How can I make my banana tree grow faster?

[Colin1110082]

Hello, my banana gets full sun from 8:30-4:30, I water it every other day and 2 weeks ago I did 3 table spoons of blood meal and last week I did a table spoon of potash. Is there anything else I can do to make it grow fast, mine has been growing slow and I heard these can grow really fast. Mine pushed out 1 leaf every week. I just want it to be a decent size before the fall. Also look at the dragon fly on the leaf to the right. This always has dragon flies perched on it and I have a balsam fir that always attracts them too. Someone on YouTube said cut old leaves but I’m hesitant to do that because I think the trunk peels back when you cut them off and I don’t want my tree to snap in the wind.

[SeanK]

Water every day. It's a newbie, so it needs to spread it's roots.

[Colin1110082]

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

Water every day. It's a newbie, so it needs to spread it's roots.

That’s easy enough lol. Okay I can do that. Thanks

[Xenon]

It looks way underfed...bananas are hungry fertilizer consuming black holes. For that size, would probably be something like 2 cups of blood meal and a 1/4 cup of potash every 2-3 weeks...could probably push it even more. You should feed magnesium if applying potassium at about a 1:5 ratio...so 1/4 cup of potassium sulfate (50% K) and a 1/4 cup of magnesium sulfate (~10% Mg). Easier if you just use some kind of palm/hibiscus/citrus/tropical foliage fertilizer that roughly has a 3-1-2 or 3-1-3 NPK ratio with microelements. Don't cut any leaves. 

[Colin1110082]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

It looks way underfed...bananas are hungry fertilizer consuming black holes. For that size, would probably be something like 2 cups of blood meal and a 1/4 cup of potash every 2-3 weeks...could probably push it even more. You should feed magnesium if applying potassium at about a 1:5 ratio...so 1/4 cup of potassium sulfate (50% K) and a 1/4 cup of magnesium sulfate (~10% Mg). Easier if you just use some kind of palm/hibiscus/citrus/tropical foliage fertilizer that roughly has a 3-1-2 or 3-1-3 NPK ratio with microelements. Don't cut any leaves. 

I only have blood meal and potash. Is magnesium sulfate necessary or can I get by just fine using what I have? I can fertilize again tomorrow i’ll just do a little less than a fourth of potash and maybe a cup and a half of blood meal. The reason I went light on the potash is because the bag said it is very strong so I guessed maybe a tablespoon around the base is fine. Can I do these together?

[Colin1110082]

16 hours ago, Xenon said:

It looks way underfed...bananas are hungry fertilizer consuming black holes. For that size, would probably be something like 2 cups of blood meal and a 1/4 cup of potash every 2-3 weeks...could probably push it even more. You should feed magnesium if applying potassium at about a 1:5 ratio...so 1/4 cup of potassium sulfate (50% K) and a 1/4 cup of magnesium sulfate (~10% Mg). Easier if you just use some kind of palm/hibiscus/citrus/tropical foliage fertilizer that roughly has a 3-1-2 or 3-1-3 NPK ratio with microelements. Don't cut any leaves. 

I just went out and I did a few pinches of blood meal and a pinch of potash. I gave it lots of water after. I’ll probably just leave it alone for the rest of the summer besides watering it. I regret not buying the actual banana fertilizer. Instead I listened to someone on YouTube who said get blood meal and potash 

[Jack Lord]

I agree with watering daily, maybe even 2x. IMHO you cannot overwater Bananas.

I fertilize with grass fertilizer. Mine reach close to 20 feet and multiply. Granted I am in a warmer zone than you

[Colin1110082]

2 hours ago, Jack Lord said:

I agree with watering daily, maybe even 2x. IMHO you cannot overwater Bananas.

I fertilize with grass fertilizer. Mine reach close to 20 feet and multiply. Granted I am in a warmer zone than you

I really wish I got that banana stuff lol. My watering can is 2 gallons so I usually just do a full can every other day but today I did 4 gallons or 2 full buckets. I water my sabal minor every day as well. Hopefully if I water more it will grow faster

[Chester B]

It's not going to do much this year.  They're slow when planted and you don't have a long growing season.  They develop huge underground culms and that's what it's going to be working on.  Takes about 3 years for them to get to a mature size.  Try moving one after three years and what is underground is massive.  I moved what I would call a small clump, it had 3 stalks about 5 feet tall, and the culm underneath was the size of a large storage bin.  

[happypalms]

Warm soil temperature you can fertilise until the cows come home you need to warm the soil place rocks around as mulch that will help with thermal mass.

[SeanK]

What will you do with it over the winter?

[PalmsInBaltimore]

7 hours ago, SeanK said:

What will you do with it over the winter?

If it's like the bananas here, it will just die back and regrow next spring

[SeanK]

2 hours ago, PalmsInBaltimore said:

If it's like the bananas here, it will just die back and regrow next spring

Dig it up before the frost and store it in your basement. Replant it next May.

[Than]

It looks thirsty and hungry to me too. Water every day during summer. How about some worm castings?