properly and bear fruit, you need to choose the right pot.
Banana is not a very fastidious plant, but despite this, in order for it to grow properly and bear fruit, you need to choose the right pot. For small, recently sprouted plants (up to about 20 centimeters), a 3-liter container is quite suitable. A banana that has grown to 1.5 meters must be transplanted into a 20-liter container. But for an adult plant you need to purchase a large pot with a capacity of more than 50 liters.
Helpful advice: It is important not to forget that it is necessary to replant a banana as it grows. If a small plant is immediately planted in a large container, it will root system may begin to rot, causing illness.
The best soil is found under such deciduous trees, like walnut, linden, birch and acacia. But poplar, chestnut and oak are bad options.
You need to dig out the outer layer of soil 5-10 centimeters. Then, 500 grams of wood ash, 2 kilograms of river sand and 1 kilogram of humus or vermicompost should be added to this soil (per bucket). Place it all carefully and fill it with boiling water or heat it for disinfection.
It is important that there is a drainage layer - depending on the size of the pot, it can have a height of 4 to 10 centimeters.
On top of it you need to lay a layer of sea sand, and only then the soil itself. It is important to pay attention to small feature
– you cannot place the pot directly on the tray. First, place several flat stones or a grate in it, and only then expose the container. This way, air will flow to the root system and the banana will grow better.
Watering and humidity
Banana loves water because its leaves are large enough to evaporate a significant amount of moisture. The plant should not be watered often, but abundantly. This should be done when the top few centimeters of soil are completely dry. The water temperature for irrigation should be within 25-30°C. It is important to water the banana generously to allow water to seep into the drainage holes. This way the plant will be regularly fed.
If in winter the room temperature is about 18°C, the number of waterings must be reduced to avoid rotting of the root system.
Useful information: In summer, spray banana leaves every day; in winter, it will be enough to do it once a week. Wipe them regularly to remove dust. Temperature Acceptable temperature for normal growth is about 25-30°C. The banana is located in the garden or on the balcony, then with the arrival of cold nights it needs to be brought into the house.
Bananas grown at home require special care. So, they need bright light during the growing season. At lunchtime when Sun rays especially active ones, it is recommended to move the plant into the shade, away from the heat.
In winter, for normal growth, you need to install a special suspension. If the banana is growing on a windowsill, be sure to ensure that the leaves do not touch the glass, as they may get scorched. It is also unacceptable to leave the plant in a draft. Sudden changes in temperature will not benefit the banana; it is, after all, a tropical crop.
Top dressing In order for a plant to bear fruit, it must be fertilized. Fertilizer should be poured only into moist soil so as not to damage the plant root.
In the warm season, feed the banana once a week, and in the cold season - once a month.
Pests and diseases When growing bananas at home, pests practically do not bother the plant. The only one who can harm is spider mite
. It appears at very low humidity. Useful information: Every day, inspect the leaves of the plant for diseases and harmful insects
Video: How to grow a banana at home?
Growing bananas at home is not at all difficult. It is important to simply follow all the care rules - and after a while you will be able to taste the fruits of your efforts. Which looks like a tree, which is where it gets its name. A lot of people grow it on However, you can please yourself with it by sheltering it at home. Let's figure out how to plant this plant and how to care for a banana in the conditions.
To prevent the plant from growing excessively, its top is shaped into the required shape. But pawpaw is needed only for the decorative formation of the trunk, and also for sanitary purposes. The flowers and fruits of this plant are formed on last year's shoots, so every year it is necessary to prune adult plants. This is done most often before the start of the growth period before sap flow - in early spring.
Due to the fragile measles system, you need to be very careful when transplanting pawpaws. If such a need arises, you need to do this by transferring it into larger containers. The transplantation process is carried out only in the spring. During this period, the banana tree is in a period of active growth and the plant will grow stronger much faster after transplantation.
The plant will begin to bloom no earlier than 2-3 years of life, and bear fruit no earlier than 5-6 years of life. This usually occurs in April and lasts up to 3 weeks. The fruits of the banana tree will be ready to eat at the end of summer.
Important! The soil in which pawpaw grows should not be allowed to dry out completely during the winter. This can lead to the death of the plant.
Pawpaw cannot self-pollinate, insects and hummingbirds help her with this in nature. If there is a strong desire to get fruits, the owner of the plant can try artificial pollination, but the likelihood of getting fruits still remains small. Artificial pollination is carried out when the color of the pollen turns brownish and the pollen itself becomes loose. The tips of the pistils should be sticky at this point and have a glossy green color. You can get fruits at home if you try to create the most Better conditions and carry out pollination correctly.
