Banana basics of growing and caring briefly. Secrets of growing pawpaw at home

We've already looked at it, and we didn't find anything complicated about it. The same situation applies to bananas. Perhaps the most difficult thing about growing it at home is finding suitable variety, and then it’s a matter of desire and effort.

Types of indoor bananas

They can be divided into two main categories - decorative and fruit.

What is remarkable is that both of them bear fruit. But the fruits of the decorative banana are completely inedible. At the same time, a decorative banana looks more impressive in appearance. And it is smaller in size than a fruiting banana. Its species, suitable for growing at home, rarely exceed one and a half meters, which is comparable to the size of the usual yucca. These types include velvety banana And banana lavender. But the most popular among gardeners banana bright red. In addition to the fact that it is very beautiful, its height does not exceed a meter, which even by the standards of a city apartment is not that much.

But among fruit bananas there are compact varieties that are quite suitable for indoor growing. The varieties “Kyiv dwarf” and “Kyiv superdwarf” have existed for quite some time. These are full-fledged bananas, producing the same full-fledged, edible fruits as we buy in stores. The height of the “dwarf” is one and a half meters, and the height of the “super dwarf” is one meter. If the room allows, then you can pay attention to the varieties “Dwarf Cavendish” and “Velvet Pointed”. At good care and under appropriate conditions they can grow up to two and a half meters.

How to grow banana at home

Lighting

When choosing a place for this plant, you must be guided by the fact that banana is still a grass and grows very quickly. In just two to three years he will achieve that same goal. maximum size. But at the same time, this will only be possible if there is good lighting. Therefore, it is necessary to allocate a spacious area of ​​the room, well lit throughout the day, for it. If necessary, provide artificial lighting. Bananas react very painfully to lack of light. The plant looks depressed and growth stops.

Temperature

You should not think that if a banana is a tropical plant, then it needs constant heat. IN winter time it will easily tolerate a drop in temperature up to +16 degrees. But such a decline should not be allowed. Normal room temperature is quite acceptable for it. In summer it can be hotter, up to +30 degrees. Beware of cold drafts!

Watering, air humidity and fertilizing

You need to water the banana very carefully! It loves moisture, but its excess can destroy even an adult banana, not to mention a young plant. Water it generously, but only after upper layer the earth will dry out a centimeter or two, not earlier. Bananas will tolerate slight drying out calmly, but severe systematic waterlogging is unlikely. To water young plants, you can also use the “immersion” method, as for. Second important aspect watering a banana - temperature and water quality. Watering cold water unacceptable! Its temperature should be between +25 - 30 degrees. In this case, the water must be settled and, if possible, softened.

In the warm season, bananas are fed weekly, and in winter monthly.

Banana transplantation and adaptation

As I noted above, caring for a banana at home is not particularly difficult; getting the plant itself is much more difficult. Experienced flower growers Bananas are also grown from seeds. But, as a rule, they have mini-greenhouses with bottom heating, phytolamps, and a number of different stimulants in their arsenal. But most importantly, they have experience in such matters. For beginning gardeners, if they want to grow a banana at home, I advise you to buy a ready-made plant.

Important! Buy only young small plant. He has a much greater chance of adapting to your conditions. Adult bananas have a hard time adapting.

After a mandatory two-week quarantine (away from other indoor plants), you will have to undergo a series of transplants. Moreover, the younger the banana, the more there will be. The first transplant is immediately after quarantine. If the conditions you provide it are favorable, rapid growth of the root system will begin. You cannot plant a young banana straight into a large pot! This will inevitably cause waterlogging, acidification of the soil and death of the roots. Therefore, the size of the pot must be increased gradually. The signal for transplantation is the appearance of roots in drainage holes. On average, it can happen: transplants every two to three months.

In essence, this is not even a transplant, but a transfer of the banana into a larger pot. , with cleaning the roots from the ground, is not needed. Moreover, it is fraught with damage to delicate roots.

The soil for replanting bananas should combine nutritional value and lightness. It should allow air and water to pass freely.

Its recipe is not particularly complicated and does not require any exotic ingredients.

The basis of this earthen mixture is leaf soil.

To one liter of base add:

-100 grams of humus;

-200 grams of coarse river sand;

-50 grams of wood ash or ash.

Pay special attention. The minimum layer of drainage material should be at least 3 centimeters. As the pot increases, the thickness of the drainage layer also increases.

That's all. Follow these rules and you will succeed!

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There is an opinion that growing tropical or subtropical plant It's almost impossible at home. For example, banana is a tropical plant that loves humid and warm climates. How will he feel in indoor culture? And is it possible to grow a banana from a seed, and even eat homemade exotic fruits?

Features of the plant

Many people are accustomed to thinking of a banana as a palm tree and are extremely surprised that it is a large herbaceous plant. It is demanding to care for (you need to create conditions for it close to the tropics), but it is quite amenable home growing. Moreover, you can also get fruits.

The perennial representative of the Banana family literally does not have a trunk. What we consider the trunk of a “tree” is the closely spaced bases of elongated leaves (pseudostem). The rhizome (rhizome), hidden underground, is the true stem. Unusual plant, in which everything is not like other cultures, but “upside down.”

It belongs to monocarpic crops: after fruiting is completed, the above-ground part of the plant dies off. The rhizome gives rise to a new plant, forming shoots. A banana quickly grows its ground part: a leaf grows in a week. In indoor culture it begins to bloom in the third year. A flower forms at the top of the leaf. Moreover, a banana can bloom throughout the entire growth period, gradually forming a cluster of fruits that ripen unevenly.

Although banana is a herbaceous plant, in the wild it reaches great heights (9-12m). Low-growing (dwarf) varieties have been created specifically for cultivation at home.


Reproduction methods:

  • seeds;
  • basal shoots;
  • dividing the rhizome.

The bananas we eat are seedless. These are the fruits of the Cavendish varieties, which can only be propagated vegetatively. Those that can be grown from seeds are almost inedible: inside the banana there is an abundance of seeds and little pulp. They are grown for their decorative value.

Bananas can be propagated indoors in two ways.

  1. Plant with seeds. This will be a wild subspecies, strong and viable, but its fruits are inedible, because there is little pulp in them.
  2. Buy a sprouted plant. This is, as a rule, a varietal crop obtained vegetatively, capable of “bearing” tasty, edible fruits.

This is interesting

In some tropical countries, banana is the lion's share export. In terms of sales to other countries, this crop ranks 4th in the world, behind rice, wheat and corn. About 40 species are included in this genus.

Species grown indoors

Species are conventionally divided into two groups.

  1. Decorative, growing at home is intended to diversify the interior, for landscaping the apartment. Their fruits are also a kind of decoration, but they are inedible. These include bananas: velvety, lavender, bright red, Chinese dwarf. All of them reach about one and a half meters in height.
  2. Fruit species are decorative, and their fruits ripen with good taste qualities. These are pointed banana, dwarf Cavendish, super-dwarf Cavendish, Kiev dwarf, Kiev super-dwarf. Their height varies from one to two meters.

This is interesting

A Ukrainian breeder who was breeding this crop at home claims that the yield of the above species is 150 fruits from one “grass tree.”

The seeds of this crop take a long time to germinate, like most seeds of tropical plants. Therefore, you can buy an already germinated plant. If all care requirements are met, it will bloom and bear fruit in indoor cultivation. After purchasing, do not forget to replant the banana in soil suitable for it, making drainage and creating the necessary conditions for growth.

Tropical plant from seeds: difficult or simple?

Seeds can be purchased at the store. As a rule, a package contains 3-4 seeds. According to customer reviews, they sprout, but not as quickly as we would like.

How to properly plant at home? Let's look at it step by step.

  1. The seed has a dense shell, so it will be difficult for it to hatch. To do this, there is a technique called scarification: the durable shell needs to be filed down, but without piercing or damaging the contents. The main thing is to allow the sprout to come out into the light.
  2. You can plant the seeds in separate containers, or in a planting box at a distance of 15 cm between future seedlings.
  3. A separate technique is to germinate seeds in advance in a damp coconut substrate mixed with perlite. The substrate is poured into a plastic bag, mixed with seeds. They tie it and pierce several holes in it. Place in a warm place, and after 2 weeks the hatched seeds are planted in pre-prepared pots.
  4. Potting substrate for banana seeds is river sand and peat (4:1). Feeding is not needed, but for further cultivation need drainage. You can prepare another soil mixture - this is forest turf with rotted leaves and needles. They are an excellent disinfectant. The mixture will have the following composition: forest turf, wood ash, sand and peat in equal proportions.
  5. Seeds planted at home in spring - summer period, germinate after 3-5 weeks, and autumn-winter planting will increase the duration of seedling emergence to 3-5 months.
  6. The seeds need to be distributed over the surface and lightly pressed into the soil, without covering them with soil, so that light falls on the seed. To preserve heat and moisture, place the container in a warm place and cover it with glass or film.
  7. The film is periodically opened so that the air does not stagnate. If the substrate dries out, then spraying with a spray bottle is necessary.

    There is no need to place the seedlings in direct sunlight. If mold appears on the surface due to insufficient ventilation, then this area must be removed, treated with potassium permanganate and aeration monitored.

  8. Growing a tropical plant and seed involves a long wait for the seedlings to emerge. It may take 2-3 months for green shoots to appear. Then their rapid growth begins, and after a week young bananas can be planted on " permanent place residence."


You don’t have to buy seeds in the store, but get them yourself from the appropriate varieties at home. If the ripe fruit is covered brown spots, then the seeds are ripe. Mash the pulp and remove them by hand. Rinse well. Soak in water for 2-3 days room temperature, we change the water periodically. Then we wipe the seeds and lightly scrape them. The seeds should be brown in color. After this, we plant according to the usual pattern.

If a tropical crop has grown to the ceiling, then you can trim the top. This will not prevent it from blooming and bearing fruit. But it's better to use dwarf varieties, which are specially created for growing at home. They also produce crops, tolerate cold, and are resistant to diseases.

A wide variety of varieties are grown at home tropical plants, and banana is no exception. You need to plant it according to all the rules and carefully care for it. And then sit down in a chair under a “palm tree” and feel like you’re on vacation in an exotic country.

Which looks like a tree, which is where it gets its name. A lot of people grow it on suburban areas However, you can please yourself with it by sheltering it at home. Let's figure out how to plant this plant and how to care for a banana in the conditions.

Biological features


Trimming

To prevent the plant from growing excessively, its top is shaped into the required shape. But pawpaw is needed only for the decorative formation of the trunk, and also for sanitary purposes. The flowers and fruits of this plant are formed on last year's shoots, so every year it is necessary to prune adult plants. This is done most often before the start of the growth period before sap flow - in early spring.

Do I need special care in winter?

heat-loving but frost-resistant plant. Withstands temperatures down to -30°C. In winter, he definitely needs it. In winter, during the dormant period, he needs the plant much less often. Water for irrigation in winter should be at room temperature. Due to heating in winter, the air in apartments often becomes very dry, so you can periodically spray the plants. In winter, it is reduced to a minimum or not carried out at all.


Transfer rules

Due to the fragile measles system, you need to be very careful when transplanting pawpaws. If such a need arises, you need to do this by transferring it into larger containers. The transplantation process is carried out only in the spring. During this period, the banana tree is in a period of active growth and the plant will grow stronger much faster after transplantation.

Flowering and fruiting

The plant will begin to bloom no earlier than 2-3 years of life, and bear fruit no earlier than 5-6 years of life. This usually occurs in April and lasts up to 3 weeks. The fruits of the banana tree will be ready to eat at the end of summer.

Important! The soil in which pawpaw grows should not be allowed to dry out completely. winter period. This can lead to the death of the plant.

Pawpaw cannot self-pollinate, insects and hummingbirds help her with this in nature. If there is a strong desire to get fruits, the owner of the plant can try artificial pollination, but the likelihood of getting fruits still remains small. Artificial pollination is carried out when the color of the pollen turns brownish and the pollen itself becomes loose. The tips of the pistils should be sticky at this point and have a glossy green color. You can get fruits at home if you try to create the most Better conditions and carry out pollination correctly.


Amateur flower growers are always attracted by the opportunity to grow some exotic plant at home, unusual for the area. Surely every person had a dream to have fragrant citrus fruits or ripe bananas on hand. Today you will learn how to grow a banana at home from the seeds of a purchased fleshy fruit.

Description of banana plant for home cultivation

If you doubt whether you can grow a banana at home, then the answer is yes, you can, but be prepared for the fact that this is quite a troublesome task. To grow a banana at home, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this plant:

  • Tropical varieties grow up to 10-12 meters, and the domestic banana tree is dwarfed, and its height does not exceed 2 meters.
  • The foliage is about 1.5 m long and 30 cm wide.
  • The bases of the leaves fit so tightly to each other that a pseudostem (plant trunk) is thus formed.
  • And the stem itself (rhizome) is hidden underground. It has the shape of a ball, and at the same time serves as the roots of a tree.
  • The main inflorescence grows from the middle of the pseudostem, which dries out after the fruiting process ends.

Important! Remember that a banana is not actually a tree. In theory, it is a perennial herbaceous plant.

  • The life span of a banana is about 40 years. New pseudostems grow in place of the ones that dry out. If growth occurs on an industrial scale, then reproduction occurs by dividing the rhizome, in other words, basal shoots are planted. When a shoot is removed from the rhizome, it retains everything varietal characteristics plants. But specimens grown from seeds are used for decorative purposes.

Varieties of banana for home

Modern gardeners grow with equal success both decorative “trees” for the purpose of decorating a room and plants with tasty, juicy fruits. On average, such specimens grow from 2 to 2.5, and mini bananas only reach 1-1.5 meters.

TO fruit varieties, popular for growing at home, include the following bananas:

  • pointed;
  • Cavendish is a super-dwarf;
  • dwarf Kyiv;
  • superdwarf Kyiv.

TO decorative varieties exotic plants include:

  • lavender;
  • velvety;
  • Chinese dwarf;
  • bright red.

These varieties bloom brightly and beautifully, but the fruits of the banana tree of these varieties are inedible and small.

Germinating seeds from a store-bought banana

If you are interested in how to grow a banana from seeds, then first you need to buy wild fruits in the store. They are extremely rare, but ordinary fruits are not suitable, since they are harvested for export while their seeds are in an embryonic state. Wild fruits are small in size and contain dark seeds in the pulp.

If you manage to find the desired fruit, make sure that there is no damage to the skin. To extract seeds from a purchased banana with your own hands, you need to follow these steps:

  • Fetus yellow color put in plastic bag, after which they wait until the peel completely darkens.
  • After this, the fruit is removed, the pulp is peeled, and a cut is made along the middle. Using a sharp object, remove the seeds from the inside and place them one at a time on a paper napkin.

Important! You should carefully sort through the seeds, since only round-shaped grains are suitable for planting, and flat specimens should be selected and thrown away.

  • After the seeds are separated from the pulp, they are thoroughly washed.
  • Pour the resulting seeds warm water, then leave them alone for 3 days.
  • At the end of the three-day period, rinse and dry the seeds.
  • After completing the preparation process, an inert substrate will be required. For these purposes, coconut or sphagnum moss are suitable, which can be easily purchased in gardening stores. The substrate is sterilized with steam before use, then waits until it cools, mixes with perlite and pours over a solution of potassium permanganate.

If you do not have the opportunity to purchase coconut or sphagnum, you can use a mixture of peat and coarse sand in proportions of 1:3. To do this, cover the bottom of the container with drainage material (gravel, broken brick, polystyrene foam), on top of which place a layer of substrate 5-6 cm thick. Press the seeds thoroughly into the bedding mixture, then water the plant.

The shell of banana seeds is very dense, so before immersing them in the soil, its integrity should be mechanically disrupted. This can be done by rubbing the surface sandpaper, scratching or making superficial cuts with a manicure file. It is important not to overdo it and damage the core.

The process of appearance of the first shoots takes from 2 to 3 months.

Important! Seed extraction is a labor-intensive process, so we recommend purchasing ready-made seeds at a gardening store.

Replanting a germinated plant

Before you grow a banana tree, you need to take care of replanting it from a germinated seed. The action plan is as follows:

  • Take the topmost layer of soil (5-7 cm) from under a hazel, linden, birch or acacia tree.
  • Add sand, humus and ash to the collected substance in proportions 10:2:1:0.5. Mix the resulting composition and place in the oven to bake for 5-10 minutes.

  • Cover the bottom with drainage material, and pour moistened sand on top of it. After the sand, place the prepared warm ground, baked in the oven.

Interesting! To prevent the pot from touching the tray, place a lattice or a few pebbles between them. This way, air can penetrate to the roots without obstruction.

  • The sprouted seed is deepened into the soil to a depth of about 2 cm, lightly sprinkled and watered.
  • The indoor plant must grow, and the roots will eventually “take over” the entire area of ​​the pot. In this case, the banana must be transplanted into a larger container.

Rules for caring for an indoor banana tree

look after exotic plant quite simple:

  • Loosen the soil regularly.
  • Water abundantly, but infrequently. The drying of the top layer of soil in a pot 1-2 cm deep will serve as an indicator.
  • Spraying in summer is done daily, and in winter it should be done once a week.
  • It is necessary to strictly monitor compliance temperature regime so that the tree does not dry out. Optimal temperature for height +25+30. Less is possible, but already at +15 the development and growth of the plant slows down significantly.

  • At proper care The banana grows and develops at an accelerated pace, and after 11-15 leaves appear, the tree begins to bloom.
  • Lighting for indoor tree extremly necessary. Place the pot on the south and east side of the home, and provide additional lighting in the winter.
  • Fertilizing should be done systematically. It occurs once a week in the summer using humus and wood ash. Take 200 grams of humus, dilute it in a liter of water and leave for a day for the solution to infuse. Introduce into the soil during watering.

  • Once every six months, water the tree with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
  • It is better to exclude inorganic fertilizers.
  • IN natural conditions the tree can be affected by root nematodes: black weevil, roundworms, fungus. At home, pests practically do not bother the tree; sometimes it turns out to be a problem spider mite, appearing at low humidity.

You can skip the period of preparing seeds and rooting sprouts, and just buy a banana tree at a gardening store, but growing exotic plants with your own hands is exciting, and the result is much more valuable. After all the effort, you can enjoy the result and surprise your guests with an exotic plant that can become the main decoration of your home.

Video: How to germinate a banana from a seed

We all love to eat bananas, and probably many of you have wondered whether it is possible to grow a banana at home in a pot on the windowsill, I hasten to answer. Growing a banana from seeds in a pot at home is quite easy.

There are varieties of bananas that can withstand big differences temperatures and grow well in small pots, such as the dwarf banana variety. The first question that is usually asked is whether the grown banana tree will bear fruit? And the answer is yes, a banana grown from fruit seeds will bear fruit in the 3rd to 5th year of cultivation.

The banana tree is a lush green, fast-growing plant with large oblong leaves, the banana palm can add a tropical look to any location. Because banana is not a tree, but a grass. Many varieties become beautiful indoor plants who don't need large quantities care and grow very quickly. Dwarf banana varieties can grow up to 4 meters in height. Compared to regular banana trees which can reach up to 15 meters in height.

How to plant a banana?

In our stores and markets we sell hybrid bananas of the Cavendish banana variety, which do not contain seeds; more precisely, there are seeds in the banana, but they are so small that they are not noticeable. These bananas are grown specifically for commercial purposes. Cavendish bananas are propagated only by root shoots or pieces of rhizome, which are separated from the mother plant. IN wildlife, bananas spread through seeds, and varieties that contain seeds usually have almost no edible pulp, and such bananas, to put it mildly, do not taste very good.

If you want to grow a banana at home and get edible fruits, you need to buy a decorative banana seedling, and if the goal is to grow only ornamental plant then you can plant a banana from a seed

Banana varieties that can be grown at home

Here is a small list of banana varieties that grow well at home. These dwarf varieties of banana trees grow no more than 1.5 m - 4 meters in height, and feel great in a hill.

Red dwarf banana
Dwarf Cavendish banana
Banana dwarf Brazilian
Jamaican dwarf banana
Rajapuri Banana
Banana Williams (Williams Hybrid)
Banana Gran Nain Gran Nain
Banana lady fingers

Banana Kyiv dwarf

How to plant banana from seeds

Before planting banana seeds in the ground, they need to be “awakened”; to do this, the hard skin of the seed is cut on one side with a knife (this allows the seed to germinate easily and quickly) and the seeds are soaked in warm water for a day (24 hours).

Plant the seeds in small pots 8–10 cm wide. Fill the pot halfway with a light soil mixture enriched with plenty of organic compost, place a banana seed in it and top it with a small ball of soil. Be sure to water thoroughly until excess water comes out of the bottom of the pot, and keep the soil constantly moist.

The time it takes for seeds to germinate depends on the variety. Some germinate in 2-3 weeks, and some varieties take more than 2 months, so be patient.

After the seed germinates and reaches a height of 10–12 centimeters, the bananas need to be transplanted into a larger pot; the plant must be replanted using the transshipment method so as not to damage the root system.

Banana propagation by root shoots

As mentioned above, the banana is a giant herbaceous plant that sprouts from an earthen bulb. And over time, the rhizome bulb grows and sprouts new shoots; for propagation, a young shoot with a small piece of root is broken off and transplanted into a separate pot.

It is worth mentioning that you can tear off shoots only after all the bananas on the plant have ripened, and in no case should you cut off all the shoots, it is important to leave one. If you tear off all the shoots from the rhizome of a banana, mother plant will die.

The cut bulb should be replanted in a pot with drainage and a light soil mixture to prevent stagnation of water in the pot and to ensure proper ventilation for developing roots.

After the bananas are transplanted, they need to be provided with bright light, temperatures in the range of 20 - 30 degrees and high humidity 60 – 90 %.

Care and conditions for growing bananas

Light/sun

Banana trees grow in tropical and subtropical parts of the world and therefore they love sun, warmth and high humidity air. If you want to grow a banana tree at home, you need to place the plant pot in a sunny place, preferably on the south side of the house. For a banana to grow well, it needs to be provided with at least 13 to 14 hours of daylight. If your windows face north or the daylight hours are less than 13 hours (winter season), you need to take care of illuminating the plant.

Soil for banana

The banana tree loves a “light” soil mixture, the soil should be slightly acidic or even neutral, the pH of the soil should be about 6 - 7. Of the purchased soil mixtures for growing bananas, “For palm trees” is well suited. But purchased soil contains a lot of coconut fiber, so AinoGarden recommends making the soil mixture yourself.

To do this, you need to take sand, perlite and compost or manure in equal proportions (manure can be replaced with peat). Such soil will be highly permeable to moisture and rich in organic matter.

Watering banana, humidity

Banana loves moisture very much. The banana tree needs to be watered regularly and abundantly; it is advisable to combine root watering and leaf watering (spray the plant), and there should be no standing water in the pot. In summer, bananas are watered every day, if it is very hot, even twice a day. In winter, watering is reduced and watered after the top layer of soil has dried.

To grow a banana at home, you need to constantly maintain high humidity in the apartment (or house) at 60-90%. To increase the level of humidity around the plant, you can place a vessel with water near the banana or carry out constant spraying.

Overwintering a banana tree

Banana tree stops growing when the temperature environment falls below 10°C, but if the temperature drops below 0°C the plant dies. Before the onset of winter, you need to do some heavy mulching of the soil and some trimming of the leaves. The prepared plant is transferred to a cool but bright room, away from radiators.

banana fertilizer

Banana, like any herb, is a fast-growing plant and requires constant fertilization to maintain growth. To a young plant To quickly gain green mass, you need to apply nitrogen fertilizer, organic - urea or mineral with NPK 30:10:10, once or twice a month. After the banana grows foliage, it should be applied mineral fertilizer for banana with more potassium, for good growth of fruits (bananas) NPK 15: 5: 30 with a frequency of 1-2 times a month.

Banana pests and diseases

Bananas are very resistant to disease, and the worst thing that can happen to it is flooding of the roots or an overabundance/insufficient fertilizer. If the banana leaves have darkened and dried out at the edges, this is definitely a flood and the roots are starting to rot. If the leaves turn yellow, the plant is lacking nutrients.

The main pests of banana trees in our area are common aphids, weevils and spider mites. It’s very easy to get rid of all these pests with the help of pesticides; I use Aktara on a regular basis.