Everything you need to know about bananas. About the world of plants and country life

Each of us knows what a banana is. These tasty, edible fruits are available in most grocery stores and make up a significant portion of our diet. Children and adults love bananas and buy them willingly, and passionate gardeners grow bananas on their own windowsill. Yes, yes, you heard right, you can grow your own homemade banana, and the process will not cause much trouble. Want details? Read the article and you will learn all the secrets of growing indoor banana.

Perhaps it’s worth starting with the botanical classification of banana, because this is what determines how to care for the plant. So, banana (lat. Musa) is the name of perennial plants of the same genus of the Banana family (lat. Musaceae).

Despite its size (in natural growing conditions, bananas reach a height of 10 meters), the banana is not a palm tree or a tree at all, but a grass, and the banana fruit, oddly enough, is a berry. The banana has a fairly powerful root system, a short stem hidden underground, and oval-elongated large leaves, the number of which varies from 6 to 18 on one plant.

[!] What appears to be the trunk of a banana is actually its leaves, the lower parts of which are tightly wrapped around each other.

[!] In nature, there are also real trees called banana trees - plants from the genus Azimina. The taste of their fruits is very similar to banana and papaya.

The exact origin of the Latin name is unknown - according to one theory, the plant is named after the court physician of the Roman Emperor Antony Musa, according to another, the word has Arabic roots. The common name for the fruit is borrowed from West African languages.

The birthplace of bananas is the islands South-East Asia and the Hindustan Peninsula. Over time, the plant, the fruits of which were very popular with the seafaring travelers who visited those places, spread throughout the world. Bananas are now grown in many countries with tropical climates and are one of the main export products. For example, the main exporters of bananas to Russia are Ecuador, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Mexico.

For you and me, a banana is just a tasty fruit, but southern countries The plant is used for a variety of purposes. In addition to eating, bananas are used in folk medicine, as a base for fishing gear and rafts, for making ropes, and so on. We can say that people have learned to process every part of this wonderful plant, obtaining many necessary products. And of course, one cannot help but note the culinary value of the fruit - bananas are eaten raw, fried, boiled, dried, baked. They are the basis of the diet of a number of countries and, in importance as an agricultural crop, can be compared with potatoes in the northern regions.

But let's return to the main question of the publication - how to grow a banana at home? Perhaps we should start by choosing the right variety.

Types of banana suitable for home cultivation

The homemade banana can still be classified as an indoor plant. And yet, the popularity of exotic fruits is growing year after year. This happens, among other things, thanks to the work of breeders who breed low-growing species and varieties adapted to indoor conditions. Today, all types of homemade bananas can be divided into two groups:

• decorative foliage,
• beautifully flowering,
• fruit.

Indeed, some gardeners grow bananas only for their beautiful leaves or flowers. The fruits of such plants, if they are formed, do not have the delicate, sweet taste we are accustomed to and contain too many hard seeds. Decorative types include:

Bloody banana(lat. Musa sumatrana Zebrina) - wide leaves are covered with a beautiful green-burgundy pattern. The fruits are small, red, inedible;

Chinese dwarf banana(lat. Musella lasiocarpa). Other names are Musella roughfruit, golden lotus. It has bright green large leaves and a beautiful bright yellow inflorescence. The maximum height of the plant is about one meter;

Banana bright red(lat. Musa coccinea Andrews) - like the previous species, it is beautifully flowering. Attention is drawn to the rich scarlet bract, favorably shaded by green foliage;

Velvet banana(lat. Musa velutina) is also known as purple, dwarf pink or velvet pink banana. It is distinguished by oval light green leaves, often decorated with red edging and large bright pink flowers. The skin of the fruit also has an unusual crimson hue. The variety is grown as a flowering variety, but, if desired, the fruits can be eaten;

Banana lavender or pink(lat. Musa ornata Roxb), like Musa velutina, is valued for its beautiful flowers and soft pink fruits.

Fruit species and varieties of domestic exotics are not so diverse. Almost all of them are just like their brothers. growing outdoors, bred on the basis of two species - pointed banana (lat. Musa acuminata) and balbis (lat. Musa balbisiana). Most often you can find the following representatives of edible indoor banana on sale:

Dwarf Cavendish banana(lat. Musa acuminata Dwarf Cavendish)

Super dwarf Cavendish banana(lat. Musa acuminata super Dwarf Cavendish)

Both varieties are distinguished by their short stature, which allows them to be grown indoors, and their abundant fruiting. The leaves of the plants are large, dense, bright green, oval in shape. The peduncle is bright burgundy in the shape of a candle.

Caring for homemade banana

The first thing flower growers who decide to get a homemade banana should pay attention to is the size of the plant. Even dwarf varieties have an impressive height (up to one and a half meters) and large spreading leaves. Therefore, it is best to grow banana in large rooms with tall and wide windows.

Secondly, when caring for a banana, you need to remember that its homeland is the hot tropics. This means that the ideal room conditions for the plant are warmth, good lighting, and high humidity. Let's look at each parameter in more detail.

Temperature and lighting

Unlike many other indoor plants, this southern guest is very, very thermophilic, and the comfortable temperature range for it is 25-30°C. There is no dormant period for bananas and such high air temperatures are necessary almost all year round. Only in winter it can be a little cooler - about 20°C.

Countries Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa, where banana grows under natural conditions, are distinguished by a large average annual quantity sunny days. In our climate there is much less sun, so the banana must be placed on the most illuminated windowsills - southern, south-eastern or south-western. On a too hot sunny day, to prevent burns on the leaves, the location of the plant can be slightly shaded.

[!] The health and appearance of an indoor banana directly depends on the amount of sun. In the shade, homemade exotics will stop growing, blooming and, of course, setting fruit.

Watering and air humidity

Bananas cannot be classified as either very moisture-loving representatives of the flora, nor among those who prefer drought. Rather, the banana gives preference to abundant, but rather infrequent watering - on average once or twice a week. It is useful to imitate a warm tropical downpour using a shower in the bathroom. After this procedure, you need to leave the plant for about half an hour to allow excess water to drain.

One of the most important parameters for keeping bananas at home is high air humidity. The air in our apartments, especially during the heating season, is too dry. This negatively affects the well-being of most house plants. To ensure that the southern flower does not suffer from dry air, it is recommended:

• place the bowl with the plant on a tray filled with wet pebbles,
• place a banana next to the aquarium,
• spray the leaves with water from a fine spray bottle at least once a day,
• use a household humidifier.

Additional moisture is vital for a banana, so you should never forget about air humidification.

[!] In the warm season, bananas can and should be taken out into the open air to replenish moisture.

Soil, replanting and fertilizing

As for the soil, here indoor exotic plants demonstrate unpretentiousness. Any universal soil from a specialized store that has sufficient looseness, which means water and breathability, and neutral acidity, will do.

One of the most common plant problems is root rotting. To prevent this disease, a high drainage layer, at least a third of the total volume of the pot, is required. Expanded clay, broken brick or clay shards can serve as this material.

You can prepare the substrate yourself by mixing leaf soil, turf soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1:1. Coconut fiber and vermiculite, added in small quantities to the soil, will help reduce the risk of developing root rot.

As a rule, homemade banana develops quite quickly, so an adult plant needs to be replanted annually. In some cases, when the banana grows very actively, the indoor exotic plant should be moved twice a year. The container for transplantation should be only a few centimeters larger than the previous one.

[!] Too large “to grow” dishes can cause acidification of the soil and, as a result, rotting of the roots. In a bowl that is too small, the banana will stop growing and blooming.

During the period of active growth and development (spring, summer), bananas must be actively fed. For additional nutrition of the plant, you can use universal mineral and organic fertilizers, alternating with each other. In general, the frequency of fertilizing during the growing season is once a week. With the onset of autumn and throughout the winter, fertilizers should be eliminated.

Reproduction

Propagating bananas at home is not an easy task. There are only three ways to get a new young plant:

• using seeds
• with the help of shoots
• by dividing the mother plant,

each of which has its own subtleties and secrets. Let's take a closer look at them.

Propagation of indoor banana by seeds

First of all, it is worth saying that banana seeds are quite unusual - they look like small nuts covered with a hard shell. It is because of the shell that the seeds germinate rather poorly - not every sprout is able to break through the strong shell. In order to facilitate the germination process, nuts can be scarified.

[!] Scarification is a mechanical or chemical violation of the integrity of the hard shell of seeds.

This is done as follows:

1. The seeds are soaked in warm water for two days.
2. The swollen shell is carefully ground down with sandpaper or a nail file, trying not to pierce it.

Experienced flower growers who grow indoor bananas often express the opinion that the seeds of a tropical plant do not need to be scarified; it is enough just to keep them in water a little longer, about a week, for better swelling. As an experiment, some of the seeds can be scarified, and some can be planted without scarification.

After the above-described manipulations, banana seeds are planted directly into the ground:

1. For germination, it is recommended to use a peat-sand mixture (1:1), coconut fiber, and sphagnum moss.
2. As a container, you can take a food-grade plastic container with a lid, which is quite suitable for the role of a mini-greenhouse, or buy a ready-made greenhouse from a specialized store.
3. For better germination, banana seeds are placed with a recess on their side and slightly buried in the substrate.
4. The greenhouse is moved to a bright and warm (25-30°C) place and wait for seedlings, which should appear in about 1-3 months.

During the entire germination period, the soil with the seeds should be slightly moistened, but without excessive stagnation of water, and the greenhouse should be ventilated approximately once a day.

Germinating banana seeds is a rather long process. Flower growers who want faster results can try planting young shoots of the plant.

Banana propagation by shoots and division

As a rule, an indoor banana produces fairly dense root shoots, with the help of which the banana reproduces in natural conditions. When grown at home, these root shoots can also be used to produce a new plant.

For planting, a well-formed shoot with several leaves is selected, carefully removed from the ground and cut off from the mother plant along with the rhizome from which it grows.

[!] Rhizome is part of a branched rhizome that does not have a central stem.

To avoid rotting, the cut sites are sprinkled with crushed coal, after which the shoot is planted in a new container with the same soil as for an adult plant. Typically, young banana shoots take root well and do not require special care.

Banana propagation by division is carried out during plant transplantation. An adult plant is cut into two or three parts, each of which should have a healthy, formed shoot and rhizome, after which the resulting specimens are planted in a separate container. In general, propagation by division is a procedure similar to planting shoots.

Fruiting homemade banana

Before expecting fruits from an indoor exotic plant, it is worth finding out the timing of its fruiting. On average, a banana grown from seeds will bear fruit only in the third or fourth year. The plant obtained from the shoot will bear fruit earlier - within one to two years.

In order to get delicious fruits, you need:

• place the banana in the sunniest place in the apartment, highlight it additionally in winter,
• maintain high air humidity all year round,
• Feed your homemade banana regularly.

Pests and growing problems

As for diseases, the root of all plant health problems is improper care for it. Main banana diseases and their symptoms:

Banana doesn't grow. Most likely, the problem is that the pot is too small. If there is not enough soil, the home banana stops developing. In addition, the cause of this phenomenon may be a lack of sunlight.

Black-brown spots appear on banana leaves, and the leaf blade loses turgor. The reason is flooding and waterlogging of the soil. This is a dangerous sign indicating the possible occurrence of root rot. It is necessary to remove the plant from the ground, carefully examine it, cut off the rotten areas, sprinkle the cut areas with crushed coal and plant them in new soil. In the future, the frequency and intensity of watering should be reduced.

Banana leaves dry out around the edges. Such symptoms indicate that the air humidity is too low. Indoor bananas especially often suffer from lack of moisture during the heating season.

If dries and subsequently dies off as the basis of a homemade banana sprout, but at the same time the young shoots are developing well, do not worry - this is not a disease, but a completely normal phenomenon. The growth, development and reproduction of bananas in natural conditions occurs in exactly the same way. As a rule, the largest sprout dies immediately after fruiting.

Dark spots on the leaves of young seedlings. This feature is found in some varieties of indoor exotics. The spots have a characteristic red-brown color and are located along the lateral veins of the leaf blade. Typically, as the plant matures, the spots disappear and the leaf turns a uniform, rich green color.

Do you know that according to ancient Indian legend, the insidious tempting serpent seduced Eve not with an apple, but with a banana? This means that banana can be considered a heavenly fruit that you and I can grow at home.

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This is exactly the question that came to me from one of our readers. True, she asked not to use her name, because this question seems “too childish” to her. I think this is a very interesting question!

First, let me remind you: bananas do not grow on palm trees. Bananas – this is grass. One of the highest in the world, by the way. Secondly, there are about 500 varieties!

So bananas are very, very different. And in size, and in color, and, of course, in taste. By the way, there are bananas that are generally inedible. For example, Japanese banana And banana textile. Yes, yes, they also make clothes from bananas!

But those bananas that you and I eat (and almost all varieties!) are generally fiction. They do not exist in nature. These are different varieties of sterile artificially bred banana of paradise, which in wildlife does not occur. It is precisely because this banana is sterile that many people think that the banana reproduces vegetatively: “either by shoots or something else.” So my friends were very surprised and did not believe me when I told them about bananas with seeds.

I’m revealing a secret (although what a secret it is, any botanist knows about it): wild bananas have seeds! Moreover, there are so many of them that there may be practically no pulp in a banana fruit.

Look, this is a fruit wild banana in section:

But bananas have been cultivated for so long (the first mentions of them are to the V-VI centuries BC. e., and the islands of the Malay Archipelago are considered their homeland), that cunning humanity has learned to grow seedless bananas.

By the way, as a food crop, banana ranks fourth place in the world by popularity. IN more They grow only rice, wheat and corn. And what types of bananas are eaten in? They are eaten raw, boiled, fried, desserts and pastries, soups and main courses are prepared from them... There is only one thing: those bananas that can be found on the shelves of European stores cannot be fried or boiled. That is, of course you can try. Some desserts can even be made with fried bananas, but this has nothing to do with the version of fried bananas of the peoples of Africa and Asia. Because special varieties are fried here; they are green, hard and, when raw, more like potatoes with a slight sweetish aftertaste.

However, bananas are used not only for food. Dyes are made from bananas (black, from banana peels), the leaves are also used to prepare various foods (similar to foil or baking paper), packaging is often made from the leaves, and rafts and light buildings are made from the stems. Bananas have also found their place in medicine: the fruits help fight anemia, high blood pressure, depression, heartburn and PMS; the flowers are used in the treatment of dysentery, stomach ulcers, bronchitis and brewed for diabetes... The rest of the plant is also used for medicinal purposes. For example, young banana leaves are excellent for healing burns.

I hope I was able to answer the question in some detail, and now some more photos that answer the question “how bananas grow.” Especially for you, I took these photos in Cambodia and Botanical Garden Singapore.

So bananas grow like this...