I just received a nice dwarf cavendish banana tree from Michael. And I need to pot it but I'm not sure what type of soil to use. I have various types of soil but I've never grown a banana tree before and I want to make sure that it gets off with a good start. Any suggestions? And any other tips that you might could share would be appreciated. Thanks.
JesseK
Soil for banana tree
This might not be the correct soil, but I use good top soil with sand, Osmocote and soil moisture crystals mixed it - they do great in this mix!
I add lots of compost and composted manure to good non-compacting top soil.
If I fertilize it's heavy on the Potassium.
Ric
I've had good success with both Promix and Miracle Grow potting soil. BUT, I think the MG soil stays too wet if you are potting them and brinking them in for the winter. My preference is the Promix.
JesseK,
Although bananas are heavy feeders, they also are not picky about their soils. Here, they grow naturally in the normal sand of the Orlando area. Usually, as long as the soil stays moist, but not wet, they do very well, and are very tolerant of almost everything but the extreme cold (which here is frost or close to freezing several nights in a row)
If you are keeping it in a pot, it will be easy to feed with a balanced fertilizer in a normal good potting soil. Just make sure it's in a pot that drains well.
They'll grow no matter what, eventual fruiting is what you need to feed them for.