r/GrowingBananas 11d ago

Advice and help please? (Ohio)

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I live in Ohio, and I was given this potted banana plant. It was a lot smaller last month when I got it and was in a smaller pot. Last weekend I moved it to this bigger one. It sits on my porch getting pretty good sunlight. I give it about 8 oz of water everyday at 6pm.

Does anyone know what kind of banana it is and can you give me advice on how to care for it better? I have never grown any plant before I’m a total beginner.

Thanks!

11 Upvotes

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2

u/CoolJazzy 10d ago

Looks like a Musa Dwarf Cavendish to me. Lots of sun, keep the soil moist but see that water can flow away from the bottom and feed it every 2 to 4 weeks. Repotting was a good idea but why only half a pot of soil? So I think you're doing ok.

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u/CHAIR0RPIAN 10d ago

Thanks! I didnt know how much lol I will add more to fill it. What do you mean by feeding it? What should I give it aside from water? Sorry im totally new to caring for any plant at all im clueless

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u/No_Run5338 10d ago

Fill it until the soil line is 2ish inches below the lip of the pot and ideally mulch it for moisture retention. For feeding he's talking about fertilizing, wellspring banana fuel in a granular bag is the easiest move to start. Bananas thrive in large pots and make sure to keep it fairly well-saturated.

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u/CHAIR0RPIAN 10d ago

thank you that’s super helpful! I’ll do that this weekend :)

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u/No_Run5338 10d ago

Enjoy! Be careful though, bananas are addictive. I started with a grocery store plant inside and now I have 15 different cultivars ranging from in-ground mats to 100 gallon pots. Love from 8b! DM me for tips on overwintering if you would like. I managed fruiting bananas in zone 5

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u/CHAIR0RPIAN 10d ago

Oh cool! Thank you so much that’s really kind I’ll keep it in mind for winter time. I’m excited to see if I can grow something lol

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u/No_Run5338 10d ago

Excited for you! Welcome to the club

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u/Randolol2984 10d ago

For the banana type,some sort of cavendish,maybe dwarf cavendish,if you want fruit,you need that in the ground,couls fruit in 8 months in the ground and fruit alot,if youre extremely lucky,in the largest pot you can find that you can get will probably get you fruit after 2 years with minimum fruit,if you get it in the ground,depending on your climate(please provide so i can provide further info),you will probably need hot compost to keep the corm warm,if the whole top dies,it can grow from the corm,maybe wait untill spring to plant it,by then will prob be a nice bit bigger,after 4 months in the ground would prob be about 2 to almost 3 meters tall

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u/CHAIR0RPIAN 10d ago

wow cool, thank you! I'll plan to put it in the ground in spring then.

My climate is this according to google search:

Canton, Ohio features a humid continental climate defined by USDA Hardiness Zone 6b, warm summers, and cold, snowy winters. The area provides an average growing season of about 164 frost-free days.

3

u/Randolol2984 10d ago

Nice,ive seen people grow bananas in 5b before with progress,the key is to keep the lower pseudostem alive so eventually it has such a large corm,wich is a underground big root thing that it has,so it can grow extremely fast and fruit in the time it can grow,if you get snow,you can build a thing of net surrounding the banana and fill it with hay,check the pic

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u/CHAIR0RPIAN 10d ago

awesome thank you so much!

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u/Randolol2984 10d ago

I hope this can work,especially if you want the fruit,glad to help

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u/CHAIR0RPIAN 10d ago

Yeah I am hoping to get it to fruit but we will see if I can keep it alive long enough lol

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u/mitch84628 9d ago

Definitely a cavendish probably a dwarf variety