From athletes to regular people, we all know how much energy a banana can give you. But have you ever wondered where a banana gets so many nutrients from?
You see, it all comes down to how well a tree was taken care of. And fertilizers play one of the vital roles here.
That’s why we’ve decided to find the best fertilizer for banana trees. In this in-depth review, we managed to gather 5 different products that can suit any banana tree’s needs.
Apart from doing the research, we tested these out ourselves. Well, let’s not waste any more time and get started, shall we?
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1. Miracle-Gro Shake ‘N Feed Palm Plant Food
Someone who’s been to the garden center knows how good of a brand Miracle-Gro is. After being in the industry for more than 50 years, it’s expected that a brand grows so much.
For your precious banana trees, Miracle-Gro has their Miracle-Gro Shake ‘N Feed Palm Plant Food. This fertilizer takes the guessing game out of fertilizing a plant.
So, there’s going to be no mistake in putting the fertilizers. Once you put the fertilizers into the ground, they’ll continue nourishing the plants for more than 3 months.
And guess what? You don’t even have to dig it into the ground. Sprinkle some fertilizer, mix with a broad fork, and finally, apply some water. That’s literally all you need to do.
2. Jobe’s 01002 Fruit & Citrus Fertilizer Spikes
Next up, we have Jobe’s 01002 Fruit & Citrus Fertilizer Spikes. As a brand, Jobe has been delivering quality fertilizers for some time now. But how good is it when it has to deal with the various elements a banana tree needs?
At first, we had our doubts about their 9-12-12 formulation. Usually, experts suggest a more specific formula for banana trees. But it proved all of us wrong.
Turns out, it’s quite perfect for these types of trees. Their slow-release fertilizers are more than enough to give food to banana trees.
However, the thing that attracted us most is the installation process of the spikes. It comes with a protective plastic cap so that pests can pull it out. I mean, what more do you want from a fertilizer?
3. Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food
The list wouldn’t be complete without a liquid fertilizer. That’s why we have the Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food.
With this fertilizer, you can give your banana tree that extra boost it needs. All you have to do is mix it with some water and apply it on a regular basis.
Even though you mix only a small amount of fertilizer, you have no idea how great it is for your plants. Although you can use a fairly big amount too if you want.
In that case, you’ll have to use it once every 2 to 3 weeks. But no matter what amount you use, the application is our favorite.
Basically, you’re doing two things at once. On one side, you’re watering the plants and on the other side, that same water has fertilizer in it.
4. Jobe’s 05101 Fern & Palm Fertilizer Spikes
People who have potted or dwarf banana trees always complain to us that they can’t find the perfect slow-release fertilizer. In some ways that’s true.
The good spike fertilizers aren’t that available in the market. But this time Jobe has their miniature spike fertilizers. With this, you get 30 small spikes that are perfect for any potted or dwarf banana trees.
The quality is completely similar to the big ones. So, you don’t have to worry about that at all. Simply put it in the soil and you’re done.
5. Dr. Earth 708P Organic 9 Fruit Tree Fertilizer
For our final entry, we decided to go with the Dr. Earth 708P Organic 9 Fruit Tree Fertilizer. The rest of the products were kind of mixed with chemical and natural ingredients.
But this one’s made from completely natural ingredients. However, we should clarify that it doesn’t have any kind of chicken manure or anything like that.
So, in terms of how effective this is, we can give you our guarantee.
Best Fertilizer for Banana Trees – Buying Guide
Before you go buy fertilizer for your banana tree, you should keep one thing in mind. Banana trees feed a lot and need a ton of nutrients to grow perfectly. But mostly, they like potassium, oxygen, and phosphorus(8-10-8 fertilizers).
As they need so many nutrients to grow, it’s normal for them to suffer from nitrogen and potassium deficiencies.
While ¼ to ½ pound of fertilizer in one month is enough for young trees, mature trees need at least 1.5 pounds of banana fertilizer every month.
When to Fertilize Banana Trees?
Banana trees are okay with both liquid and granular fertilizers. So, either one is fine but don’t go cheap fertilizers just because they need a lot of it.
Instead, focus on a well-balanced fertilizer for all the micronutrients. And as a secondary fertilizer, choose one that’ll make the bananas tastier than ever.
This way you’re doing two things at once. First, you’re ensuring the perfect growth for the banana trees and secondly, the fruits are going to be tasty and delicious.
Nonetheless, let’s back to the main point on when you should fertilize banana trees-
Fertilizing in Summer and Spring
The most active and harvest producing time for banana trees is when warmer seasons close in. That’s when these plants start simulating root and leaf growth.
In this period, there’s no scope for forgetfulness. It’s a must you fertilize banana trees once every month during this time.
Make sure that the trees have enough water and the soil is moist without making it waterlogged. However, you don’t have to use that much fertilizer for indoor or potted trees.
Fertilizing in Fall and Winter
Fall and winter are kind of the dormant season for banana trees. You’ll notice little to no growth.
So, you have the option to stop fertilizing the trees. Although our advice would be to continue with minimal fertilizing every two months. That way they’ll know that you haven’t abandoned them and keep growing.
What Nutrients Do Banana Trees Need?
As we’ve already discussed, bananas are heavy-duty feeders. The amount of fertilizers they need is a lot. But at the end of the day, it all boils down to a few key nutrients-
Nitrogen
Banana trees treat nitrogen as their best friend. And there are valid reasons behind this.
You see, fresh off the boat nitrogen boosts banana trees with growth and helps in the chlorophyll production process. Eventually, this chlorophyll ensures the strong development of the tree’s leaves and fruits.
Moreover, nitrogen is even more important when the tree is young. That’s when the tree grows the most so obviously you get why you need it the most at that time.
Other than that, nitrogen deficiency can get quite dangerous for a banana tree. Sometimes you’ll see yellow leaves, kind of red-colored tint on the leaf stems.
In fact, the deficiency can even slow down the overall growth of the all. At one point, it will become stunted. So, yeah, if you don’t want to suffer from getting any crops at all, you should use nitrogen for your banana trees.
Potassium
After nitrogen, potassium is the most important mineral for banana trees. They need it for their growth and health. And there’s an interesting reason behind this.
Here’s the thing-
Potassium is vital for the photosynthesis process, CO2 regulation, water uptake, and making sure the tree doesn’t get any kind of disease. Moreover, it helps the tree to protect it from sudden temperature changes.
Most importantly, it makes the fruits filled up with potassium, making them tastier and healthier for your diet.
However, how do you know your tree is suffering from potassium deficiency?
Right off the bat, you’ll see that the leaves are showing yellow colors. Second, you’ll notice that the banana bunches are growing on time.
In fact, you’ll get much less crop. Chances are the bananas you’ll get are going to be tiny.
Other Nutrients
Well, a banana tree can’t really grow that well only depending on nitrogen and potassium, can it?
Like many other trees, banana trees too need a number of nutrients that a well-balanced fertilizer will have. Whenever you buy fertilizer for your banana trees, make sure it has phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and sulfur.
As you’ve guessed these are all macronutrients. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t need micronutrients like boron, zinc, or iron.
So, whatever you do remember to check if your fertilizer has all these micro and macronutrients or not. Unless you want to make your tree sick, stick to an 8-10-8 formulation fertilizer.
How to Fertilize Banana Trees?
The first rule of fertilizing a banana tree is giving it a lot of fertilizer. But that doesn’t overdose with fertilizers. Let us break it down a bit-
Suppose, you have a mature banana tree(9 months or older). For a mature plant like that, you need at least 1.5 pounds of 8-10-8 fertilizer once every month.
But remember to put all the fertilizer around the tree in a circle. Whatever you do, make sure it doesn’t get near the trunk. Other than that, simply dig it into the soil and put some water around it.
However, things change when it comes to young or dwarf banana trees. For those trees, using half the amount of fertilizer is absolutely fine.
Moving on, we gathered two important tips on how you can fertilize your banana tree-
Water the tree when you fertilize
I think you’ve already figured out that you need liquid fertilizers for doing this. A light application of fertilizer mixed with water can do wonders for the growth of your banana tree.
However, remember not to waterlog your banana tree while watering them. Keeping the soil moist is one thing but waterlog can potentially kill the tree.
Use fertilizer filled with nitrogen and potassium
Balanced fertilizers and fertilizers filled with nitrogen and potassium have a slightly different application.
Unlike balanced fertilizers, you don’t have to use fertilizers so frequently. During the growing season, using it once every month is more than enough for any banana tree.
It gets even easier when it’s about potassium fertilizers. The only time you need to use potassium fertilizers is when the flowers start coming.
Only use potassium fertilizers then. And when flowers have arrived stop using that too. It couldn’t get any simpler, right?
Wrapping Up
So, in conclusion, you get the idea of how important it is to choose the best fertilizer for banana trees. We hope we could make your life a bit easier with this guide.
Before going away we have a final tip for you. Apart from using fertilizers, try using old coffee grounds on your banana tree. That’ll provide food and as a bonus, it’ll also keep the pests away.
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