Banana plant in the room - the 1 × 1 of proper care

• General
• plants
• to water
• Fertilize
• overwinter
• To cut
• multiply
• Diseases
• pests
• Conclusion

Banana plants are a visual highlight in every room. It should be remembered that they are not houseplants. Nevertheless, certain varieties can be cultivated indoors, at least if something is considered. It is important to choose the right variety. Not recommended is a fast growing banana that reaches the ceiling in no time and then it gets difficult. Better are so slow and rather squat growing banana plants.

General

banana varieties
Dwarf breeding is best for keeping the house. They do not get so high and yet they have the typical banana shape. Especially popular is the pink dwarf banana (musa velutina), a visual highlight. It has leaves covered in red, is very easy to care for and a very good beginner banana. You can put them out in the summer and spend the winter at 10 to 15 ° C. With a little luck, this variety will also flower and develop small fruits, both in pink (after 5 to 8 years). Also popular is Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' - offered as a red-leaved banana. This really has mostly red leaves, if the pictures given do not lie. The plants are 1 to 3 m high and are ideal potted plants.

The frequently offered varieties "dwarf cavendish" or "super dwarf cavendish" are quite large and can reach the ceiling quickly. As ornamental bananas are offered:

• Ensete ventricosum, Atropurpureum '
• Ensete ventricosum 'Green Stripe'
• Ensete ventricosum, Montbeliardii '
• Ensete ventricosum, Tandarra Red '(syn. Musa, Tandarra Red')
• Ensete ventricosum, Red Stripe '(syn. Musa, Red Stripe')
• Ensete ventricosum, Rubra '(syn. Musa ensete, Rubra')

They are more suitable for keeping your sleeping place than the normal Musa varieties, but in good conditions can usually be quite large.

Location
A banana plant likes light and warmth. Especially in winter it should be close to the window and even there it is sometimes too dark. In summer, a window to the south is usually too hot, at least directly behind the window, without the protection of a light curtain. The glass and the reflection can cause sunburn on the leaves. Important is fresh air, preferably daily. In addition, ensure sufficient humidity. If you have the opportunity, you should put your banana plant out in the summer. After the winter, however, it must be slowly getting used to the sun. For two to three weeks, it should be placed in partial shade. Every day she can stand a little longer sunny, but better only morning and evening and not at noon. Only after this time does she tolerate full sun. With the size of the leaves a wind-protected place is important, because these otherwise easily flutter and this does not look nice anymore. In the room, an airy location is important, but he must not be drafty.

• Bright and warm place, airy, but without draft, high humidity
• If possible in the summer outdoor, but slowly get used to the sun, always sheltered from the wind

plants

plant substrate
In the plant substrate, a banana tree is quite adaptable. It makes no special claims and usually comes with normal soil. To make them a bit more permeable, Perlite can be mixed. This prevents the earth from getting wet for too long. Most bananas do not like it, but there are exceptions.

• Normal plant soil, mix some perlite if possible

planter
The selection of the appropriate planter is usually more important than the plant substrate itself. It should not be too small or too big. Banana plants grow fairly quickly and need to be repotted frequently, but the jar should not be too big. First, it looks weird because the root of the banana is so slim and secondly, otherwise form a lot of roots and the actual growth is stagnant. The bananas somehow get out of shape. Important is a stable container. Who can put the plant in the summer in the summer, must remember that with appropriate size of the transport is difficult. A plastic pot is much lighter than terracotta. Alternatively, there are very pretty Fieberglasgefäße, these are light and do not look so cheap (they are not).

• Sufficiently large and stable vessel with good drainage
• Drainage in the bottom of the pot ensures drainage of excess water
• Plant banana as straight as possible
• If the vessel is well rooted, repot. This happens quite fast.

I am a big friend of planters with irrigation system. They greatly facilitate the care, as the plants provide themselves with the water they need and you rarely have to fill up the memory. For bananas, I can not recommend these vessels because they promote the growth extremely. You do not get along with repotting. If that does not bother you, you can try it.

Tip: It is always recommended to separate Kindel from the mother plant because it costs the strength. I have the experience that this is somehow true, but it also has a good side. The banana does not grow so high. My bananas were always very compact and did not have the long typical stem. For me it was rather thick than high, which I personally liked much better. From time to time I have separated a child, simply because it was too big. Sometimes I continued to cultivate a big child because the mother plant had become too big for our space. So I can only recommend to experiment something.

to water

When casting, it depends on what type or variety you have grown. The wishes are sometimes quite different. Some like a lot of water, others a little. For many bananas standing wet is deadly. I once had one that had to be constantly in the water. So it's always good to know the name and claims of the banana.

The water requirement also depends on the size of the plant, especially the amount and size of the leaves. This will cause water to evaporate and, if it does, it can be a lot. It is always best to do the finger test. On the surface, the substrate should be well dried. It must not dry out. It is important to use soft water, preferably rainwater. Too much lime is unfavorable for the bananas, although I must confess that I have always used tap water, but we had fairly soft water.

• Banana varieties sometimes have different casting requirements
• Most do not like it. Penetrate by pouring water out of the bottom of the jar, but after 15 minutes pour excess water out of the saucer.
• Large plants with plenty of leaves evaporate a lot of water and need replenishment accordingly. Small plants are more frugal.
• Pour more in the summer. Keep drier in the winter.
• Both dryness and endurance damage the roots

Fertilize

Fertilizing is less. Weekly fertilization is often recommended during the growing season. This is correct for planted specimens, but indoor bananas are not supposed to grow that way. For me it was only monthly. Maybe that's why my bananas were rather stocky, rather than that high. In the winter I did not fertilize. You just have to try it.

• If little growth is required, fertilize little (in the summer once a month)
• Otherwise weekly in summer and monthly in spring and autumn
• Hakaphos green is recommended by connoisseurs, simply pour into the irrigation water

overwinter

Hibernation is sometimes problematic, simply because the banana needs a high humidity. Around 50 percent are cheap, which is difficult in living spaces. It is therefore recommended to spray them regularly. Alternatively, the plant can get a place in the bathroom if it is bright enough. Here, the humidity is usually better by showering and bathing.

In addition, a lot of light is necessary. Often this can only be achieved with an additional plant light. Since there are now quite sizable products, that should not be a problem. The temperatures vary depending on the variety. Some do not mind the warm winter, others need it a bit cooler. Here is cheap again, if you know the variety name of his plant to be able to inform about the claims.

• High humidity and a lot of light required
• Many varieties like temperatures between 10 and 15 ° C
• Normal room temperatures are rather unfavorable, depending on the variety
• Some varieties may also be dark and cold, but not below 5 ° C
• Depending on the temperature, the cooler the lower the water

To cut

Should be cut only in an emergency. This can occur when the plant reaches the ceiling. You can cut them off and often drive them out of the middle of the tribe again, but there are no guarantees. If you investigate something in the network, there are some reports of banana plant owners who have cut off their plants and quite successful. Most are planted or potted perennials that need to hibernate into the house. Here's just a try again. In any case, I would first remove a child and plant if the experiment fails.

• Cutting only in an emergency
• It is a very strong visual impairment and it takes until the banana looks good again

multiply

The reproduction is very simple. It is simply the Kindel separated and planted separately. In addition, sowing is possible if you can procure seeds. As Aussaaterde is a peat-sand mixture. When germinating, a transparent plastic bag over the planter helps to keep the necessary humidity. It is important to air daily, so that no mold can form. The plant substrate should be slightly damp, never too wet.

• Sowing - at 25 ° C and high humidity
• Separate Kindel and plant

Diseases

With good care, banana plants are robust and healthy. Unfortunately, there are always problems, especially in winter. Leaf tips turn brown and dry, sometimes the entire leaf. Many banana plants have only a few leaves in the spring. Often the conditions of hibernation are not ideal, the humidity too low, the light too little, the temperature too high and the irrigation water too much. Leaf loss is often in a too dark location or wet. Then the root rots and the leaves gradually fall off. Dry leaf tips are a sign of air dryness. Brown or dry leaf margins indicate too little water or humidity, but may have other causes, so a finger test is helpful. Yellow leaves are usually a sign of nutrient deficiency.

1 of 3

From a certain age, the mother plant sometimes simply dies. First the leaves turn yellow, then brown and dry. There is usually nothing left to do. If this is noticed, a Kindel must be used as a new mother plant.

• Mostly due to too much water - root rot
• care errors

pests

Pests are found mainly in winter. At low humidity, spider mites often make their way over the plants. Spider mites are very hard to combat and can cause great damage. As they multiply rapidly, early detection is important. The insects are tiny and hard to see with the naked eye. A magnifying glass can be helpful. Easier to find are the nets they weave, usually at the tips of the leaves and fresh sprouts. These are visible after spraying with water, if you look for the water droplets that catch on the nets as in morning dew. Spider mites are resistant to some insecticides. That makes the fight difficult. It helps to increase the humidity, but that's not enough. Systemic agents that are administered in irrigation water work best. The bananas pick them up and when the arachnids suck the cell sap, they poison themselves.

Conclusion

Bananas are not ideal as indoor plants. Clever sellers therefore like to offer them as ornamental bananas. However, it quickly becomes clear that they are too big for room keeping. With good conditions and appropriate care, they will grow more than 3 meters in height and the leaves are large and need space. You can only try it. I would not choose the planter that big, hoping that limited root growth will affect overall growth. Otherwise you let them grow as long as possible and then just pick up a child to start all over again. Otherwise, banana plants are easy to cultivate.