Cold Hardy Banana (Musa ‘Basjoo’)

Are you looking for a cold-hardy banana tree that is fast-growing and provides a tremendous ornamental display? Then the Musa basjoo banana tree is what you need. The only problem is it produces inedible green fruit because it is bitter and dry. Keep reading to know more about this outdoor plant.

I. Appearance and Characteristics

Musa basjoo is an herbaceous perennial with an arborescent habit. It can grow up to five metres tall in all directions.

Seeds of interlocking leaves make up the stipe, a woody green and brown stem.

This false trunk is crowned by a tuft of bright green leaves with a pronounced central vein. In mature Japanese banana trees, the leaf blades reach two meters in length and 70 centimeters in width. The paddle-shaped leaves are whole. However, they break up when buffeted by the wind. The limbs then resemble the palms of the Betel palm.

Flowering takes place in summer. A brown to purple bract appears at the top of the stipe. It shelters yellow or cream flowers.

These give rise to bunches of green and yellow bananas. But these fruits are not edible. They contain mostly latex and black seeds.

Musa basjoo is not toxic tohumans or animals. But be careful if you have a cat! Apartment tigers love to nibble its foliage!

II. How to Grow and Care

Sunlight

The cold hardy banana tree needs full sun with slight shade to grow. It is best to place it in the landscaping center, away from your other plants creating too much shade when planted outside. You can leave it standing on an uncovered patio or place it close to a large window when grown in a pot. Still, the plant needs protection from high winds that can shred and dry out the leaves.

Temperature and Humidity

When it comes to temperature and humidity, the most care is taken in winter. Your banana tree proliferates in one season. Yet, when the first frost hits, the plant dies back to the ground. So before the first frost hits, you can cut back the stems and leaves.

Leave about up to ten inches of it above the ground. Next, apply a heavy mulch over the top of the crown. For ease of removing when spring arrives, you can use a chicken wire cage placed over the plant before adding the mulch. Then, when growing your plant in a container, you can move it indoors.

For keeping your plant indoors, your banana trees need a humidity of 50% but can tolerate lower levels.

Watering

Your Musa basjoo needs a lot of water as the whole structure of the plant is water-rich. So you need to water your plant regularly to keep the soil moist. While the mature plants can tolerate some levels of lime found in the water, they prefer rain or stale water. Growing your banana plants inside helps to provide them with a misting on the leaves and the pseudostem.

Soil

A loam soil is essential whether you plant your cold hardy banana trees in a bucket to place indoors or outside by the pool. The best substrate to use needs to be porous, allowing the water to drain freely. You can use a potting mix filled with coconut fibers to retain moisture and prevent the roots from rotting.

Doing this provides a well-drained potting mix for your plant to thrive. Still, the ground needs to be acidic with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. When grown as an outdoor plant, you need to provide it with a hole three times wider and deeper than the container it is in. You can work in organic mixed with inorganic substances to improve drainage.

For organic soil, you can use biosolids, sphagnum peat moss, and a well-draining composted manure. When you want to add inorganic materials, the best is to use perlite and vermiculite.

Fertilizing

Compared to many other plants, this tree is a heavy feeder. You can add a 1/2 teaspoon of fertilizer to a gallon of water. Apply the feed every week under full sun conditions to help with growth. When placed in lower light or cool temperatures, you can reduce the frequency of the feeding. When your plant becomes dormant in winter, you need not feed your banana trees. A great product to use is 15-15-15 or 7-9-5.

Potting and Pruning

With the rapid growth of the banana tree, it can grow high and may need relocation to a bigger pot.

• Remove the offshoots from the mother plant to prevent negative growth.
• Place a quart of clay shards and sand at the bottom.
• Cut the rhizomes shorter to encourage growth.
• Place the tree in the pot and fill it with potting mix.
• Press on the ground to provide the plant with a hold.
• Use lime-free lukewarm water and remove the excess water.
• At this time, do not feed your plant and wait for about six weeks before providing the plant with fertilizer.
• You can prune off the yellowed leaves, and once the central shoots flowers and carries fruit. Then, you can remove the young shoots at the base.

Propagation

The best way to propagate Japanese banana plant is through division. For this method, you need to wait for spring when the offshoots appear. Dig the shoots from the soil to remove a portion of the root system. You may need to pull the rhizomes apart from the mother plant.

Take the detached plant and place them in a container filled with moist soil. Remove the lower leaves at the top of the sand. Place the plant in a spot where it receives cooler morning sun. Keep the soil moist once it dries out.

Pests and Diseases

One thing you’ll find is that there are not many pests bothering your tree. Yet, during the winter months, too much moisture in the soil can lead to root rot. Other concerns are aphids and moths that eat on the leaves. To prevent them from destroying your plant, you can use a non-toxic insecticide.

III. Uses and Benefits

Grown primarily as an ornamental, the Japanese banana pairs well with other tropical plants. Use Musa Basjoo in patio and pool settings among hibiscus, plumeria, passion flowers or canna lilies.