Growing bananas from seeds - instructions

Whether hobby gardener, plant lover or simply curious observer - many people want interesting, unusual or simply beautiful plants for your own four walls or your own garden itself follow suit. The banana appears equally exotic as it is imposing. But there are a few things to consider when propagating by growing your own perennials.

Pull bananas yourself

With a little horticultural skill, growing bananas can also be done at home. However, this plant has some peculiarities that should be known in advance in order to actually soon be able to call your own Musa perennial your own. There are a few aspects to consider, especially when selecting the varieties that are suitable for self-growing and when preparing for sowing.

Seeds

The appearance of the banana seeds

The layman will first wonder which part of the banana was offered. Musa × paradisiaca, because it is actually used for offspring. This question is quite easy to answer at first. In the case of the bananas, which we all know from the store, the seed can be recognized as the well-known small, black dot in the pulp. However, one should actually correctly say that this dot is only the rudimentary remnant of the seed pods. Correct seeds suitable for sowing are slightly larger than the size of a pinhead and are dark to black and rather irregularly round. Obtaining them poses the first major problem for the hobby grower when growing their own bananas.

Obtaining the Musa Seeds

The common types of bananas that are available as fruit in stores no longer have real, germinable musa seeds. For more enjoyment without disturbing "accessories", the seeds of these species were grown as far back as possible. As a result, you can no longer create your own offspring from these bananas.
The hobby gardener therefore has to fall back on breeding seeds from the specialist trade. These banana seeds can germinate well and, above all, are fully developed. However, only musa seeds are commercially available for Ornamental bananas available. Real, edible banana varieties, on the other hand, are almost impossible to find. And fruits that can be grown again are not available in our country either. So you should say goodbye to the prospect of harvesting your own fruits.

Step by step to the finished banana plant: Instructions

Once you have found the banana seeds, you can successfully grow your own banana tree with the following steps:

sowing

• Pretreatment of the Musa seeds: sand dry seeds from the trade, e.g. B. soak with a nail file and in lukewarm water
• Cultivation soil: prepared cultivation soil with a pH value below 7, permeable to water through the addition of sand or clay
• Drainage: Plant pot with drainage, e.g. B. Make holes to avoid waterlogging
• Sowing: individual seeds approx. Press 3 cm deep into firmly pressed potting soil
• Pour regularly with lukewarm water, keeping it moist, but avoiding waterlogging
• For even better germination, put a translucent film cover over the plant pot at the beginning
• Ensure good ventilation to avoid condensation and the risk of mold growth

Note: It can take several months for the dry commercial banana seeds to germinate!

Cultivation

• Location: ideally light with 25 ° C to 30 ° C during cultivation.
• Avoid excessive direct sunlight to prevent the soil from drying out
• Avoid drafts due to drying out
• Ensure uniform heat, but avoid large temperature jumps
• Remove the foil cover as soon as the seedling is visible
• Use lukewarm water with little lime content
• keep moist, but without waterlogging

rearing

• Watering: keep it moist, ideally just spray the soil so as not to damage the seedling with water droplets
• Location: keep a warm and bright location, avoid direct sun as the seedling burns easily; A fully grown plant can easily remain outdoors in sunny, sheltered locations in summer or move to a winter garden all year round
• Nutrients: after approx. Fertilize for the first time for two months, then regularly with small doses of fertilizer, weekly in optimal conditions, otherwise every two to three weeks
• Repotting: required as soon as roots can be seen in the water drainage holes;
• Procedure: Keep the drain clear with potsherds or stones and cover with root fleece, half of the pot with Fill the soil-sand mixture, set the plant loosely, fill the remaining space with the same soil mixture and lightly soil press down, water well

tip: When repotting, a pot that is too large should not be chosen, otherwise the banana will grow uninhibitedly into excessive growth. In contrast, growth should be slow, especially with indoor plants, so that a slightly larger pot offers enough space, but at the same time slows down growth!

Common mistakes when growing bananas

Precisely because bananas are not an everyday occurrence in cultivation, mistakes are made time and again, which in the worst case can lead to death or poor development of the plant. The following mistakes should therefore always be kept in mind and avoided:

• Breeding attempt from seed rudiments of commercial bananas - these varieties are mostly propagated in vitro and are no longer suitable for breeding from seeds
• Avoid changing temperature, so only place it on the heating if there is no night setback or other shutdowns
• Avoid direct sun exposure of the seedling, otherwise burns can occur
• Avoid soil without sufficient drainage capacity due to waterlogging and mold
• Too firm soil generally hampers roots from spreading and growing
• A plant pot that is too large stimulates intensive growth, so avoid it with smaller indoor plants