You can use almost ANYTHING to fertilize bananas. They will use as much fertilizer as you can give them. I use a combination of grass fertilizer, evergreen fertilizer, miracle grow, fish emulsion and composted cow manure. If you can try to use organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion or manure since they are not as harsh on the environment. So, to answer your question 10-3-10 is fine at least once a week during active growth.

Whatever is cheapest, such as 16-16-16.

8-8-8, 10-10-10, 13-13-13, all with trace elements. You can buy 40-50 lbs ( 18-23 kilos) for about $6-$8 US. Go to a local farmers' co-op store or feed & seed store and specifically ask for fertilizer with "trace elements".

most of these fertilizers are time-release, and I'm not sure how often they should be applied. It seems that the instructions are meant for applications. I have a very small area, only two dwarf cavendishes, and had my first hand last year, about 50 bananas. But I didn't do anything special; iin fact, I don't think I did anything at all. They just popped up. Now I want to make sure that I get a crop this year. Any info is appreciated. thanks js

bananas seem to take all the food they are given..i agree..
i use a 15:5:30 with bananas they need a fair amout of
nitrogen..but they need a TON of potash..
also minor elements are needed too..so a good balanced
fertiilizer ..i use to buy a "name brand" banana fertilizer/fuel
now i make my own..much cheaper..and same levels of
nutrients..
good luck to ya !!!! let us know how you do...

A full sized (say, 5+ feet of p-stem) will consume up to 1lb of Nitrogen per year. Edible, fruiting bananas can use up to 1.5x as much Potassium (K) as Nitrogen (N), and Phosphate needs are much lower. Ornamentals will do better with more N than K.

For ornamental bananas (such as musa basjoo), a ratio like 15-5-10 would be ideal (a 3-1-2 ratio) and for fruiting bananas, a 10-5-15 (2-1-3 ratio) would be preferred. Having an even lower Phosphate (P) wouldn't hurt much.

If you're using time release fertilizer, it'll be harder finding ideal ratios, but you can still get by fine. I would likely toss each plant a handful every 2 weeks or so, so there's always a steady stream of decaying fert for the plants.

Where I am in Florida, it's difficult to batch/bulk purchase fertilizers to mix myself thanks to county laws (trying to protect bay area water). I get by fine with Water Soluble All purpose Miracle-Gro 24-8-16. Most of my bananas are ornamental.

Should I put the leaves of oak tree leaves under the citrus tree as fertilizer or should I clean well under the tree and put the fertilizer then