Ornamental Banana, Banana, or Plantain
Musa species (MUSACEAE)
Planting and Growing Ornamental Banana
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow ornamental banana, banana, or plantain in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and fruit of ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
- Growing conditions for ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
- When and where to plant ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
- How to plant ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
- How to shape, prune and control growth of ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
- Landscape uses of ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
- Pest and disease control for ornamental banana, banana, or plantain
Growing Ornamental Banana
About 25 species of fast-growing, treelike, spreading, tropical, rhizomatous, evergreen herbs, to over 15 ft. (4.5 m) tall and 10 ft. (3 m) wide, with smooth, shiny, light green, sometimes striped with brown or purple, broad-bladed fronds, to 5 ft. (1.5 m) long, from a trunklike base.
Ornamental Banana Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Showy, yellow flowers, to 5 in. (13 cm) long, with purple, red bracts, on nodding, fleshy stems, from the center of the leafstalks, to 3 ft. (90 cm) long, form edible or inedible fruit in fingerlike clusters. Grown primarily for foliage.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zone 9–11. Very tender.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained, sandy humus. Fertility: Very Rich. 6.0–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full to filtered sun. Space 4–6 ft. (1.2–1.8 m) apart.
Proper Care
Moderate–challenging. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize monthly. Prune fruited stalks to soil. Mulch; top dress soil annually with fresh compost, 1–2 in. (25–50 mm) thick. Propagate by division, offsets, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for backgrounds, fencelines in tropical gardens. Aphid, mealybug, spider mite and brown spot susceptible.