Been thinking about trying my hand at bananas. We are well out of the tropics but not really cold. I have googled bananas and am confused. Some sites say they need to be in full sun others say shade. I know they have to be protected from wind and the area that is most protected is behind a shed and in between two tanks. This area doesn't get a lot of sun. A nearby nursery is selling Gold finger plants. Any comments appreciated. Because the shed is about 4 metres high I am thinking if this spot is a goer I would need a plant less than this height Cheers
I have seen Bananas grow and fruit up in the Ozark Mountains, my friend there grows them in what I would describe as clumps (10 to 15 "trees" in a group). He does have to dig them up and over winter these plants in a cellar he dug just for this purpose. Bananas do best when they have full sun but with some wind shelter (if your winds are in the 20 mph upper limit they will do just fine with out much wind shelter). If they don't get enough sun they will not produce fruit, if the winds are higher than 20 mph for sustained periods ( one hour or longer at a time) they might suffer wind burn or even be blown down (not a very deep root system). I'd try a few different places with varying exposures to both sun and wind to identify the place (s) they like best for growing in your area. Bananas fruit best when they are in multiples, they can be the same variety (unlike apples and pears or peaches which produce best when there are other varieties available for pollination). We have been thinking of planting 5-6 banana plants in a space we have that gets 8 hours of summer sun and has a surround of hickory and oak trees for blocking our sustained 5-15 mph winds. I am hoping to get these in the ground next year. Good luck to you on growing your own bananas, it is something I am looking forward to doing as well. You might want to do a little soil prep for best success, bananas like a good amount of humus in the soil and a pH of around 6.5, manganese in addition to P and K are more important than N in soil for growing bananas, other trace elements will improve the taste as well.
It is possible to get seed and maybe plants for bananas that grow in a cooler temperate climate. They are more of the lady finger type. I have seed for this but didnt sow it this year-waiting to get my glasshouse finished so I can start them off in that to make sure they take.
We grow bananas in all sorts of places on our property and find them to work well in lots of different areas We have bananas on a windy west facing wall, getting afternoon Australian sun (think hot), and they have boomed. We have bananas in a cool shady spot, sheltered from winds and rain, that only gets morning easterly sun, and they have a bunch of bananas on them right now too. Bananas are very versatile. Give them a go. You never know. We have even grown bananas as pot plants, simply for the tropical look, and have still got little mini bananas from them - even though the plants were quite dwarfed for their natural size. Good luck!
They are quite hardy and I wouldn't worry about wind. It's plenty windy here and the worse that happens is that the large leaves shred but they can still photosynthesize fine. Bananas love sun and moisture and grey water, particularly from a laundry machine. No harm planting one and trying it out. So long as your climate allows, that one will in a couple years turn to a big clump. They spread only about a foot per year and can be dug up and supply numerous suckers which can be cut off and transplanted elsewhere. Plant where it is moist.