Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreubber
I read today that castor beans and coffee bean trees also are good companions to bananas.
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Please understand that this whole idea of "companion plants" is B.S. from certain sectors of the nursery industry -- they want to sell you more plants. There is no horticultural basis for "companion plants".
On the otherhand, there is a basis for "indicator plants". For examples, plants that start to show stress prior to the main crop ... as an indication of low/high water, nutrients, etc.
Another term is "cohabitable plants" -- those that thrive in the same cultivation environment without disturbing the prime crop. For bananas grown outdoors year-round, pineapples are a good choice. Coffee is an extremely poor choice -- although they enjoy the shade their roots are extremely aggressive and out-compete the bananas.