How do you grow an evergreen banana plant? How many years until it bears fruit? What is the difference from a banana tree?
Banana plant is also known as Green Sky, Fan Immortal, Sweet Banana, Tianju, and Board Banana. A large evergreen perennial herbaceous plant native to tropical East Asia. So how do you grow it? How many years until it bears fruit? And what is the difference from a banana tree? According to grower Uncle Wang in Yunnan, the banana plant grows fast; from seedling to being able to fruit takes about 1.5 years at the slowest, and at the fastest 9 months should be enough (under artificial cultivation, with sufficient fertilizer and water, and a tropical climate being best), after which the fruit ripens in 2-3 months (summer fruit is better). After the original plant dies, new shoots grow from the trunk, and the new plant grows somewhat faster than the original one.
How do you grow a banana plant?
To grow a banana plant, choose a cool, damp, and fertile spot, such as beside ditches, banks, embankments, dams, and ponds, with low-lying land being especially suitable. If using sloped land, choose a place with deep soil and a good source of water and fertilizer. When preparing the ground, loosen the soil and break up the clods, so that after planting the “running horse whip” (that is, the underground stem) can spread and quickly grow through the soil.
Division and transplanting of suckers can be used. Banana sucker division and transplanting are generally carried out from late autumn to early spring of the following year, because the banana plant is then in its dormant period, so dividing and transplanting causes little damage to the plant and it is also easy to keep alive. When dividing suckers, in a banana grove that has already grown for more than 5 years, select new sucker stems that emerged that year from the running horse whip. Choose running horse whips from around the plant, because such running horse whips have well-developed fibrous roots and strong soil-penetrating ability. At the same time, avoid cutting through the running horse whip, and require each sucker to have 2-3 one-year-old stems. When transplanting, the number of sucker stems planted per hole should suit the plot; generally, plant 2-3 per hole along banks and embankments; in low-lying land, planting 1 per hole is enough, because low-lying land is cool and damp with good soil and water conditions, and the plant easily grows large. When planting the banana plant, place the sucker stem upright in the previously dug planting hole, and after placing it, fill and cover it with fairly finely crushed pig, cattle, or sheep manure mixed with a small amount of fertile soil.
Cultivation methods
(1) Propagation: Use division propagation. When the banana leaves wither in late autumn, cut off the dead leaves and mound soil around the roots to protect them. Wrap the remaining stem from the base upward with rice straw. In early April of the following year, remove the rice straw. When many young plants grow from the roots, division propagation can be carried out. When transplanting the banana plant, apply organic fertilizer in the hole as a base fertilizer.
(2) Cultivation: During the growth period of the banana plant, yellow leaves should be cut off at any time, so as to avoid wasting nutrients in vain and affecting appearance. If planted in the same spot for too long, it is prone to a state of decline from repeated cropping, so the planting spot should be changed. Usually no especially careful management is needed.
What is the difference between a banana plant and a banana tree?
1. The banana tree and the banana plant both belong to the genus Musa in the family Musaceae. Their color, fragrance, taste, and shape are all very similar, and there is almost no difference in tree form, leaves, or height. To distinguish them, one can only start from the fruit's outer shape, color, and taste. In outer shape, the banana is curved like a crescent moon, with a short fruit stalk, and has 5-6 ridges on the peel. The banana plant is thinner at both ends and thicker in the middle, slightly flat on one side and slightly curved on the other, forming a “circular segment” shape. Its fruit stalk is longer, and there are 3 ridges on the peel.
2. In color, the banana is blue-green when unripe and turns yellow when ripe, with brown spots, and the flesh is yellow-white with a nearly round cross-section. The banana plant's peel is grayish yellow, has no spots after ripening, and the flesh is milky white with a flat-round cross-section. In taste, the banana has a rich fragrance and a sweet flavor. The banana plant tastes sweet, but its aftertaste is somewhat sour.
3. The banana tree is relatively “short and stout”, with broad leaves and a thick stem. The leaves and stem tend toward blue-green and are covered with a white bloom. The banana plant is relatively “thin and tall”, with narrower leaves and a thinner stem; the leaves and stem tend toward yellow-green and have no white bloom.