pj_in_oc_california

Hi all,

I am new to bananas. I have a bottomless planter against a block wall that is 10’ long by 40” wide. I am wondering if this is large enough to grow a Dwarf Namwah banana. I read that mats are 4’ by 4’.

Also, how close together can I grow bananas? I was thinking of also planting a Dwarf Cavendish.

Thanks,
PJ

Chironex

It should work fine for size. Yes, two dwarfs will fit in there just right. Welcome to the group! If you haven't already done so, perhaps making a post in the new member forum will introduce you to all of the members.

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pj_in_oc_california

How close together should I plant my 2 dwarfs? 5 feet apart?

Thanks
PJ

Worm_Farmer

Good Question! I try to put my non-dwarf's 10 - 15 feeet apart. Keep in mind that the plant will start to walk, or shoot up pups in all directions. If a dwarf really does have a corm that is half the size of a normal banana then 5 - 6 feet should be ok. Depending on how big the planter is they might just start fighting for resources after the matt expands. Have to keep in minds that Bananas root system goes out more so then down. Really good question as I have some Dwarfs that will need ground very soon, and I am running out of Yard space to put them all.

I think my point is if 10 - 15 feet apart is good for a ful size, then 5 - 7 feet should be plenty for a dwarf.

pj_in_oc_california

Hi,

Another question. I have an avocado tree 7’ away from where I want to plant my banana plant.

I water my avocado tree for an hour every 5 days. It is very healthy. I bought it in April and it is now over 6 feet tall.

I read to water my banana plant every day for 15 minutes during the growing season. Will this harm my avocado? The avocado is about 3 feet wide. Put another way, the limbs reach about 1 ½ feet into the 7’ distance between the prospective plants.

Thanks,
PJ

Worm_Farmer

Another Good Question, but you water by the hour? Whoa, Never thought to do that. I give my Avocado about a gallon of water a week if it does not rain. I did water it ever other day for a short time, then moved up to once a week. Now it seem that I hardly ever really water it but when I remember I give it about a gallon. I collect and use rain water, I only have a 32 gallon bucket for run off right now, so I kind of rations out the water . How long has the Avocado been there? You have a good chance that the run off water from the banana will get down to the Avocado, but keep in mind you will sill need to water the Avocado. I would move the sprinkler to water the opposite side of the tree. Avocado's can from big root systems, so keep kind that if the Avocado finds the water by the bananas it might grown more roots in that direction. If anything just water the Avocado less once your Bananas get going, and see how it acts.

As another side note, I give my Avocado a Cirtus Fert spike in Feb, and another one in July.

As for banana watering I water my in ground plants with 1 gallon a day right now sometimes I skip day. In summer I give them one gallon twice a day. Potted plants (3 Gallon pot) get no more then half a gallon or as needed.

pj_in_oc_california

HI,

I worked out my watering schedule for the avocado in the summer. The tree would go limp after 5 days and I would deep soak it. I haven’t actually been watering it so much this winter. We have had a lot of rain and I have been feeling the ground to see when it goes dry. I always deep water it whenever I do water however. I was just concerned that I don’t drown it with frequent watering 7 feet away.

Thanks for everyone’s responses.

PJ

lorax

Here's how it works for me - I have had bananas much closer to an Avocado (and uphill of it to boot) than yours is to the planter, and I was never able to drown it, regardless of what kind of water I was giving to the bananas. That garden was in tropical semidesert conditions, and in the peak heat I was soaking three times a day for an hour each time. So long as you have good drainage I can't see there being a problem; Avocadoes are actually thirstier than most people think.

Worm_Farmer

I guess I just never Deep Soak / Water, I find that in my yard once you dig down about 3 Feet you get past the Rich top soil / compost then hit Clay / Shale that does not drain well and always seems pretty wet no matter what time of year. I am pretty sure once my plants have the roots to each this clay they start doing much better.

To be honest I was starting to think my Avocado needs something because the leafs use to be MUCH darker when it was a little younger. Now them seem a light color green, but the new growth is still nice and red so I blew it off.

This year I will try extra water and see what happens. I will have to snap a pic of it and post it. My Avocado was stated from seed just after April last year. It took a while to get the seed into a pot, then upgrade, then ground.

lorax

Ah, see, and my soils are black loam for about 5 feet and then sandy gravel below that. So I never really worry about drainage.

WF - I'd love to know if your Avocado throws edible fruits once it's big enough. N.American commercial varieties don't normally come true from pits, but Ecuadorian ones do. Go fig.

damaclese

i don't know if this will relate but here in the desert we have to water a grate deal but i have never watered my gardens more then every other day 20mints at a time and iv had problems with claroses i think its important to remember that when you water in high amounts we are washing nutrients out of the soil so if its really hot and you have to water often ember to add not only higher levels of firt but to make sure you keep the micros up to i have to add iron at least ones a year are soil if you can call it that is a type of hard packed gravel with coble stones theres absolutely no organics in it we have to add almost every thing but on the bight side it drains well LOL

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lorax

I was top-dressing with good compost every 2 months to make sure the soils didn't lose anything. Pauly, at least your heat was a dry heat - where I was it managed to be not only 45C but also 80% humidity, because although the valley was a desert, it was surrounded by wet forest.