Bananas are fascinating plants. They grow on every continent except for Antarctica. They are the largest flowering herbaceous plant and almost all of them will grow happily outside in the British summer and can be seen in many gardens and stately homes throughout the UK.
Almost every variety can be grown from seed, although interestingly not the most common edible variety Musa Dwarf Cavendish – this has to be grown by division as it produces no seeds.
I first fell in love with these beautifully architectural and economically important plants seeing them at Kew gardens and on various foreign holidays. The most stunning of these encounters was in a butterfly garden on the shore of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. An incredible claret red Ensete Ventricosum, with huge paddle shaped 3m tall leaves, was in flower. The bucket-sized, green, head-height inflorescence was being pollinated by all manner of large bees, butterflies, wasps, and at least 3 different types of hummingbird. I think I must have stood looking at it for half an hour or more.
And so the first banana in my garden was a small Ensete Ventricosum Maurelii, bought from the Eden Project, which soon grew to an impressive 2m tall. I grow many different varieties in my garden now, including a small clump of Musa Basjoo – a hardy plant from Japan. I have been growing these for twenty years.
This year, for the first time, one of my plants is flowering! A rugby ball-sized green leafy bud appeared in the crown of the plant. Over a couple of days, it raised up on a stem and hung over the side under its significant weight. The outermost bract peeled off yesterday revealing a row of tiny green proto-bananas with a yellow tube-shaped flower on each. More rows have appeared over night.
Of course, we have no hummingbirds to pollinate the flowers but wasps seem to be doing a good job. Unfortunately, Musa Basjoo fruit is not really edible but the excitement for me is knowing one of my plants has finally rewarded me with an incredible natural spectacle!
If you’re interested in growing your own banana plants, Musa Basjoo is an ideal starter. Planted in a sheltered sunny spot, they will survive nearly all UK weather conditions, dying back to a woody corm at ground level in really cold conditions but returning in the spring. They can grow to 4m tall and spread out 0.5m. Growing in a large pot will reduce the size of the plant if you have limited space.
I think every garden needs one!
Image Credits: Neil Archer .