Banana Plant, Japanese Fiber Banana (Musa Basjoo) iStock / AlxeyPnferov

HanifMR.com - If you want a banana tree for the garden, it is best to use Musa basjoo because the banana plant is easy to care for and hardy.

Characteristics

Banana Plant Characteristics Photo by Ahnaf Piash on Unsplash

Origin

Banana Plant Origin Photo by Kazden Cattapan on Unsplash

With the scientific name Japanese fiber banana (Musa basjoo), the banana plant is a trendy decorative leaf plant for winter gardens and outdoors, which exudes a natural tropical flair. Like the dwarf edible banana (Musa Acuminata), it belongs to the giant banana family (Musaceae). 

In contrast to the dessert banana (Musa x paradisiaca), most eaten in this country, it is a purely ornamental plant with beautiful flowers but small fruits. Contrary to its name, Musa basjoo does not originally come from Japan but China.

Growth

The large banana leaves are often used for decoration and as a plate replacement. iStock / Leonsbox

Many believe that bananas grow on trees. Botanically, the banana plant is not a tree but a perennial. Banana trees quickly develop into stately ornamental foliage plants with substantial leaf fronds and rapid growth. 

In humid places, without direct sun, they can reach a height of four to five meters. The banana plant reproduces thanks continuously to its root runners, and in a few years, it will become a striking eye-catcher in the garden.

Leaves

Banana Plant Leaves Photo by Ben Eaton on Unsplash

The one to two meters long, 30 centimeters wide, overhanging leaves of the banana tree make it an attractive large plant. The light green leaves sit on about 30 centimeters long, stiff petioles. Banana leaves are used in the kitchen to steam dishes or decorate them.

Blossoms

The inflorescence of the banana tree is spectacular. MSG / Alexandra Ichters

The banana plant flowers appear from around the fifth year of standing. They are large and surrounded by purple bracts that gradually fall off. They give off a slight honey scent. Fruits (from a botanical point of view, bananas are berries, by the way!) Only develop in hot locations. 

Unfortunately, the summer months in our latitudes are not enough to let the bananas ripen, so they remain inedible. After the fruit, the banana plants die, but they form side shoots that replace the old plant.

Location

Banana Plant Location Photo by Mathis Jrdl on Unsplash

The banana tree is a popular winter garden plant for warm and cold winter gardens. Since the hardy banana is frost-tolerant to minus ten degrees, it can even be planted in the garden in mild winter areas. When planted out, it loves a sunny, warm location. 

Choose a place sheltered from the wind, as the leaves tear easily in strong gusts of wind, which makes the banana tree look torn.

Base

Healthy small bananaplant with lantern plant friend. Photo by Jane Duursma on Unsplash

The plant substrate in the tub should be as airy as possible, so it is worth adding expanded clay or coconut fibers and some compost to the tubing soil. In the garden, the banana plant prefers well-drained and humus-rich soil.

Plant Banana Trees

Plant Banana Trees Photo by Esperanza Doronila on Unsplash

In the bed, sufficient space (at least 1.5 meters) should be planned for the banana plant in all directions, as it spreads quickly and wants to present its broad fronds appealingly. If a container plant is to be planted in the bed, this is done between the end of May and August so the banana can settle in well in the new location before winter. 

But do not plant out very young specimens, as they do not survive the winter as well as older banana trees. In the tub, on the other hand, the banana plant is less vigorous and easier to keep under control. Since the banana tree still proliferates, it needs a new planter in spring at least every two years.

Maintain Banana Plants

A banana tree in the garden is an extraordinary eye-catcher. Flora Press / GWI

The banana tree is very thirsty. Especially as a container plant, Musa basjoo needs plenty of water several times a day in summer. It is crucial to ensure that excess water can drain off because the banana does not tolerate waterlogging! 

The soil moisture should be checked on warm days in the open air and watered if necessary. An occasional shower from the garden hose is also good for the banana plant.

Because of the rapid development of its large leaves, the banana plant consumes a lot of nutrients. Therefore, in summer, you should feed your banana with a nitrogen-based liquid fertilizer at least every 14 days to promote growth. 

From autumn onwards, there will be no more fertilization. It can also add long-term fertilizers to the pot or the planting hole. Banana trees planted in the bed are also given a portion of compost in spring.

Should cut iff leaves drawn in to care for the banana tree properly, leaves drawn in should be cut off at the base. The trunk is also carved for winter storage (see below). In spring, the banana will sprout again from the center. 

Container plants that are warm all year round (for example, in a generous winter garden) do not need pruning.

The banana tree also cuts a fine figure in a pot. iStock / Coco Casablanca

Winter Protection and Overwintering

Winter protection for the banana tree MSG / Claudia Schick

In winter, the leaves of a hardy banana freeze back, but the strong pseudo trunk can withstand temperatures down to minus nine degrees. The rhizome survives frosts down to minus 12 degrees. Even if it is sold in stores as a "hardy banana," the banana plant needs good winter protection- even in temperate regions. 

To do this, cut the banana plant down to about one meter in autumn. Then drive three to four wooden stakes into the ground around the plant. These are spanned with close-meshed rabbit wire and the inside filled with leaves, wood wool, or straw. 

Please note that although the trunk should no longer be visible, the material should not be stuffed tightly because the air cushions in between protect the banana tree from the cold. In locations with good water drainage and thickly wrapped up, the rhizome is protected from freezing through, and the perennial sprouts again in the following year.

If the Musa basjoo is overwintered in the house, it should be as bright as possible.

Winter Protection for Banana Trees

In mild regions such as the Upper Rhine, banana trees even form flowers when wintered well. MSG / Petra Jacob-Schwarz

Banana plants are even suitable as garden plants with good winter protection. It is how the exotic species get through the cold season well.

The type of banana Musa basjoo, also known as the hardy banana or Japanese fiber banana, is enjoying increasing popularity in Germany because it survives our winters without damage with the proper winter protection. 

It also overgrows, is robust, and, with reasonable care and a favorable climate, even forms yellow bananas up to ten centimeters long after four to five years. The main stem dies after flowering and fruiting but has created plenty of offshoots by then. 

By the way: the banana plant is often referred to as the banana tree because of its thick trunks. However, it is perennial because the fibrous trunks do not lignify and die in the tropics after they have borne fruit. At the same time, as with many known garden perennials, new banana trunks grow from the ground.

The hardy banana plant is not a tropical plant but comes from the Japanese island of Ryukyu. There is a mild maritime climate there, but the thermometer occasionally drops well below freezing point in winter. 

In Central Europe, the hardy banana thrives best when planted in a sheltered, sunny to partially shaded place in the garden. In humus-rich, evenly moist soil, the perennial proliferates and reaches up to four meters after four to five years. 

Like most perennials, the hardy banana dies above ground in autumn and sprouts out of the base again following spring.

The German name of Musa basjoo is a bit misleading because the plant is not entirely hardy in our latitudes. So that it survives the winter safely and without too much loss of substance, you should treat it to good winter protection. We'll show you how to do this in the following step-by-step guide.

Step by Step: Winter Protection for Banana Trees

01 Cut Back the Banana Tree

Cut Back the Banana Tree Photo: MSG/Bodo Butz

Cut back all of the shoots of your banana plant to about waist height. As already mentioned, the individual trunks are not properly lignified but can become very thick and have a tough, fleshy fabric. Therefore, they are best to cut through with a small folding saw. 

The best time to do this in late autumn is before heavy frost sets.

02 Compost Clippings

Compost Clippings Photo: MSG/Bodo Butz

The cut shoots of the banana plant are easy to compost. Alternatively, you can also use them as a mulch material. It would be best to first shred the clippings with a powerful garden shredder in both cases.

03 Protect Stumps from the Cold

Protect Stumps from the Cold Photo: MSG/Bodo Butz

After cutting off the shoots, surround the remaining stumps with styrofoam sheets placed on edge. The plates protect the banana plant against the cold penetrating from the side. They are available from hardware stores as an insulating material for house construction and can be reused for several years because they will not rot. 

Alternatively, other materials are also suitable, for example, wooden panels or old foam mattresses.

04 Fix the Styrofoam Sheets

Fix the Styrofoam Sheets Photo: MSG/Bodo Butz

Secure the styrofoam sheets with tension belts or ropes after being set up. The gaps between the individual panels should be closed as completely as possible so that no cold can penetrate from the outside.

05 Fill in Straw

Fill in Straw Photo: MSG/Bodo Butz

Now fill the entire interior between the banana stumps with dry straw. Stuff again and again with a wooden slat until all the spaces are well served. The straw binds moisture and also insulates against the cold.

06 Wrap the Construction in Plastic Fabric

Wrap the Construction in Plastic Fabric Photo: MSG/Bodo Butz

Finally, wrap the entire construction with plastic fabric. It is also commercially available as a mulch fabric or ribbon fabric. The material is more suitable than a film because it lets the condensation water rise from below through. 

It protects the inside of the banana tree from rot. The fabric is also fixed with a tension belt. Tip: If you leave a slightly longer banana stump in the middle, the rainwater will better run off to the sides, and no puddle can form in the middle.

Sorts

Healthy small bananaplant with lantern plant friend, Bokeh. Photo by Jane Duursma on Unsplash

The most suitable type of Japanese fiber banana for our latitudes is 'Nana' (also 'Sakhalin'). The dwarf form only grows about three meters in height and is thus somewhat more manageable than the wild form. 

The second plus point is that it is even more robust against frost, down to minus 15 degrees. Although the leaves freeze to death in sub-zero temperatures, the hardy banana 'Nana' will reliably sprout from the rhizome again when it is well protected. Another variety is 'Sapporo,' which also has good frost tolerance. 

Both varieties have slightly smaller leaves than the wild form and grow more slowly. Musa basjoo 'Variegata' has variegated white leaves. It is only increased by Kindel and is a real rarity. Musa basjoo 'Izmit' comes from Turkey, similar to the wild Musa basjoo.

Propagate Banana Trees

Propagate Banana Trees Photo by Pasindu Danthanarayana on Unsplash

The ornamental banana is commercially available as a seed—unfortunately, the success rate when sowing is very low. For the banana seeds to germinate better, you should first scratch the hard seed coat with a file (this process is also called scarification). 

In nutrient-poor potting soil, the seeds must be kept permanently moist. Covered with a hood or cling film at a floor temperature of 25 degrees, the seeds germinate in a light place after three to four weeks. But sometimes, it can take a lot longer. If you have a plant available, the easiest way to propagate it is to use cuttings that have already set roots.

Diseases and Pests

Diseases and Pests Photo by Sean Paul Kinnear on Unsplash

The banana tree is very resistant to pests and diseases. Spider mites can only appear on the banana plant in winter if the air is too dry. Dry leaf margins also indicate that the air in the room is too dry.

Practical Video: Using Banana Peel as Fertilizer

Did you know that you can also fertilize your plants with a banana peel? This video will explain how to prepare the bowls before use properly and how to use the fertilizer correctly afterward.