FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

well ive been searching into banana trees lately and was wondering if we had any expert banana growers here
cause im looking for best place to purchase/what soil and etc..

Hmmmmmm... well i can't say i am an expert but, i do grow a huge banana tree inside my greenhouse in New Zealand where it is really cold. They can use just about any kind of soil, but they like alot of water and sun. If posible give them high humidity. I got my banana tree off a friend. You can grow them in a pot if you want to, but make sure that it is big. To keep the water in the soil mulch over the top with straw. Try to keep them in a sheltred space so the wind does not rip off the leaves. Once it has produced bananas cut the tree about 60 cm off the ground.

I know that bananaman is a banana expert, ask him

Yes I am!

The best place to purchase is probably Going Bananas, the place where I got my edible bananas. They like to have their roots moist, but not sitting in water. They grow in almost any soil that is more than a few inches deep. They are heavy feeders, and they like a fertilizer where K (potassium) is 1.5 times the amount of N (nitrogen), although you can use any fertilizer as long as the P (phosphorous) is equal to or less than N (nitrogen). Remember that fertilizers are N-P-K, so an ideal fertilizer is something like 10-5-15. I use 10-10-10 and get great results. They like to get 1 pound of nitrogen and 1.5 pounds of potassium a year. For more fertilizer info go here. They like FULL SUN, even here in Texas!

To get fruit, you need to follow this procedure. Basically, you need to dig them up every year and keep them in a garage.

For a fruiting banana in Alabama, I recommend Rajapuri, Dwarf Orinoco, Ice Cream, FHIA 1, FHIA 2, and Dwarf Brazilian. Those are all cold hardy varieties that should fruit for you easily.

I suggest joining http://www.bananas.org to get more information.