WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Musa spp. (shade in low desert), WUCOLS IV

How often to water banana in California

In July in the Central Valley, established banana in loam needs a deep watering about every 5 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 12 gallons a week. Banana is a fast-growing herbaceous plant, not a tree, with a soft false trunk made of leaves and huge leaves that wind easily shreds. Clumps spread underground and send up new shoots, and many kinds reach 10 to 15 feet. It is a thirsty tropical plant in hot weather, yet it needs soil that drains, since soggy ground invites root rot.

PerennialShrubRated for 5 of 6 zones

How often to water banana, month by month

Your city
Plant width
4 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for banana and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry half an inch down in summer heat means a banana is ready for water
  • Leaves wilting on a hot afternoon while the ground feels dry show the clump is short of water
  • Yellowing leaves and a declining plant in waterlogged soil point to root rot from poor drainage
  • Leaves browned and collapsed after a frost are cold damage, and the plant usually regrows from the base in spring
  • Tattered, shredded leaves on an exposed plant come from wind rather than from a watering problem

How to water it

  • Water deeply around the clump with drip or a slow hose, wetting the root zone about a foot down
  • In summer, water again once the top half inch of soil has dried, and cut back as growth slows in cool weather
  • Plant in rich, well-drained soil amended with compost, ideally beside a south wall out of the wind
  • Spread a heavy layer of mulch over the root area, keeping it off the false trunk
  • Widen the watered area as new shoots come up and the clump spreads

Through the seasons

A new banana needs steady water through its first warm season while roots and new shoots spread. Established clumps take ample water from spring through summer, when they grow fast, and much less in winter. Frost burns the leaves, but plants usually regrow from the base in spring. WUCOLS rates banana high water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley, on the south coast and in South Inland. In the low desert it rates moderate water for plants grown in shade. WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the high desert.

In pots

A banana can grow in a deep, wide container, and a pot can move to a warmer spot when frost threatens. Use a well-draining mix and set the pot in full sun, sheltered from wind. In summer heat, check the mix every day or two and water whenever the top half inch is dry, letting the excess run out. Empty the saucer so the roots never sit in water. In winter, water much less, since growth slows in the cold.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
4.27gal per sq ft in JulyHigh water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
27.38 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
1.12.13.24.30.64JAN1.04FEB1.74MAR2.43APR3.32MAY3.97JUN4.27JUL3.82AUG2.88SEP1.88OCT0.89NOV0.55DEC1.12.13.24.30.64JFM2.43AMJ4.27JAS1.88OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 4.27 in Jul, 27.38 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Banana: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.60.641.241.24–0.78
Feb0.841.041.291.39–0.93
Mar1.391.741.842.08–1.52
Apr1.882.432.232.58–1.95
May2.333.322.583.12–2.45
Jun2.583.972.783.67–2.79
Jul2.584.273.174.02–2.85
Aug2.383.822.983.72–2.6
Sep1.982.882.382.98–2.08
Oct1.391.881.842.13–1.49
Nov0.740.891.341.44–0.96
Dec0.50.551.041.09–0.68
Year19.227.3824.829.46–21.08

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated high water in the Central Valley, like banana. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

HydrangeaHydrangea macrophylla & cvs.high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyBlueberriesVaccinium hybrids and cvs (CA native and non- native spp.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyJapanese Sweet FlagAcorus gramineushigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyRed GingerAlpinia purpuratahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyShell GingerAlpinia zerumbethigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyBog RosemaryAndromeda polifoliahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulySiberian BuglossBrunnera macrophyllahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyMarsh MarigoldCaltha palustrishigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyBlood Twig DogwoodCornus sanguineahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyUmbrella Sedge and PapyrusCyperus spp. (CA native and non-native species)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyUmbrella PlantDarmera peltata (Peltiphyllum)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyFoxgloveDigitalis purpurea cvshigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyRed-veined EnkianthusEnkianthus campanulatushigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyAbyssinian BananaEnsete ventricosumhigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyLeopard PlantFarfugium japonicum cvs. (Ligularia tussilaginea cvs.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyTransvaal DaisyGerbera jamesonii & hybridshigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than banana in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

RosesRosa hybrids..bushmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyAzaleasRhododendron spp. (CA native and non-native spp.)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCamelliasCamellia japonica (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGardeniasGardenia spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBird of ParadiseStrelitzia reginae (shade in desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyDahliasDahlia spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHibiscusHibiscus rosa-sinensismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySago PalmCycas revolutamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStar JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyFernsNephrolepis cordifolia (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyDayliliesHemerocallis spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBegoniasBegonia & ssp. & cvs. (shade in the desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyArborvitaeThuja occidentalis ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBambooBambusa spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCalla LiliesZantedeschia aethiopica SHADE IN DESERTmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyLilacsSyringa hybrids (including Descanso hybrids)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes banana, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water banana in summer?

In July, established banana in loam needs a deep watering about every 5 days in the Central Valley, about every 7 days on the south coast and about every 5 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does banana need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established banana needs about 1.7 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 6.9 gallons a day for a plant 8 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for banana change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates banana separately for each of the six California climate zones: high water in the North-Central Coastal zone, high water in the Central Valley zone, high water in the South Coastal zone, high water in the South Inland zone, not suited to this region in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Is a banana plant a tree?

No. Despite its height, it is an herbaceous plant whose false trunk is built from leaves. It grows from an underground corm that keeps sending up fresh shoots.

Will my banana produce fruit in California?

It can, though Southern California gives the most reliable harvest. Fruit can take one to two growing seasons to start, then about three to five months from blossom to harvest. In cooler areas, a clump may fruit only rarely.

Will frost kill my banana?

Frost damages the leaves and stems, but in mild areas the plant usually comes back from the base in spring. Cold tolerant cultivars such as 'Blue Java' take about 30 degrees before damage begins. Wrap the false trunk in burlap before a hard freeze.

Why are my banana leaves shredded?

Wind tears the big, thin leaves. A spot near a south wall or fence, out of the wind, keeps them whole.

Can you overwater a banana?

Yes. It needs plenty of water in hot weather, but waterlogged soil can lead to root rot, and poor drainage invites Fusarium wilt. Plant in soil that drains, and let the top half inch dry before watering again.

How tall do banana plants get?

Many reach 10 to 15 feet and keep adding new shoots, and large kinds such as 'Ice Cream' can grow taller. Give the clump room to spread.

More plant watering guides

Cardinal FlowerSensitive FernRoyal FernRedwood SorrelPink KnotweedSoft Shield FernBlack CottonwoodCarolina Poplar

Sources