I'm a total newbie and I did the irresponisble thing. I bought a dwarf banana tree on a whim. It cost me $11, that's why I bought it. I know it's unhealthy looking and I have no idea what to do with it. I couldn't bare to think that it would wind up as fertilizer somewhere. (Especially for $11.)

I want to bring it back to life, put it in a good pot, then take it to Texas with me when I retire later this year. (I'm in NC.)

Can someone point me in a direction for some good info?

Pics coming soon.

(I also found a mandarin orange tree for $16, about 2.5 years old.)

The Tree itself.


Leaf Junction.


Roots meet the soil.


Crazy marks on the tree.


The pot says "Musa Zebrina 'Rojo'"

The plant does not look all that bad, especially being trapped in that little pot for so long. You will need to transplant it into a larger container. I don't know if you realize it or not, but Zebrina is an ornamental banana, and produces flowers and makes seeded inedible fruit. It will not give you anything to eat. Bananas are heavy feeders, and require good fertilization.

Thanks for the reply Millet, I don't even know what type of soil to plant it in. Do I follow the same guidelines as citrus? I don't really care about eating them. They look cool if nothing else.

And when the little hoodlums run on my property and start eating some nasty fruit off my property, they'll wind up getting something nasty tasting.

Bananas love rich organic but well aerated and well draining potting mix. You can mix CHC with some compost for that purpose. Bananas will thrive very well on same potting media as citruses.

There is, however, a huge difference between the fertilizer needs of bananas and citruses. Citruses generally require 5-1-3 ratio while bananas require 3-1-6 ratio. This means that bananas needed twice the K compared to N. Bananas can tolerate various ratios even when potted, thus a 16-16-16 should work also well. But if you need fruit production, use the 3-1-6 ratio. Bananas are heavy feeders of K.

Apply fertilizer every week during the warm months and only once a month during the cool or winter months, provided you keep them above freezing.

Joe:
The above is the best advice that you gave in growing my bananas and I should put that in front of my mirror to remind me everyday till Spring time.

Benny