How often should I fertilize???

pondplantgirl · 08-03-2010, 01:04 AM

This is my first time trying to grow banana fruit. I am located in zone 9 and my one william hybrid is getting rather large. I am growing it in a tree container and am fertilizing with Miracle Grow that I mix in a watering can every 2 weeks. I water once per day.

QUESTION:
How often should I fertilize and should I use a different type of fertilizer to promote fruit growth?

Thanks! GAiL

kaczercat · 08-03-2010, 10:13 AM

I hear you can fertilize every week every two weeks that what i try to do

The type , wait for the experts to come around and answer that i just use miracle grow stuff :P haha

sunfish · 08-03-2010, 10:17 AM

Info:Fertilizer - Bananas Wiki

Scott · 08-03-2010, 04:01 PM

Here is my watering cycle.
But I'm in Zone 10. Hot n humid...High temp is normally about 93 but Heat-index (humidex) is 103-110 daily here.
I water my trees 2x a week. I use Richard's mix of 20-5-30 2x a week. If it rains, I skip the watering/feeding. I don't hammer at strong mix, just a bit of blue....2 gallons total for my Tall Brazilians (20' tall), same for my Gran Nain and Dwarf Brazilians.
I also try to spread the mixture about 2' out from the truck of the plant...
If you are growing in a container, I would water the plant super fast...so there is standing water, about an inch in the pot. I call this power-watering. Then everything seeps through evenly.
This works in the warm growing season. You'll really have to cut back on watering when the plant gets cold in Fall. Normally bananas shut down when temps drop below 60f. Do not water when the temps stay below 60f or your plant will rot and that's very disturbing

Lots of answers on this forum. Good luck! This is the fertilizer I use: Richard really has a great mix. My plants grow about 6" a day. nuts hehehe
Product Search Results - PlantsThatProduce.com

Scott · 08-03-2010, 04:04 PM

Hey Kacz, are there any banana trees you can leave outside during the winters and survive?

pondplantgirl · 08-03-2010, 04:32 PM

I have a few friends who grow banana trees in Ohio. Not sure on the variety, but they cut them all the way back before the first freeze and mulch them well. They come back each year and quickly grow to about 8 feet tall.

:-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott

Hey Kacz, are there any banana trees you can leave outside during the winters and survive?

pondplantgirl · 08-03-2010, 04:36 PM

I've found that potted plants dry out quickly, so I water mine daily. So far so good! Will look for the Richard's fertilizer. I just purchased my second California Gold. So, I'm pretty excited!

natej740 · 08-03-2010, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pondplantgirl

I have a few friends who grow banana trees in Ohio. Not sure on the variety, but they cut them all the way back before the first freeze and mulch them well. They come back each year and quickly grow to about 8 feet tall.

:-)

Its a Musa Basjoo i have a few of them. You just cut them down and cover them up for winter and they are good to go. Mine are over 8 ft total height already and we still have a few months to grow before it gets cold. I fertilize mine once a week with a double scoop of 30-10-10 miracle grow and water daily...It works great for me.

Richard · 08-03-2010, 10:50 PM

I'm in zone 9b/10a. I fertilize once per month during the active growing season. Here are the rates I'm using:

BANANA FUEL DOSAGES DURING ACTIVE GROWTH SEASONS:
Very Young Plants, TC's: 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water every watering.
Young Plant in 2 gallon pot: 2 tablespoons per month.
Plant (not juvenile) in 10 to 20 gallon pot: 1/4 cup per month.
Plant in ground with significant root space: 3/4 cup per month.

Here I'm referring to the blueish crystals with one of these formulas: 15-5-30, 15-10-30 Urea Free, and 20-5-30.

When fertilizing, only use enough water to get to the roots -- you don't want to have a portion of your fertilizer to run out the bottom of the pot.

kaczercat · 08-03-2010, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott

Hey Kacz, are there any banana trees you can leave outside during the winters and survive?

yeah there is musa basjoo i dont leave mine out cause i like to grow them inside during the winter but people that have them here in the GTA do keep them in the ground and they survive.

cherokee_greg · 08-04-2010, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pondplantgirl

I've found that potted plants dry out quickly, so I water mine daily. So far so good! Will look for the Richard's fertilizer. I just purchased my second California Gold. So, I'm pretty excited!

You can get it here
Plants That Produce

Thats great you got another California Gold coming I do too ! Man my first one is hudge and has a pup coming on it.

pondplantgirl · 08-04-2010, 01:49 PM

I actually grow gourmet artichoke plants for a living. They feed on bananas. I don't want to use potassium sulfate, because I'm trying to go all organic. So, that's why I want to grow my own bananas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherokee_greg

You can get it here
Plants That Produce

Thats great you got another California Gold coming I do too ! Man my first one is hudge and has a pup coming on it.

Richard · 08-05-2010, 12:24 AM

You'll need about 1200 banana peels per artichoke plant per year just to reach a significant level of potassium, and about 3000 banana peels per plant per year to obtain the recommended quantity for commercial agriculture.

A better certified organic potassium source is potassium citrate.

08-03-2010, 01:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
pondplantgirl Find me on the map! Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 26 BananaBucks : 30,710 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 27 Times Was Thanked 37 Times in 18 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	How often should I fertilize??? This is my first time trying to grow banana fruit. I am located in zone 9 and my one william hybrid is getting rather large. I am growing it in a tree container and am fertilizing with Miracle Grow that I mix in a watering can every 2 weeks. I water once per day. QUESTION: How often should I fertilize and should I use a different type of fertilizer to promote fruit growth? Thanks! GAiL

08-03-2010, 10:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
kaczercat kaczercat's Photo Gallery Location: Southern ON Find me on the map! Zone: 5b 9b Name: Matt Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,874 BananaBucks : 224,742 Feedback: 3 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,116 Times Was Thanked 2,111 Times in 750 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 11 Times	Re: How often should I fertilize??? I hear you can fertilize every week every two weeks that what i try to do The type , wait for the experts to come around and answer that i just use miracle grow stuff :P haha __________________ Matt

08-03-2010, 10:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
sunfish Banned sunfish's Photo Gallery Location: San Diego Find me on the map! Zone: 9-11 Name: Tony Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 18,429 BananaBucks : 1,016,415 Feedback: 8 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,210 Times Was Thanked 20,592 Times in 7,760 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2,716 Times	Re: How often should I fertilize??? Info:Fertilizer - Bananas Wiki

08-03-2010, 04:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
Scott Location: Seminole, Fl Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: Scott Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 162 BananaBucks : 19,502 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 129 Times Was Thanked 258 Times in 102 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3 Times	Re: How often should I fertilize??? Here is my watering cycle. But I'm in Zone 10. Hot n humid...High temp is normally about 93 but Heat-index (humidex) is 103-110 daily here. I water my trees 2x a week. I use Richard's mix of 20-5-30 2x a week. If it rains, I skip the watering/feeding. I don't hammer at strong mix, just a bit of blue....2 gallons total for my Tall Brazilians (20' tall), same for my Gran Nain and Dwarf Brazilians. I also try to spread the mixture about 2' out from the truck of the plant... If you are growing in a container, I would water the plant super fast...so there is standing water, about an inch in the pot. I call this power-watering. Then everything seeps through evenly. This works in the warm growing season. You'll really have to cut back on watering when the plant gets cold in Fall. Normally bananas shut down when temps drop below 60f. Do not water when the temps stay below 60f or your plant will rot and that's very disturbing Lots of answers on this forum. Good luck! This is the fertilizer I use: Richard really has a great mix. My plants grow about 6" a day. nuts hehehe Product Search Results - PlantsThatProduce.com __________________

08-03-2010, 04:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
Scott Location: Seminole, Fl Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: Scott Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 162 BananaBucks : 19,502 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 129 Times Was Thanked 258 Times in 102 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3 Times	Re: How often should I fertilize??? Hey Kacz, are there any banana trees you can leave outside during the winters and survive? __________________

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08-03-2010, 04:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
pondplantgirl Find me on the map! Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 26 BananaBucks : 30,710 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 27 Times Was Thanked 37 Times in 18 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: How often should I fertilize??? I've found that potted plants dry out quickly, so I water mine daily. So far so good! Will look for the Richard's fertilizer. I just purchased my second California Gold. So, I'm pretty excited!

08-03-2010, 10:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 556,684 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: How often should I fertilize??? I'm in zone 9b/10a. I fertilize once per month during the active growing season. Here are the rates I'm using: BANANA FUEL DOSAGES DURING ACTIVE GROWTH SEASONS: Very Young Plants, TC's: 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water every watering. Young Plant in 2 gallon pot: 2 tablespoons per month. Plant (not juvenile) in 10 to 20 gallon pot: 1/4 cup per month. Plant in ground with significant root space: 3/4 cup per month. Here I'm referring to the blueish crystals with one of these formulas: 15-5-30, 15-10-30 Urea Free, and 20-5-30. When fertilizing, only use enough water to get to the roots -- you don't want to have a portion of your fertilizer to run out the bottom of the pot. __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com Last edited by Richard : 08-03-2010 at 10:53 PM.

08-05-2010, 12:24 AM	#13 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 556,684 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: How often should I fertilize??? You'll need about 1200 banana peels per artichoke plant per year just to reach a significant level of potassium, and about 3000 banana peels per plant per year to obtain the recommended quantity for commercial agriculture. A better certified organic potassium source is potassium citrate. __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

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