A banana plant flowers once from each stalk. The flower stalk pushes up through the center of the plant and hangs down from the top. It ends in a large, teardrop-shaped bud covered in purple or green bracts. As the bracts lift and drop, rows of flowers appear. The first flowers are female and grow into hands of bananas without pollination. The last flowers, inside the bud, are male and never make fruit. Fruit is ready about 2 to 6 months after the flower stalk appears, depending on the weather.
Where is your plant now? Only leaves means it is still in the vegetative stage. A stalk poking out of the top means flowering has started. Small green fingers on the stalk mean fruit is forming, so it is time to think about removing the male bud. For the full growth cycle, see how banana trees grow.
Banana tree flowering stages
Banana plants go through three main stages. The plant grows leaves first, then flowers, then fruits. The flowering stage has several steps of its own. Each step below follows the University of Florida IFAS Extension guide to growing bananas.
- Vegetative growth
- Flower stalk emerges (shooting)
- Bracts open and female flowers bloom
- Male flowers bloom and the bud can come off
- Fruit fills out and ripens
Vegetative growth stage
A banana “tree” is a large herbaceous plant, not a tree. Its trunk is a pseudostem made of packed layers of leaf sheaths. UF/IFAS explains that the true stem is an underground rhizome, also called a corm. During the vegetative stage, the plant grows roots and puts out new leaves from the center of the pseudostem.
UF/IFAS says a banana flowers 10 to 15 months after planting, once it has made 26 to 32 leaves. The University of Hawaii CTAHR puts the start of flower development at 9 to 12 months after planting. Cool weather slows the process. UF/IFAS notes that plant growth slows below 60°F (16°C) and stops at 50°F (10°C). To speed things along, see how fast a banana tree grows.
Flowering stage 1: The flower stalk emerges
The flower stalk is called an inflorescence. It forms underground and grows up through the middle of the pseudostem. UF/IFAS notes that growers call this process “shooting.” The stalk comes out between the top leaves. As it grows longer and heavier, it bends over and hangs down.
Cold weather can cause trouble here. UF/IFAS lists “choking” as a sign of chilling injury. The flower stalk or fruit bunch fails to come out of the pseudostem. This can happen when temperatures stay below 60°F (16°C) but above freezing.
Flowering stage 2: The bud opens and female flowers bloom
At the end of the hanging stalk is the bud, a large teardrop covered in thick bracts. The bracts are leaf-like structures. UF/IFAS describes them as purplish to greenish. The bracts lift and shed one at a time. Each one uncovers a group of 10 to 20 flowers set in a spiral around the stalk.
The first flowers to appear are female. Each one has a small banana-shaped ovary behind it. In edible bananas, UF/IFAS says the ovaries grow into fruit without pollination. Growers call this parthenocarpy. Each cluster of fruit is a “hand,” and each banana is a “finger.” CTAHR adds that in most cultivars, a few hands of neuter flowers come after the female flowers. These have no working ovaries or stamens.
Flowering stage 3: Male flowers bloom and the bud comes off
The last flowers to appear are male. They sit at the very end of the stalk, inside the bracts of the bud. CTAHR says they have working stamens but no working ovaries, so they never make fruit. The bud keeps opening and dropping bracts and male flowers for weeks. A long, bare stalk forms between the bananas and the bud.
Most home growers cut the bud off. UF/IFAS says removing the male bud speeds fruit development if you do it right after the female flowers have set fruit. Cut the stalk below the last hand of bananas. In some places the bud is food. CTAHR notes that in Southeast Asia, the male bud is cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
Fruiting stage
Once the bud is off, the plant puts its effort into the bananas. The fingers grow longer and fill out. Timing depends on the weather and the variety. UF/IFAS gives 80 to 180 days from shooting to harvest in Florida. CTAHR says fruit matures in about 60 to 90 days after the flowers first appear in Hawaii. Learn more in when banana trees bear fruit.
Each pseudostem fruits only once. UF/IFAS says to cut the stalk off at the base after harvest and chop it up for mulch. New stalks from the same rhizome produce the next crop. See how to prune banana trees for which suckers to keep.
Fertilizing banana plants through flowering
Bananas need a lot of potassium. UF/IFAS recommends a fertilizer with an N-P-K ratio near 3-1-6, such as 6-2-12, with 2 to 3 percent magnesium. Start young plants with 1/2 pound every two months. Increase the amount little by little to 5 to 6 pounds at flowering and fruiting time, 10 to 18 months later.
Those amounts are for bananas planted in the ground in Florida. Potted and indoor bananas need far less. Follow the label on your fertilizer and match it to the size of the plant. For more detail, see banana tree fertilizer.
Harvesting bananas
UF/IFAS says to harvest bunches when the fingers are plump but before they turn yellow. For home growers, pick when the fruit has reached the normal size for the variety. At that point, the edges of the fingers have smoothed out and the sides have swelled. UF/IFAS suggests harvesting 7 to 14 days before the fruit would ripen on the plant.
Cut the whole bunch and hang it in a cool, shady place to ripen. UF/IFAS notes that this seems to give better flavor than ripening on the plant. The bananas on one bunch will not all ripen at once, so you can eat them over a stretch of days. Do not refrigerate green bananas. UF/IFAS says cold before ripening causes chilling injury. CTAHR adds that green or ripe bananas should not be stored below 58°F (14°C). Grow your own with my guide to how to grow a banana tree, or browse varieties of bananas.
Banana flowering FAQ
How long does it take a banana tree to flower?
UF/IFAS says a banana flowers 10 to 15 months after planting, once it has made 26 to 32 leaves. University of Hawaii CTAHR puts it at 9 to 12 months. Cool weather slows it down.
Should I cut off the banana flower?
Cut off the male bud, not the bananas. UF/IFAS says removing the male bud speeds fruit development if you do it right after the female flowers set fruit. Cut below the last hand of bananas.
Do banana flowers need to be pollinated?
No. UF/IFAS says the ovaries of edible bananas grow into fruit without pollination. This is called parthenocarpy.
How long after flowering are bananas ready?
UF/IFAS gives 80 to 180 days from the flower stalk emerging to harvest in Florida. CTAHR says about 60 to 90 days in Hawaii. Warm weather speeds it up.
Does a banana plant die after flowering?
The stalk that fruited does not flower again. UF/IFAS says to cut it off at the base after harvest. New stalks from the same rhizome grow up and produce the next crop.
Where to buy banana plants
Bananas need a long, warm season to flower, so in cold climates they flower best in a greenhouse. Some links earn me a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Banana plants by mail
Nature Hills Nursery sells hardy and dwarf banana plants.
Feed
Bananas are heavy feeders. Espoma Plant-tone is an all-purpose organic plant food. UF/IFAS favors a high-potassium mix for bananas, so check the label and feed through the warm months.
A soaker hose
A flat soaker hose (also at Lowe’s) gives a banana the deep, steady water it wants in summer.
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