The blood banana plant is very different from regular banana plants. It’s a variety of wild bananas also known as Musa Acuminata. This kind of plant usually grows in Sumatra and Indonesia. The blood banana plant is known as an ornamental plant because of the red patches on the leaves that make the plant to be an extraordinary plant.
It’s not beneficial only as an ornamental plant, but people can also eat the small-seeded fruit that this plant produces. People love to grow this banana plant in their gardens for the blood banana plant fruit that’s full of nutrition and other food values and also because they look very beautiful
But because it’s a wild plant, people are unaware of the right procedure to grow it in their house garden. Some people get disappointed after their plant doesn’t grow up to be a mature banana blood plant but it happens because they don’t know how to take care of them.
So let’s find out how you can grow blood banana plants in your garden and how you can take care of them in the correct way. Also, you must know the origin of the banana blood plant so that you can try and create an atmosphere exactly like their native habitat for your plant at home. So I’ll enlighten you about the origin of blood banana plants too.
Origin Of Blood Banana Plant:
You’ll be astonished to know that Blood Banan AKA Musa Acuminata was the first subspecies of banana that was spread by humans out of Southeast Asia. It traveled a long way from Java to Indonesia to its native habitat Sumatra.
Blood bananas are the ancestors of East African Highland Bananas that are genetically distinct and commercially important. Blood bananas are known as mai’a ‘oa in Hawaii and it’s the only seeded banana that got introduced into Hawaii.
It’s a wild plant and is very rare in some countries as it only naturally grows in tropical areas. Some blood banana plants do produce edible fruits but most of them don’t produce any fruit.
Uses Of A Blood Banana Plant:
A blood banana plant can do wonders that other usual banana plants won’t be able to do. These gorgeous-looking plants will turn your half-dead neglected backyard into a picturesque garden with its beautiful-looking leaves.
You can put the tree beside your swimming pool or fences to give your house an exquisite look. These clumping bananas are also very effective filters and background plants. It can fulfill all your decorative wishes as an ornamental plant.
How To Grow Banana Blood Plants Indoors:
To grow any plant you need to know its nature first. In which ambiance it grows the best or how much bigger it can get when it’s fully grown you need to have an idea about all these things.
Blood banana plants usually grow up to be 5-8 feet tall. Dwarf blood banana plants comparatively grow faster than the usual ones and they can be 8 to 10 feet tall.
They need a tropical environment to grow properly so it would be best if you can create a tropical environment for these plants in your home garden.
Blood bananas grow well in dry climates which is similar to their actual habitat in the east African highlands. These plants are intolerable to frost and high humidity is basically their enemy when it comes to their growth.
To plant the blood banana tree take a pot and put some well-drained soil in it as blood bananas grow best in well-drained soil. It would be best if the soil is slightly acidic. The pH level of the soil should be around 5.5 and 5.6.
Plant a store-bought blood banana tree in the soil and give a nice amount of water to the plant. If you’re growing the banana blood plant in your house then place the pot 1ft. from a window that is the source of sunlight. Because blood bananas love a sunny atmosphere.
Make sure that the soil in the pot is not soggy or not too dry. It needs to be moisturized at the right amount. Ensure to not put the plant in even a slightly dark place because blood bananas despise dark places.
Now you may ask me “Where can I arrange a blood banana plant from?” Well, for your convenience there are a lot of online nurseries that sell blood banana plants that are of good quality. All you have to do is search “Blood banana plant for sale” and find the perfect plant for your garden.
Usually, blood banana plant prices are not very costly. You can find a good-looking blood banana plant for $19 at several online sites.
How to Take Care Of Your Blood Banana Plant:
· As blood banana plants usually grow in tropical areas, they’re not naturally comfortable in the atmosphere we live in. So we must take extra care of our little red banana plants in order to make them grow bigger and fuller.
- Banana blood plant care is a work of punctuality as you’ll need to water them from time to time. Your blood banana plant needs a total of 0.8 cups of water every 9 days. If it is summer time then you may need to water the plant even more. While watering your blood banana plant, you must keep in mind that the soil must dry out a little bit before you water the soil again.
- When it comes to humidity, blood bananas don’t necessarily need additional humidity; they absorb water mostly from their roots and not their leaves. So it’s better to water the soil so that your plant can absorb enough water.
- Keeping a banana blood plant indoors is a challenging thing as this plant needs a lot of sunlight to grow. The blood banana plants need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight to stay alive and fresh. Getting more sunlight will bring more natural colors to the leaves.
- Now let’s talk about fertilizer. How much fertilizer does a banana blood plant need? For every cubic foot of soil that’s surrounding your plant, you’ll need 3 cups of fertilizer. You can use any standard fertilizer that you can get from nurseries around you.
Fruits Of Blood Banana Plant:
The fruits of the banana blood plant are small-seeded and sweet. These fruits are highly nutritious and have other ingredients like potassium, fiber, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and antioxidants. These fruits can help you with your blood pressure and digestion. They’re also known to improve the health of your bone as it consists of a lot of calcium and potassium.
Many people have doubts if the fruits of the blood banana plant are edible or not. Well, it is edible and people living in Hawaii and Southeast Asia love this fruit. But unfortunately, not all blood banana plants produce fruits.
Final Thought:
Banana blood plants are very dear to many gardeners because of their picturesque look. The unique color contrast of the foliage makes it unique from any other plants. The Cherry on the top is that this plant also produces fruits that are absolutely edible and nutritious.
So if you also want to plant a blood banana tree indoors, you can follow the procedure that I’ve explained in a very detailed way and grow a big tree all by yourself. If you can grow a mature beautiful tree then you might even get lucky enough to enjoy its fruits.
