Do the Dwarf Cavendish produce bananas?
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Note: No information given here, especially regarding medicinal and consumption uses of plants, should be considered medical advice; what you will find here is my opinion, either first handed or info found via internet research, and it could be incorrect. I have spent many hours finding out and cross-correlating this information to make sure it was as accurate as possible and am posting it here for your convenience. However, you should also do your own research – you are responsible for your own knowledge, decisions and actions.
Do the Dwarf Cavendish produce bananas?
Yes, the Dwarf Cavendish Banana Plant is able to produce bananas when their growing environment is favorable.
How big do these plants grow?
As with all plants, the height and width of any plant will depend greatly on it’s environment including sun, humidity, water and fertilizer. The Dwarf Cavendish generally grows 5-6′ tall when grown in a planter; and approximately 10’+ tall when grown in the ground
Growing Needs:
This plant loves the sun so be sure to place it in an area where it gets 6-8 hrs of sun each day. If grown in the shade it won’t grow as fast and may not produce fruit.
Provide your plant with soil that drains well. Use either coconut coir or mulch in the soil to help keep the roots moist, but not soaked.
Banana plants also prefer a more acidic pH; 6.5 – 7.
Most banana plants are either tropical or subtropical plants and thrive in humidity; they prefer up to 50% but can survive with less.
You can add pebbles to a saucer under your plant’s pot and put water in the saucer. This will allow the water to evaporate upwards towards your plant for it to enjoy.
Also spray the leaves with water once a day to keep your plant leaves looking beautiful.
Keep your plant’s dirt on the moist side but be careful not to over water it or the roots may rot. Never let it go dry for a long period of time. Your plant will likely not die however the leaves will get a lighter, almost yellow color then brown spots will appear. If this should happen, cut off the brown spots or the entire leaf if needed, as the plant will likely drop the leaf anyway. This will allow the plant to focus on growing new leaves rather than try to repair the damaged ones.
Also, try to provide more acidic pH water for your plant (6.5 – 7).
Note: I’ve read articles that say to never allow the water to sit in the saucer as it will keep the roots wet; however, this is how I prefer to water my banana plants- from the bottom, letting the plant soak up the water as it is needed. I refill the saucer as needed. This approach has worked beautifully for me.
My Note: After watching numerous videos and reading a number of articles and notes from banana breeders, I have found that practically every one of them provides a different fertilizer N-P-K for these plants. What makes it more complicated is that some believe the fertilizer must be changed based on the stage of the plant’s life.
Because of the above, I’m not sure which one to list here.
My one banana plant is a year and a half old now and is approximately 5′ tall. Up until a few weeks ago I used water from my fish tank to water the plant without adding any fertilizer. I have yet to see bananas so I am now working with a company that mixes minerals to provide complete fertilizers for specific plants. Until I learn more through trial and error with the help of this company, I would just recommend you use a well-balanced fertilizer once or twice each month in the Spring/Summer (when it’s growth picks up.)
Maintenance:
In general, this is an easy plant to take care of.
If it should develop brown edging on the leave, simply trim it off. This may, however, be the sign of a common fungal disease with banana plants, named Sigatoka, aka leaf spot or Yellow Sigatoka. Cutting off the bad spot will allow the plant to focus on growing new leaves instead of trying to repair these leaves which will eventually be dropped anyway as the plants grows.
How Fast Does This Plant Grow:
The Banana Plant grows very quickly when compared to other plants. This plant isn’t really a tree; it’s ‘trunk’ is actually like an onion or a stalk of celery, Never pick it up by the ‘trunk’- you will likely break it in half! It is layers of leaves compiled on top of each other. Because of this, it requires a lot of water to flourish, and thus grows quickly. The bottom leaves will turn brown and droop then drop as new ones appear. This is normal- the plant needs to shed it’s outter ‘skin’ (which includes the leaf) in order to grow. When the environment is favorable, the plant then produces a ‘vine’ with a beautiful flower which becomes the fruit; bananas. It also bears ‘pups’ which will replace it when the mother plant dies after providing the fruit.
To help, below is my oldest Dwarf Cavendish in it’s different stages from the time I received the plant to when it was 14 months old. I’m still looking for a photo of it in Dec 2018 or Jan 2019 – there was quite a jump in size between Sept, 2018 and April, 2019.
This was the plant as i received it from a friend in June 2018. The ‘stalk’ was only about 3-4″ high with a few leaves.
September 18, 2018 – Grew quite a bit in a couple months.
April 19, 2019 – (Plant on the left) Notice the trunk forming- it lost many bottom leaves to get to this size!
July 27, 2019 – The angle of the plant doesn’t really show it’s height.
Aug 17, 2019 – the plant on the left is my original plant.
7/15/2020: As a follow up to the above plant; It grew to be approximately 6′ and produced a beautiful flower then bananas for me. I hope to find time to post a slideshow showing the steps the plant went through to produce the flower and then the bananas.
Medicinal Benefits:
Below are some medicinal benefits of eating bananas according to WebMD and Healthline:
The most common type of banana is the Cavendish, which is dessert banana. This fruit is green when unripe and turns yellows as it matures.
Bananas contain a fair amount of fiber, as well as several antioxidants.
One medium-sized banana (118 grams) offers (1, 2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source):
The banana is made up exclusively of water and carbs and has very little protein with almost no fat; and the best part- it is only about 105 calories each banana.
When unripe (green) bananas, the carbs consist mostly of starch and resistant starch. As the banana ripens, the starch turns into sugar (glucose, fructose and sucrose).
Other ways bananas may benefit your health:
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