CMatt527

Hi all this is my first post here, I'm looking for a little help with what looks like some fairly general questions. Sorry if these have already been answered in other posts but I couldn't find anything specific to do with Dwarf Brazilians in containers so figured I'd offer it up to the knowledge wielding masses here.

1. What size container would you recommend for a healthy fruiting plant? Anyone have any luck or experience with "Smart Pot" soft growing containers?

2. What soil mix would you use (I was contemplating 1/3 perlite 1/3 compost 1/3 peat per other threads here but if this variety has any preferences I lean on your knowledge and experience)

3. What fertilizer/s would you recommend and on what schedule for good container growth and fruiting?



A few specifics about me I live in Ventura, CA which is great for growing just about anything but I currently rent, so I'm restricted to container gardening for the time being. I grow lots of tropicals but am new to Banana's. I was inspired by the desire to grow "Hawaiian Apple" bananas here in CA after falling in love with them while visiting my wife's family in Hawaii, I currently have a Manzano in a 25 gallon container falsely believing that Manzano/Apple was the "Hawaiian Apple" banana, it's been fairing decently in desert mix and regular fertilization with a balanced 20/20/20 with minors but I'm looking to give my next banana venture the best possible foundation to start with. Mahalo in advance!

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sunfish

Smart Pots for Banana

Smart pots

Info:Soil - Bananas Wiki

Info:Fertilizer - Bananas Wiki

Smart pot photos???

CMatt527

Is there anything that anyone would recommend doing differently with a dwarf brazilian vs any other variety?

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Richard

You could try a 32" tree box but in the 2nd generation its going to break it apart. My Dwarf Brazilian is in its 3rd generation and will probably fruit this summer. The p-stem is 6 feet high (not counting leaves) and at the base it is 11 inches across. I trimmed the corm back last fall to its present size of about 6 cubic feet.

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CMatt527

Wow, I didn't realize that the corm itself would take up so much space! My manzano is in a 25 gallon and has 1 large pup 1 foot pseudo stem and 4 smaller pups around the main p-stem which is not quite 4'. My wife and I are planning on buying a house in the next few months, but I have a line on a few dwarf brazilians now and wanted to get them started before I can get them in the ground.
As I am just getting started in the world of bananas what is the benefit in or when does it become necessary to trim back the corm?

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Richard

I would thin those pups out now. You really only want the corm complex working on one fruit stalk. Pups will come monthly. Keep removing them. When the "mother" stalk produces a bud, let one of the emerging pups continue as next years' crop.

I have grown and fruited bananas in 15 and 25 gallon pots -- not purposely, but because not all nursery stock sells and at some time the plant is going to bloom. Both the quantity and the quality of fruit produced by these container grown plants was inferior to plants in the ground.

I really can't see the purpose of buying them now other than to satisfy the "banana growing" disease. Dwarf Brazilians will be available for years to come. Once you find a house, its going to take you months to set up irrigation, etc. If you absolutely have to buy one now, then get one and put it in a 15 gallon pot. I can't see buying two, because you can't afford a large enough lot to plant just one of all the varieties you will want to grow.

Some folks don't care about the corms turning into an ever expanding mat. I'm trying to keep each of my varieties focused in 6' x 4' area. So once they reached about 8-9 cu.ft. in size (2' wide, 4' long, 1' deep) I cut them each back to about a 2' x 3' area.

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venturabananas

If you are buying pups that have just been separated, I think there's no harm and maybe some benefit to starting them in pots. For me, I found it harder to overwater them in pots, when the are growing new roots. But once they are rooted, they are happier in the ground. An average fruiting-size Dwarf Brazilian would be too big even for a 25 gallon pot.

Dwarf Brazilian does great in Ventura and is delicious. There are some other good ones, and there are a couple of us in town who have a hard time getting rid of pups. Let me know if you want some pups.

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CMatt527

I would happily take some pups off your hands! I was thinking of starting them in containers with the plan of moving them in ground once I have the opportunity, what else do you grow? Is there anything that you have found that is a specific pro or con in our climate/and if the former any useful ways of mitigating it?

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CMatt527

On the topic of irrigation, what would be recommended for the hobbyist at home? I hadn't imagined much more than regular watering with a sprayer or a simple drip system, or a combination of both so I could take advantage of foliar fertilization. In college I worked a lemon and avocado orchard with a very elaborate irrigation system but for the home hobbyist hadn't given it much thought.

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venturabananas

I just water by hand. In my small yard, it takes me about half an hour a week or an hour at most, and that includes watering the lawn by hand. Would it be nice to have something more sophisticated, yes; is it worth the time and money to me, no. In our cool, damp, coastal climate, we just don't need to water very much.

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Richard

I have a 4-inch layer of coarse mulch which presently gets thoroughly soaked once per week. In mid-summer I'll probably increase it to twice per week.

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venturabananas

If you click on my username next to this post you'll be able to find details including which varieties I have. I have pups of several of those, but not all. Andy (BadPun) also lives nearby and has tons of varieties and pups.

The pro of our environment is that it never gets very cold or very hot. The con is that it seldom gets as warm as these tropical plants would like if they were going to achieve their maximum growth rates. The really tropical varieties, e.g., the Cavendish clones, some of the Hawaiian ones, etc. struggle through winter and probably aren't worth the hassle. On the other hand, many varieties like Dwarf Brazilian, the various Namwah clones (tall, dwarf, Misi Luki, etc.), and some others do great. But don't expect to see them growing at rates like the folks in Florida or the tropics get.

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CMatt527

Thanks Venturabanana's sent you a PM

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CMatt527

Thanks for the pic of your setup, is the corm in the ground beneath the mulch or is it in the mulch/impromptu raised bed?

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