1. Two frost-free growing seasons (about 12 months of growth)
2. Abundant nutrition at all stages - especially early on.
3. Select a dwarf variety with a fast maturing fruit.

NOTE:Be sure to label it, especially if you have more than one variety. After four months, and shifting it around in the darkness it will be hard to remember.

Fall Planting Site Preparation
Now, fall, is the time to begin preparation of the spring planting site. Dig a wide (3’x 3’) hole at least 18 inches deep. Then backfill, adding liberal amounts of manure, compost, slow release fertilizer, etc. and cover the area with a thick degradable mulch.

Spring Planting - Timing and Fertilizing
When spring finally does arrive, be patient. Wait until the soil has warmed considerably and the nights are regularly above 50 degrees F. If you have a lantana in your yard, watch it and plant your banana when the lantana puts out new growth. If the weather is too cool, the banana will not grow. It will just sit there. With few roots and no leaves, the plant will absorb water but not transpire it. This invites disease problems.

After planting, wait until the banana has four leaves and then POUR ON THE WATER AND FERTILIZER. Fertilize monthly with a high potassium fertilizer (two pounds per application) and water daily if necessary. This is important during the first two or three months of the banana’s life because it is during this time that the embryonic inflorescence if formed and the number of bananas produced is set. So fertilizing well and early ensures the plant sets a large head of fruit in the future. Nutrition after the third month affects the quality and size of the fruit, abut it will not affect the number. It also makes the bananas grow like crazy!

Mat Management for a Vigorous Clump of Bananas
According to W.O. Lessard, the proper way to manage a mat of bananas is to plant only one plant per hole. Don’t try to start a mat with more than one plant; it will form a mat on its own. Once it does, steps should be taken to ensure the health of all plants. The ideal mat, according to Lessard, is one fruiting plant, one half grown, one quarter grown and one offset just emerging.

The temptation is to let all offsets grow. This is not good for the health of the parent plants. However, during the growing season, it might be best to let vigorous offshoots growing a foot or more from the parent plant continue growing. Those close to the plant should be cut off (not dug, which injures the roots of the parent plant). In the fall, small but healthy offshoots could be potted and placed in the greenhouse or in a sunny window.

Variety Selection
A dwarf variety is better simply because they are easier to move around. It is important to remember that dwarf. when speaking of bananas, refers only to the size of the plant. In all other respects, the plant is the same. In fact, some dwarfs produce even larger heads of fruit than their taller parents.

The following list is a selection of dwarfs; the number in parentheses indicate approximate flowering height:

Dwarf Cavendish (5’ to 7’) This is the variety from which most commercial bananas are derived, and the most common banana seen in Florida. They are medium-green plants that produce large heads of sweet fruit. The fruit take three months to mature. Very cold-hardy - they have been known to take 30 degrees F with no leaf damage.

Dwarf Iholene Red (Haá) (6’ to 7’) This is an intermediate banana; the fruit can be used as a plantain or a dessert. The fruit are drier than Cavendish but very sweet when ripe. The best feature is that the fruit ripens in six or sever weeks from the time the flower finishes opening.

Dwarf Brazilian (7’ to 8’) A lady finger that produces short, fat bananas that are very sweet. The heads of fruit are not very large, but who’s complaining? This plant has proven root hardy in Raleigh, NC, and is pure green with no hint of red anywhere.

Dwarf Macaboo (Red) (8’) this red-stemmed banana produces fruit that emerge red-skinned, then change to red-orange when ripe! Going Bananas nursery describes this one as very sweet, moist and creamy. The heads of fruit can be very heavy - up to 70 to 90 pounds.

Rajapuri (8’ to 10’) Another solid-green plant that is very insect resistant (not usually a problem here, but worth knowing). This is the fastest maturing plant listed, flowering in eight or nine months.

Source: Rhapidophyllum, Sep 1997.