Get an exotic tropical look in your indoor or outdoor garden! This hardy banana can survive planted in the ground outdoors with proper mulching, withstanding temperatures below zero.
This vigorous grower forms large clumps that can reach up to 13’ in height. Also known as the Japanese Fiber Banana, it makes a fine container specimen as well. If grown inside, it will tolerate varying conditions of temperature and light with ease. Although it does produce bananas, they are not edible.
Simple to grow, give it plenty of water, fertilizer and sunlight.
In cold climates plants will need to be overwintered. Options for overwintering include:
(1) Bring container plant indoors in fall before first frost and place container in a large sunny room for overwintering as a houseplant, with reduced water and fertilization;
(2) If container plant is too large to bring inside as a houseplant, cut foliage back to 6-8″ in fall after first frost, and store container in a cool, dark, frost-free corner of the basement until spring, with periodic addition of a touch of moisture as needed in winter to prevent the soils from totally drying out;
(3) If container plant is too heavy or too large to bring inside, remove plant from container in fall before first frost, wrap roots in plastic and store in a cool, dark, frost-free corner of the basement until spring (foliage may be trimmed back or left on the plant and allowed to brown up in the normal course);
(4) If growing plants directly in the ground, dig, wrap roots, trim back the leaves and store as in option #3 above.