Q. Where can I get mail order bananas?
A. See Sources
Q. How much fertilizer should I use?
A. Ideal care for a banana plant includes 1lb. of a 6x6x6 fertilizer every month.
Q. How much water does a banana plant need?
A. Ideal care for a banana plant includes about 1 inch of water every 3rd day. Note: temperature and humidity can significantly effect water needs.
Q. How big will a banana plant grow?
A. It depends on the variety. Of the 26 varieties I have grown, height ranges from 5ft. to 25ft. with the average being at 10ft.
Q. How often does a banana plant produce fruit? And when?
A. A typical banana plant will produce fruit within 18 months depending on the growing consitions. In a sub-tropical climate fruit is produced year round. A plant will produce fruit only once. After the fruit is harvested, the plant should be cut down to allow room for the next generation.
Q. Are bananas the most popular fruit in the world?
A. Why of course. In the U.S. they account for about 70% of all our fruit imports. They grow year round, they are eaten all over the world and they have cultural origens going back 1000's of years. Bananas produce the highest yield of crop per acre than any other plant. And they taste pretty darn good.
Q. How close together should I plant my bananas?
A. Bananas should not be planted closer than 5 feet to each other. The natural growth pattern for bananas is to form a mat (a cluster) of plants. Ideal conditions call for the removal of unwanted suckers and keeping the mat to 3 or 4 plants at different stages of maturity. This adds stability to the parent tree bearing the weight of the fruit. Suckers can be removed and shared with your friends or planted in other parts of your yard.
Q. What's the best banana plant to try to grow?
A. My first plant was one I dug up from a relatives backyard. It even had fruit on it at the time. The fruit matured and the plant soon sent up new suckers. For most situations I would recommend buying corms from a reliable source so you know what you are getting. Garden stores often sell ornamental varieties that do not produce fruit (burrow bananas). My first plant was a Dwarf Cavendish. Try www.going-bananas.com - I have no affiliation with them but I have purchased plants from them.
Q. What's the best time of year to plant bananas?
A. In Florida it's always the right time to plant bananas. The plants do not follow a regular growing season. Banana plants produce fruit when the plant reaches maturity. This typically is 12-16 months, but if conditions are poor it could take up to 2 years.
Q. Why do banans turn brown?
A. As fruit ripens it gives off a gas (). This gas ripens all kinds of fruit like apples, mangos, etc.
Q. How many bananas will my plant produce?
A. In the first 3 months of growing, a banana plant will "set" the number of fruit it will produce based on the growing conditions. All the fertilizer in the world will not encourage the plant to produce more after that. The only variable left after the tree has "set" is the size of the fruit. The best care for your banana is to provide plenty of water and fertilizer during the early growing phase. Different varieties will produce different amounts of fruit. A Cavendish may produce 80 bananas weighing 60 lbs, a Rhino Horn may produce 6 bananas weighing 2 lbs each.
Q. Are bananas bad for the planet?
A. Bananas produce more food per acre than any other crop. Planting thousands of acres of anything in one location is not a good idea. Commercial motives tend to overtake our judgement and things can get out of hand. In the "Banana Republics" of Central America like Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua mono-cultures open the door to disease. Commercial growers favor one or two banana varieties and then they are driven to use pesticides and fertilizer to maintain production. I do not try to defend or understand the cultures of these regions, but let us not forget they also employ 1,000's of people on these plantations. I encourage everyone to try organic fruit when given the option. Bottom line is, greedy people are bad for the planet.
Q. Are bananas good for my diet?
A. Bananas are a good source for potasium and vitamin C. Potassium helps breakdown acis produced during exercise so you could say they are part of a good exercise routine.
Q. Are bananas bad luck for fishermen?
A. Who the heck ever thought of that? Sea captains of the 17th century spread that rumor to keep people from bringing bananas onboard which often carried with them spiders and snakes. Maybe an occasional slip on a banana peel drove the idea home. And from that story we still have 21st century captains on million dollar yachts with the same superstition.
