Alright, everybody knows what a banana is. But here's some info you might find interesting! The banana family, thought to have originated in Asia, but commonly found in South America, is a large paddle-shaped leafed plant with clusters of edible fruits. Zoned 8-10 outdoors. They grow tall in full sun in these zones outdoors, yet they are ideal as houseplants with warm bright light year round.
Bananas are small to large herbaceous (soft leaved) tree-like plants with leaves held at the top of what appears to be a trunk, but what is actually a tightly woven packed bunch of leaf sheaths and leaf stalks that emerge from an underground stem called a raceme. A banana starts as a bulb (or corm. That's right, C-O-R-M....Not Corn). Roots grow from the lower surface of the corm and the banana leaves form from the top surface of the bulb's stem called a raceme. You can start these plants from seeds, but it is a little more difficult and much more time consuming to do. Many seeds can take 6 to 8 months to show growth or healthy germination, and most seeds must be scored before this can be attempted. There is no guarantee on seeds, if you want a guaranteed plant, simply buy the plant.
A banana plant can grow from 5' to 35' in as little as one year depending on variety and growing environment. Of course a banana's growth will slow if temperatures drop into the 50's. Even though your banana may look like a dead stump in the ground in the Winter, do not remove it, unless you live in a part of the country where the ground freezes solid. Instead, we suggest that you purchase some burlap from any hardware store, and wrap the trunk of the tree down to the ground, only allowing the leaves to be exposed. Of course, do this before first frost appears. Leave the burlap on until all fear of frost is gone. In Arizona, we would wrap our trees just before Thanksgiving and unwrap around mid-March. You may want to refrain from too much water or fertilizer during these colder months. If you are in a colder region, you may just want to dig up your stump, including some surrounding soil and keep it in a warmer place out of the elements, like a garage, or basement, until warmer weather is near. Folks in the East may even want to consider planting the banana in a moveable pot with a saucer in the first place, keep it as a houseplant, and when it’s warm and humid out, move the plant outside. Thank you for your purchase and enjoy!
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