Dentate

Hi all,

Thanks for having such a useful site devoted to the banana enthusiast! I am very new to the world of growing bananas and figured a discussion around my thoughts and plans would be useful for me; this will ensure my efforts are headed in the right direction. Thus, I would appreciate your critiques of my current game plan.

In the last two weeks I received, via mail order, Musa acuminata 'Siam Ruby' and Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' (Red Abyssinian) pups. They suffered pronounced damage during shipping, but each has put up one new leaf since planting and look okay to my eye.

I'm currently planning on growing them exclusively indoors as I live atop a Northern California hill directly adjacent to a windy valley, so quite forceful winds can arise unexpectedly, and I'd rather not subject the plants to that treatment. I realize there may be a size problem for the Abyssinian, but we do have 11+ foot ceilings where it will be located and anticipate it will not grow to full height indoors... hopefully.

Here are my thoughts/plans based upon data obtained from this site and other sources:

Lighting: They are currently by north and west facing windows during the day (south facing is not a option) and under two 96 watt 6700k CF bulbs at night. Their planned final location has moderate indirect sunlight with only 1 hour or so of direct sun. I am thinking about obtaining a T5HO 40,000 lumen fixture as they mature with the possibility of adding another bank later. My real preference would be a 1000 watt MH, but my wife doesn't like the appearance, and you know who would win that argument.

Soil: This seems to be a hotly debated topic. They are currently in Miracle Grow with 50% pebbles/coarse sand to improve drainage. I'm considering switching to a 50% perlite/sphagnum peat moss mix with dolomitic lime, Mycorrhizae, and worm castings as supplementation.

Pots: They are in 8" pots, which I will upgrade to 20+" as growth dictates.

Fertilizer: At present they are getting a 24-8-16 mixture once every two weeks, or so. I will likely change this to a 20-20-20 mix. I'm not sure what brand would be best.

Watering: I wait until the soil is dry to 0.5" and then I water.

Additional Care: I have been misting them daily and keep standing water adjacent to the pots in the hopes of increasing humidity and hindering pests.

Thanks in advance for the advice and critiques!

Best,

Robin

Dentate

Okay, it's been several days without a response. I'd guess that it is related to one of three possible scenarios:

1) The pure genius of my plan does not warrant a response (highly unlikely).

2) My ass backwards approach to bananas would require a manuscript of moderate length to correct, and no one has the time to prepare such a response (more likely).

3) There are too many points contained within a single post deterring a response (possibly synergistic with number 2).

Regardless, I am still interested in hearing the thoughts of nanar peeps. Thanks!

Robin

Dean W.

Your plan sounds great, but why do you want to change the fertilizer?

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sunfish

Dentate

Thanks, Dean! I was planning on using 20-20-20 because it has a higher K and P content. My understanding is that bananas need high K, and elevated P is beneficial for growing/fruiting plants. My current fertilizer also does not have Mg or Ca, which I would like to be present.

Thanks, Tony. I did evaluate Wikisoil previously, which was helpful in developing the aforementioned cocktail (along with other posts and websites). That said, if you see any issues with my planned mix please let me know.

nannerfunboi

nanner novice here too..but ive gleaned alot for great people here
richard has posted many superb posts on fertilizer needs of our beloved
nanners..
my understanding is nitrogen and potash are more needed by bananas
than phosphate..
i use a mix of my own compost tea(made from rabbit manure) banana
fuel ( 15:5:30 ) and water soluable kelp/fulvic/humic powder..
my reasoning is bumping up the N from the rabbit manure tea..
i think richard says N:P ratio needs to be around 1:1.5 ratio
correct me richard if im way off here..
this yr im also going to give a try with bat guano (5:2:10) in my fertilizing
and see.. i'll be using this on my tomatoes too.. but with more
K and P at the start of summer to get better fruiting..
this works seems to work for me here..utah..and my soil composition..
i do have added alot of compost to my gardens over the yrs..
good luck to ya

Dentate

Thank you, Nanner. I will probably play with the ratios a touch. In the end, it seems that there are a variety of ways to produce happy banana plants.