Bananas In Containers
 

Hi I am new to the site. I tried growing Hardy Bananas in containers las season with poor results. Can this be done?

Thanks!

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

Certainly can, all mine are in containers in the UK and grow very well. You need to pay special attention to watering and feeding to get the best out of them though and of course use the largest container you can.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

welcome old glory! yes you can grow nanas in containers in the house. i have overwintered almost 30 nanas in pots. but if you do grow them in pots the amount of light and water can be an issue. water too much and you get root rot, not enought light and you get yellow leaves. its almost like walking a wire. we have an archive here at the org. scroll down to the bottom of the page, its on the right side at the bottom and read away. if you have questions no matter how small the question might seem post it and ask. the info here is great. we are all here to help each other. were glad you joined the org!:0518:

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

Good luck, Old Glory, I overwintered a Raja puri this year indoors. It's not looking so hot right now, but others here do a great job.

Dean

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

I'm new too, and I was wondering how I would go about growing a banana plant indoors.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

They aren't the best house plants.:0491: In my opinion. I would suggest outdoors.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

I think they make lovely house plants, sure they wount be as nice as they would be outdoors, but thats not to say they wont grow and you wont enjoy them. I flowered 5 different bananas in my house in Colorado. It depends on what variety you are growing, and what you want from the plant, but you can grow dwarf edibles in large containers and get fruit, the ornamental types are fairly easy as well. The most important thing is to make sure they have as much sun as you can give them, and to keep them warm and watered. The potting media should be a light, well draining mix (there are other threads on this subject).


All grown indoors in containers...

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

beautiful plants for inside!!
last year when I putted my plants inside they started to rot, so this year i have to give them less water.
all my musas are also in containers/pots because i dont have space to grow them in my yard.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

Thanks for all the responses. I was hoping to grow them in pots outside. I tried it last year and they did not do to well. I used a mix of potting soil and top soil with composted manure mixed in. They were in a sunny spot getting full sun for at least 6 hours.

Any tips or advice?

Thank you.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

how bigger the pots, how bigger the plants, also give them LOTS of water and very much fertilize, you almost can't over-fertilize a musa:D

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

I think pot size helps, last year I used ten gallon. Ten gallon seem to be fine for small Musa Ornata types but too small for big Musa and Ensete. A Musa 'African Red' ( Gabe plant) flowered in a ten gallon pot, it was a smallish pup in June. Watering is a daily job , sometimes twice a day in the hot weather of Maryland.
Brugmansia's did great in Ten Gallon pots. A lot of Colocasia were not so good , Alocasia was fine. I'm going to try and get some bigger pots for this year.
Later
Steve

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

Use all potting soil --topdress with the composted manure. Don't have them sitting in a saucer or etc, and if they are sitting directly on the ground, don't be surprized if they root right through the holes in the bottom of the pot and into the ground. All of mine did that last year. When they get bigger and temps are warmer-water, water, water and use lots of fertilizer, such as miracle grow, etc. At least 200 ppm daily, with each watering.
When they root into the ground, they quit blowing over!

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

i have a musa zebrina or blood banana, a lil prince and a high color mini musa, that will all stay in pots over the summer. sandy is right, if you put them outside leave the drip tray off. to much water collecting in these little pans can cause root rot. and they also breed misquitos. just make sure you keep them well watered and fertalized. gabe the pics of your nanas are beautiful.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

Gabe, those are some cool pics. Thanks for sharing. :baloonnaner:

Dean

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

Steve (or anyone!)-

Would a Basjoo "max" out (attain max height) in a whiskey barrel (half)? I've got one going right now, but its still small. Must be about 30 gallons or so...



I might start doing them all in these if they can attain 10Ft+ heights... My soil isn't great... its mostly sand!

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

I would say yes, you should certainly get to 10 foot and beyond i got a basjoo to 7ft in a container much smaller than that in the uk

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

Good to hear. I've got 3 more that will be put in big containers.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

I'd put a prettier banana than a basjoo in it if I was doing containers, they are really nice and hardy, but in my opinion, a little boring to look at. Rajapuri, bordelon, ice cream, ensete maurelii, hua moa are all more visually pleasing to look at, in my opinion.

Re: Bananas In Containers
 

I just have Basjoo, Sikkmensis, SDC...