Bananas make beautiful ornamental trees and good windbreaks and screens. It grows best in a hot-wet tropical climate and frost is not normally tolerated. If temperatures fall below 5C plants may suffer cold damage. A warm, sunny, frost free site in the garden, sheltered from cold wins is recommended.

The banana can grow on a wide variety of soils as long as they are fertile and not subject to water logging. They are best propagated by suckers. Cut the sucker from the parent tree with a sharp shovel and make sure that you get with it plenty of corm and roots. In warmer areas flowering usually occurs six to eight months after planting with fruit maturing some four to five months later.

Bunches are produced every nine to twelve months. When the bunch emerges, leave the leaves around it to give some protection from the sun. Also, break the purple flower ball off when the distance between it and the bottom hand is about 15cm.

Plant suckers out in spring, upright in holes about 35 to 40 centimeters deep mulch well and do not water unless conditions are very dry to avoid rotting. As the fruiting stem only produces once in its life time, it should be cut to the ground after harvest. Allow only one sucker to grow to replace the mother stem. Harvest when top bananas start to change color and fruit is full and hang them in cool airy spot away fro sun.

Pests include nematodes, fruit fly, red spider fruit eating caterpillar and flower thrips. You can plant cassava through out the patch as it produces a lot of mulch and, they help to reduce nematodes. Just cut stems and leaves and throw them on the ground. Bananas can be eaten on their own or added in juices, fruit salads and for baking.

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Banana – musa spp is a post from: Fruit and Nut Trees