How To Grow Banana Trees Growing Banana Trees In Pots

Growing Banana Trees in Pots is a simple way to include this amazing large foliage tropical plant in your home and garden, especially if you don’t have much space or you live in a cold climate. Not only for fruits, but you can also grow it for its beautiful big leaves.

Is banana a herb? Check out here

Can a Banana Tree in Pots Bear Fruits?

The first question that may arise in your mind would be whether you will be able to enjoy bananas if you grow them in pots. Well, don’t worry! It is possible! The banana tree bears fruits in pots prolifically.

If you plan to grow the plant using a bulb, sucker, or a young tree, which you can buy from a plant nursery–it will take 8-15 months to produce fruits.

However, the banana tree may even fruit early in 5 to 7 months after planting if you buy a young tree from a garden center if you’re growing in a favorable warm climate. Or, this would take more time, depending on the specific variety you choose to grow and the growing conditions, for example, if you live in a cold climate.

Incorrect temperature range, inadequate light, lack of humidity, and nutrient deficiencies can slow down the fruiting of banana trees considerably. Also, remember that while some varieties bear edible fruits, others don’t, such as Musa basjoo, which doesn’t produce palatable fruits.

Do bananas grow on trees or bushes? Check here

Growing Banana Trees in Pots

Banana is a lush green, fast-growing plant that can give any place a tropical look and feel. Many varieties become excellent houseplants that don’t need much care and grow up very quickly.

Choosing a Pot for Banana Tree

The banana tree needs deep and wide containers to grow. Ideally, opt for a pot 18-24 inches in depth and width or even more. Depth is important to growing bananas because the roots need plenty of space to expand.

You can even use wine barrels or plant them in large grow bags. 

Learn about the different banana varieties here

Growing Banana Trees in Pots in Tropics

Banana Varieties You Can Grow in Pots and Indoors

These dwarf varieties of banana trees restrict up to only 1.5 m to 4 m. (4 to 12 feet) tall and are suitable to grow in containers. You can also grow these banana varieties indoors.

• Dwarf Red
• Rajapuri
• Dwarf Cavendish
• Williams Hybrid
• Dwarf Brazilian
• Gran Nain
• Dwarf Jamaican
• Dwarf ‘Lady Finger’
• Ensete ventricosum
• Musa sikkimensis ‘Red Tiger’
• Musa ornata
• Hardy Banana

Find out which indoor plants look like banana trees here

Requirements for Growing Banana Trees in Pots

Sun

Banana trees grow in tropical and subtropical parts of the world and love the full sun, heat, and humidity. If you’re growing a banana tree, keep it in a spot that receives the sun most of the day but is sheltered from strong wind.

Soil

Banana trees require a well-draining growing medium. If you are making it at home, make sure to mix sand or perlite with compost or manure. Use sandy soil rich in organic matter and compost.

Banana needs slightly acidic to neutral soil to produce those potassium-rich nutritious bananas. The soil pH should be around 6-7. If your soil is too alkaline, use sulfur to decrease the pH.

Watering

Banana plant loves moisture. You should water it regularly during summer to keep it evenly and consistently moist. It may need water even two times a day in hot weather where temperature reaches above 100 F (38 C) in summer or when it is root-bound. So, water the tree regularly and profoundly but avoid waterlogging.

Banana Tree Care in Pots

Humidity

The banana plant prefers humidity levels above 50 percent but it doesn’t mind growing in dry air either.

Mist the plant and place it on a layer of pebbles in a tray filled with water if the plant is small and if you are growing indoors.

Fertilizer

Banana is a fast-growing plant and requires heavy feeding to grow to its full strength. Feed young plants with a fertilizer rich in potassium, nitrogen, and magnesium and other trace elements–any balanced fertilizer would be sufficient.

Also, side dress the pot with well-rotted manure twice in a year.

Once your banana tree in the pot becomes mature enough to produce fruit, start feeding it with a balanced low nitrogen fertilizer like 8-10-10 or 8-10-8 following the manufacturer’s direction.

Pests and Diseases

Some pests that might attack the banana plants are aphids, spider mites, banana weevil, and coconut scale. These pests can easily be repelled using organic pesticides.

To keep most diseases at bay, avoid over and under watering the plant.

Temperature

The plant grows best in a stable temperature range and prefers continental, coastal, and tropical weather. These plants can be grown easily in warm range of 50 to 104 F (10 to 40 C).

Overwintering a Banana Tree

Banana plants stop growing when temperatures are below 50 F (10 C). Before the onset of winter, do heavy mulching and prune extra leaves in fall.

Avoid exposing it to a temperature below 50 F or 10 C. If you live in a colder climate and growing it, start keeping the tree indoors in a cozy room before the arrival of winter. Set it next to a large window so that it can receive plenty of bright light.

Harvesting Bananas

Bananas are ready to fruit within 6 to 15 months and unlike other fruit trees, they fruit year round. The exact expected harvest season totally depends on your climate, you can enquire about this in your local nursery or ask other gardeners in your area that grow this.

Harvesting bananas is as easy as it gets. Look for the yellowest fruits in the bunch, and using a sharp knife, slice them cleanly, without damaging the rest.

Learn everything about banana peel tea here

• asdf
• September 26, 2016 At 3:06 am
• Try the local police department, I’m 100% certain they would be very keen to hear more about this project!
• Reply
• Adam
• April 22, 2019 At 8:23 pm
• They should really stop wasting their time and money on cannabis. That’s not what he meant with “pot cultivation”, I’m sure. Even if it was, who cares?
• Reply
• kb
• February 10, 2022 At 12:40 am
• i agree
• Reply
• magnusfl
• May 25, 2020 At 10:26 pm
• What an idiot your are when you can not understand the difference between a pot plant and a garden pot
• Reply
• Love Banana Trees
• March 24, 2021 At 4:57 am
• LOL. Yeah, I don’t think growing Banana Plants in a Pot, is Illegal, Anywhere.
• Reply
• mst
• April 1, 2021 At 10:26 am
• That was funny. Especially since I’ve grown bananas in pots rather frequently.
• asdf, if I grow pot in pots and you steal it, I will call the police. In California, if you steal someone’s pots it’s a crime!

I would like to know more about pot cultivation and where we can get seedling

• Adam
• April 22, 2019 At 8:23 pm
• They should really stop wasting their time and money on cannabis. That’s not what he meant with “pot cultivation”, I’m sure. Even if it was, who cares?
• Reply
• kb
• February 10, 2022 At 12:40 am
• i agree
• Reply
• magnusfl
• May 25, 2020 At 10:26 pm
• What an idiot your are when you can not understand the difference between a pot plant and a garden pot
• Reply
• Love Banana Trees
• March 24, 2021 At 4:57 am
• LOL. Yeah, I don’t think growing Banana Plants in a Pot, is Illegal, Anywhere.
• Reply
• mst
• April 1, 2021 At 10:26 am
• That was funny. Especially since I’ve grown bananas in pots rather frequently.
• asdf, if I grow pot in pots and you steal it, I will call the police. In California, if you steal someone’s pots it’s a crime!

Try the local police department, I’m 100% certain they would be very keen to hear more about this project!

• kb
• February 10, 2022 At 12:40 am
• i agree
• Reply

They should really stop wasting their time and money on cannabis. That’s not what he meant with “pot cultivation”, I’m sure. Even if it was, who cares?

i agree

• Love Banana Trees
• March 24, 2021 At 4:57 am
• LOL. Yeah, I don’t think growing Banana Plants in a Pot, is Illegal, Anywhere.
• Reply
• mst
• April 1, 2021 At 10:26 am
• That was funny. Especially since I’ve grown bananas in pots rather frequently.
• asdf, if I grow pot in pots and you steal it, I will call the police. In California, if you steal someone’s pots it’s a crime!

What an idiot your are when you can not understand the difference between a pot plant and a garden pot

• mst
• April 1, 2021 At 10:26 am
• That was funny. Especially since I’ve grown bananas in pots rather frequently.
• asdf, if I grow pot in pots and you steal it, I will call the police. In California, if you steal someone’s pots it’s a crime!

LOL. Yeah, I don’t think growing Banana Plants in a Pot, is Illegal, Anywhere.

That was funny. Especially since I’ve grown bananas in pots rather frequently. asdf, if I grow pot in pots and you steal it, I will call the police. In California, if you steal someone’s pots it’s a crime!

• Team BGW
• September 29, 2015 At 1:59 pm
• No problem! Please feel free to visit more often. We are here to serve gardening.
• Reply

i love learning about the plants & flowers. Thank you

No problem! Please feel free to visit more often. We are here to serve gardening.

• Team BGW
• November 7, 2015 At 3:07 pm
• Best of luck and we hope you’ll comment more on this.
• Reply

Thanks for the inspiration – we moved from the coast (Durban S.A) where bananas flourish, inland, to where the Summer is hot but, in Winter we get frost. My poor bananas recover only to get burnt again! I am determined to get them growing here too so into tubs they will go and under cover on the patio with the rest of my more delicate plants. Wish me luck!

Best of luck and we hope you’ll comment more on this.

I was given 2 Musa (Dwarf Red) banana tree’s. Live in wis. and i don’t want to kill them they are both about 9 inch tall. I have no idea how to keep them going.

Thanks for the knowledge.

great now where do you get em

• John
• December 10, 2016 At 9:35 am
• Florida Hill Nursery
• Reply
• Bweezy
• April 21, 2018 At 1:54 am
• I want to keep my banana tree in the house. I got it a year ago, it was 2 inches tall and it’s about 3 feet tall and grows about an inch or more a month. It’s supposed to produce small bananas. The leaves are almost as big as the back of a tall chair! Is there anything I can do to keep it from getting too tall? Can I trim the stalk or would that kill it?
• Reply

Yes, where do I get a banana tree?

Florida Hill Nursery

I want to keep my banana tree in the house. I got it a year ago, it was 2 inches tall and it’s about 3 feet tall and grows about an inch or more a month. It’s supposed to produce small bananas. The leaves are almost as big as the back of a tall chair! Is there anything I can do to keep it from getting too tall? Can I trim the stalk or would that kill it?

• Marie Nelson
• October 19, 2016 At 9:10 am
• I believe that Singarayan, in relation to pot cultivation, is referring to the cultivation of banana trees in pots, not marijuana.
• Reply
• Marie Nelson
• October 19, 2016 At 9:14 am
• The above comment was supposed to be in response to a post by “asdf”, it ended up in the wrong place through my own fault I’m sure.
• Reply
• Marie Nelson
• October 19, 2016 At 9:18 am
• Rhonda netzley I hope you’re not thinking that you actually place a banana in the soil. You can buy banana plants & I assume seeds as a reference was made to such. Don’t be expecting to put a banana in some soil in a pot and thereby grow a banana tree. It won’t work I’m afraid.
• Reply
• Lucy Morningstar
• June 15, 2021 At 12:00 pm
• Best way to start a new banana tree is to get an off shoot off off a mature one I just got one to start from my uncle it’s an ice cream banana tree!
• Reply

Do you just stick the Banana in the plot in the soil you lead part of it sticking out or do you have to route it how do you start it

• Marie Nelson
• October 19, 2016 At 9:14 am
• The above comment was supposed to be in response to a post by “asdf”, it ended up in the wrong place through my own fault I’m sure.
• Reply

I believe that Singarayan, in relation to pot cultivation, is referring to the cultivation of banana trees in pots, not marijuana.

The above comment was supposed to be in response to a post by “asdf”, it ended up in the wrong place through my own fault I’m sure.

Rhonda netzley I hope you’re not thinking that you actually place a banana in the soil. You can buy banana plants & I assume seeds as a reference was made to such. Don’t be expecting to put a banana in some soil in a pot and thereby grow a banana tree. It won’t work I’m afraid.

Best way to start a new banana tree is to get an off shoot off off a mature one I just got one to start from my uncle it’s an ice cream banana tree!

• Glen
• October 20, 2016 At 6:50 pm
• Give them plenty of feed, but the fruiting plant will die when the bananas are ready to eat.if the mother plant has pups then cut off and replant with roots attached.
• Reply

Hi, I got banana and plantain trees but I don’t know if I should fertilize them after flowered and fruits are showing already???? Need advice!!!!

Give them plenty of feed, but the fruiting plant will die when the bananas are ready to eat.if the mother plant has pups then cut off and replant with roots attached.

I have planted papaya in a large pot it’s grown to about 1 1/2 meters and stopped. Will it bear fruit. It’s about nine months old?

Interesting article, the only thing you left out was how to plant the banana?

• steve
• May 30, 2017 At 4:31 pm
• i’m growing a banana tree and have a couple of pups popping through the soil. should i remove these? will they affect the main trees ability to produce bananas? thanks, steve
• Reply
• A. Radzin Ayub
• November 2, 2017 At 8:45 am
• Yeah, you may remove and replanting it in a new pot. Yes, it will effect the mother tree, but in a good way. The mother tree will have all nutrient that she need without sharing it with the pup(s).
• Reply

How long does it take to fruit?

• A. Radzin Ayub
• November 2, 2017 At 8:45 am
• Yeah, you may remove and replanting it in a new pot. Yes, it will effect the mother tree, but in a good way. The mother tree will have all nutrient that she need without sharing it with the pup(s).
• Reply

i’m growing a banana tree and have a couple of pups popping through the soil. should i remove these? will they affect the main trees ability to produce bananas? thanks, steve

Yeah, you may remove and replanting it in a new pot. Yes, it will effect the mother tree, but in a good way. The mother tree will have all nutrient that she need without sharing it with the pup(s).

Thanks for the inspiration. I love learning about the plant

My wife and I love bananas, and I was curious about how you would go about growing them. It’s interesting that they actually grow well in sunlight, heat, and humidity. It would be interesting to see if we could pull off growing one.

I too believe that Singarayan, in mentioning ” pot cultivation”, is referring to the “cultivation of banana trees in pots”, and not meaning “pot” as in marijuana. Maybe wrong but would be interesting to hear from Singarayan as to what was meant. Good for a giggle though.

I’ve got a super dwarft cavendish banana plant & im in Phila.suberbs. I had my largest banana taken from yard of my apt yard last fall. It had gotten to a height of 4 feet.In winter I was told not to water as temps do get cool enough to having to move it indoors after fall comes.any advise to making it through winter to spring?

How do you actually grow the banana ? You have said everything else but not how to grow the actual banana, I would like to try but I don’t know how to start to grow it from the banana in the first place, please let me know, thank-you

Awesome information about plants in your web,I have many research in Net but honestly I can say you can’t find a article with many detail like your web site any where,thank you so much 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

I love this am just beginning farming, where can i get this variety in Nigeria, any help/idea or can I plant any variety in a pot?

Will a regular banana plant ( not dwarf) bear fruits if remsin planted in a pot?

I don’t have a lot of space inside my home for a growing tree. If I cut it down in late fall will it grow again in spring?

How long does it take for the fruit?? Thanks Julianne Laplante @jlaplante305

hello,I have a banana tree planed in a pot that I take in for the winter since I live in zone 6. I have two of them. I had them for three yrs. one stopped growing new leaves and got very brown. the stem got brown and soft and weak.all the leaves fell off. All I had left was the dying stem. There was a few pups growing so I cut them off and replanted them.they are growing ok but should I have left them till they got bigger. The other tree has also stopped producing new leaves but is still green and healthy looking and is shooting up new pups. I will just leave it and hope it starts to grow when the weather gets warmer. I cut back the other tree stem that I Thought was dead And it started to grow again. I have heard that banana trees do that after they flower and produce fruit,mine never did. Anyone what to do??? Because I don’t.

How to start a banana plant from home?

My mother took courses in botany when we lived in Panama for two years… many years ago. She learned Banana trees & cherry trees (among others) required both a male & female Banana tree to bear fruit. Since she did not have the ability to determine gender, she planted 10 Banana trees in the yard hoping for both genders, which got quite large in a short time; over 12 feet when we left but not long enough for fruit. You may have to manually pollinate inside. Use a soft feather. I’m sure the correct male/female trees can be special ordered from a knowledgeable professional Nursery owner which has fruit trees & advice. Make sure the fruit is edible & not ornamental. There also was a Catalog nursery in Missouri years ago where such things could also be ordered. But don’t ask Lowes or Walmart, etc. They don’t have anyone with enough knowledge. A professional locally owned family nursery with established years of experience is best. Cavendish, which is most popular, comes in full or dwarf size. Small patio greenhouses would be best for most of US to control humidity, heat, etc. You will also need vents, fans, heaters & water for the patio nursery & storage for nutrients, etc. You might also wish to get some dwarf lemon & orange trees. The leaves & flowers have a wonderful scent. Always check growth height for potential indoor plants.

• Sammi
• April 3, 2019 At 9:40 pm
• Thank you! That’s a lot of useful plant trivia. I appreciate it very much.
• Reply
• magnusfl
• June 4, 2020 At 5:33 am
• Commercial banana’s don’t have seeds. is wrong comment no natural or commercial banana has ever never had seeds they only bread but by roots or called pups just like pineapples which are much grower as they take 2 years to make a single pineapple but again send out root to make more you plants and they only thing thing can figure out why is simple the rotten fruit would fertilize the ground around it but add to that the wild life that would eat some of it would possible fertilize by by what pass out of them
• Reply

I dug out my mothers old Botany book & it might have some answers for several questions. According to the book, a banana tree only produces fruit once. So if you want more fruit, you have to take the sword suckers at the root base & replant them. It is a continuous, successive process.

Commercial banana’s don’t have seeds. They replant the sword suckers. Each plant only bears fruit once. They can grow 30 feet in 13-15 months with a main wrapped leaf stem (at the center) diameter of 16 inches. A very big plant. Needs summer watering 1-2 times daily & much less in winter. The commercial parent plants are cut down after harvest & they replant the suckers because the parent plants are of no more value to them after the single bearing of fruit. It doesn’t say whether the parent tree can survive after its one harvest, but I suspect it will still be viable as a non producing plant after harvest, but I can’t be sure. There will be several suckers on the mature banana plant on the corms (like a bulb) at the root base. The sword suckers grow from the corm according to the book. It is a small article in the Botany course book because it was a US college & US books. Since we don’t grow bananas except in Florida & near latitude areas, they skipped over the subject. No higher north than 30 degrees LAT. Better buy dwarf plants unless you have room for a 30 ft banana plant indoors. You can get dwarf Cavendish. Don’t grow from seeds. They have none. The nursery (greenhouse) can order the starter plants for you the first time. After that, you can replant the suckers from your mature tree if you want more bananas & keep the barren mature plants for decoration if they survive after harvest. Also, if you live in a HOA, they may have tree rules. I had a friend who planted a full grown $30,000 fan shaped travelers Palm in front of her house in California. It took cranes & backhoes to plant that 25 ft tall fan shaped palm. It wasn’t HOA approved. A dwarf hidden in your backyard, might get you past rules. Some rules are downright absurd and they will sneak behind your fence & house to see. I only lived in one HOA for a year and they cited me for having my car parked in my own driveway more than 12 hours when I was on vacation & it was on a curved area mostly hidden behind the house & barely visible. They will go to extremes. I thought they were insane. It was a rent home & no one mentioned HOA. These were all different homes. Not a planned suburb. Just thought I would mention it. A Condo, townhouse or apt may also have similar balcony or patio rules about approved trees & plants.

One other item is about growing potatoes. A neat method. A friend bought a large 33 gallon rubbermaid trash can & planted her potatoes in potting soil in the very bottom. As they grew, she added more loose potting soil. She kept adding as the plants grew. When it was filled to the top & ready to harvest, the trash can was filled with over 100 potatoes. It was amazing. No digging. Just turned the can upside down to harvest. I saw her do this. I’ve always wanted to try that.

That’s all the plant trivia I have worth sharing.

Thank you! That’s a lot of useful plant trivia. I appreciate it very much.

Commercial banana’s don’t have seeds. is wrong comment no natural or commercial banana has ever never had seeds they only bread but by roots or called pups just like pineapples which are much grower as they take 2 years to make a single pineapple but again send out root to make more you plants and they only thing thing can figure out why is simple the rotten fruit would fertilize the ground around it but add to that the wild life that would eat some of it would possible fertilize by by what pass out of them

Can we use 5 15 45 at the time of fruiting And which is better 15 5 30 or i mention latter

Thanks for the article! I bought a Gros Michel…well because I saw it on amazon and why the hell not. So My goal is to grow a tree like my grandmother does with lemon trees. Excited to work on this exotic plant.

The plan is to use a tent, humidifier and large pot for the tree to grow into. I will try and prune it to a reasonable size as it grows. I hope this does not end poorly but exciting none the less.

I would like to grow an ice cream banana tree but living in Pa it needs to be kept small. Can I do this, how and will it produce fruit?

I bought a banana tree around 9 months ago. I now hahe 14 of them in 3 pots. They’re growing at an amazing rate and I’d love to see them produce fruit. Until they do I just love the shade that they give.

I loved reading your post. Thanks for your invaluable advice! I received my first banana plant in the post two weeks ago. It only had one leaf which was damaged so I cut it off and have noticed a shoot appearing already! As I live in the UK, I’ll repot it and keep it in the conservatory until late spring next year. I’m going to buy a few more, including the dwarf variety. Exciting times ahead!

Where can I get a banana tree to buy?

Wow, just wow

I have two potted banana plants and both never had pups.The stems are tall and thick but never any pups.Are they lacking anything?

I have all these pot plants, i mean, hundreds of them, and I need to know how to prepare them for selling. They are in pots.

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