The Best Time to Transplant Hardy Banana Trees

Site

• Mature hardy bananas can reach 20 feet tall in one season. Their leaves grow 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. They prefer full sun but grow in part sun. A sheltered spot in a fence corner or next to the house is ideal, as wind tears its leaves. Amend the soil with compost at a rate of half compost, half soil. Give the plant about a 5-by-5-foot space because over the years, multiple trunks, called pups, arise, forming a cluster of plants.

Culture

• Watering bananas regularly and deeply and mulching them with compost, wood chips, straw or shredded leaves conserves moisture. Run the hose at a trickle at the plant's base in the summer to soak them well. After growth begins in the late spring, fertilize it with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, such as one formulated for lawns. Feed it monthly during the growing season. Bananas grow best when they have plenty of water and fertilizer. They often flower once mature, although fruiting is rare.

Planting and Transplanting

• Plants purchased in nursery pots can go into the ground when temperatures are steadily in the 50s at night, May or June in most climate areas. Dig up an established banana's pups as the bananas emerge in the spring. Pot them and protect them in a cold frame before transplanting into the ground in early summer. Water them regularly to establish the new planting. Transplant an established plant once the weather has warmed in May or June.

Winter Care

• The first hard frost turns the banana to mush. Cut off the leaves and use a pruning saw to cut the trunks to about 4 inches off the ground. Pile loose mulch, such as pine needles, straw, shredded leaves or compost, around and over the cut trunks to a depth of about 1 foot. Place the cut-off banana leaves over that, making a mound protecting the trunks. More protection, such as several layers of burlap over the leaves, is necessary in colder climates. Remove the mulch in spring after growth begins.