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Tacogirl Belize blog Est. in 2007

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How to Grow a Banana Tree

by tacogirl 09/03/2013
written by tacogirl 09/03/2013
planting banana trees

After Marsha’s write up on How to grow Bougainvillea this week, our first tropical garden question came in about planting bananas. 🙂 I do not have any fruit trees in my yard, but have a few friends who do and I think it is a great idea to supplement your shopping. One friend who lives up north has Avocado trees in his yard, a great way around the illegal avocado season – haha. To read a funny thread on illegal Mexican avocados click the following link: Ambergriscaye.com Belize forum and look for SF Jeff’s reply to my avocado question. It’s very funny and so true at certain times of the year. My friend Dennis and I have been “secret backroom” avocado shopping on Ambergris Caye a few times.

Planting Banana Trees

Can you tell me the best way to go about planting banana trees in my yard?
I was thinking to go with 4 – 6 ft tall plants to start with.
What type of soil is best?
I have heard that banana trees are not supposed to be planted near plantains and that grey water is ok for them, is this true?

Thanks in advance for your answer.
John

I added my 2 cents at the end of John’s question – how do you tell the difference between banana and plantain trees.

How to Grow a Banana Tree

planting banana treesIn answer to your questions on banana tree care, yes bananas love gray water but not any with much bleach.  Be aware; they will spread on their own and can interfere with any plumbing in the area with their roots. Over the years they will take OVER a large area.

For planting, three foot high plants would be the max. Any higher and all you have to do is get a sharp machete and chop off the stalk about 2 to 2.5′ from the base and it will start to grow immediately from the center doing no harm. Once a banana has fruited it will produce no more bunches and must be cut down to ground level. Others will be popping up to replace that one around the same area.

Soil, well 1/2 black dirt and 1/2 sand will work fine to a depth of about 18″ for best results. They sometimes do grow just in the sand.

The way to tell the difference between a banana and a plantain is by the “skin” on its trunk. Bananas have some brown “streaks” in the skin and plantains are a much darker brown or black.

Cross-pollination is possible and over the years it may happen so do your best to keep them as far away from each other as possible but, pollen is everywhere.

Marsha

how to a grow banana tree

Banana or Plantain – what’s your guess?

belize banana

My guess is plantain tree

belize banana

I was wrong. They are Bananas 🙂

Related

tacogirl

Laurie Norton grew up dyslexic and was very challenged by the school. She never dreamed she would move to Belize and become a writer. A year after her move to Ambergris Caye, Laurie became an entrepreneur and professional writer starting tacogirl blog in 2007. Since then she has helped many people plan their vacations or move. She also has been published in Great Destinations Belize Guidebook, Moon Guide to Living in Belize, Insight Guides, Island Magazine several times and USA Today. Currently Laurie resides in downtown San Pedro and enjoys being a "city girl" on a tropical island.

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7 comments

Zsazsa Wiggins 15/07/2021 - 2:18 pm

I think I have a banana plant growing in my house but don’t no how tall it has to be to start producing

Reply
tacogirl 15/07/2021 - 3:37 pm

From what I googled height does not seem to be a clear-cut factor for bananas bearing fruit. Growing Bananas – How To Grow Banana Plants And Keep Them Happy https://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-bananas.html

Reply
Ronald 12/10/2018 - 10:02 am

Hi. The hurricane in Florida made the branch with bananas growing snap and break. Do i have a chance at the bananas continuing to ripen?

Reply
tacogirl 17/10/2018 - 7:56 am

It is possible but hard to say as I am not a banana expert and not sure how far along your bananas were in the growing stage when they got knocked out by the storm. Hopefully, that is the only amount of damage you experienced.

Reply
Faith 22/05/2015 - 11:42 am

How can you tell the difference between a Banana tree and a Plantain tree? Also how do you know if you have a lemon lime tree or Avacodo tree? I live in Florida and I have these two plants in my yard and they were planted here before I moved here so I was wondering what type of plants they were?

Reply
tacogirl 22/05/2015 - 11:52 am

Leaves on plantain and banana plants are colored similarly, they are slightly varied in shape. Plantain leaves are similarly shaped to shoe soles, while banana leaves tend to be longer, more tubular and sometimes even sword-shaped. Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_8693015_do-banana-plant-plantain-plant.html

Try taking smart phone pics of your trees and show them to a local garden shop and expert for easy identification.

Reply
Homero 11/03/2013 - 7:59 am

Does Belizean cuisine traditionally include banana flowers in their cuisine? Some Asian cultures eat the flower as well, and I was curious if banana flowers are available at the local markets. In your article, you mention, once a banana tree has fruited, it won’t fruit anymore and needs to be chopped back to ground level. Does that mean cutting the flowers before the tree fruits will prolong the tree? In other words, can you delay fruiting by continuously cutting off the flower? Great site and I love the new series on gardening and plants!

Best,
Homero
Austin, Texas

Reply

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Belize Blog Est. 2007

belize travel specialist

ABOUT ME

I took the plunge and moved to San Pedro Town on the Island of Ambergris Caye, off the coast of Belize, Central America. Originally from Canada, I made the life-changing move to escape winter for good (in 2006) after one three week vacation. If you have any questions or want Belize help planning and booking, please feel free to contact me.

SPARKING MY DESIRE

A few childhood memories that shaped my desire to move to Belize from a young age. Sailing in the Virgin Islands, seeing a rainbow out the window of an island hopper as we flew from Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico, Christmas in Hawaii and many trips to Florida.

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