Bananas: Grow for their tropical look

A few weeks ago, I wrote in this space about a flowering shrub called Pineapple Guava, a plant that produces fruit that resemble neither pineapple fruit not guava fruit. Today I think I’ll talk to you about banana trees that produce fruit but which don’t resemble bananas. Actually, that describes all of the hardy banana trees that grow in North Carolina. Perhaps this will require a bit of explanation.

The yellow banana we are all used to seeing in grocery stores comes from a subgroup of varieties known botanically as Cavendish types within the species Musa acuminata. These plants are native to Southeast Asia, and are large herbaceous perennials that grow 12-20 feet tall. Bananas grow from corms, a type of modified underground stem. The above-ground portion that looks like a stem or trunk is actually a sheath formed by tightly rolled, unopened leaves. The fully open leaves at the apex of the plant are large and paddle shaped. This particular banana plant is only hardy to zone 10a or greater, meaning it requires winters where the average low temperature is at least 20 degrees higher than what we would have in Pitt County.

Fear not, however, as there are banana plants that will grow in our climate, as you’ve no doubt seen. They just aren’t the same species as the plants that produce the Cavendish bananas, and thus their fruit bear relatively little similarity to those fruit. For instance, Musa velutina, is a smaller plant that grows to about 4 to 6 feet high, and 3 to 6 feet wide. It doesn’t produce yellow fruit at all; its fruit are actually pink. Although they form in clusters similar to Cavendish types, the individual pink bananas are only 1 to 3 inches long and though the flesh of the fruit is sweet and creamy, the fruits contain many hard black seeds, making eating them a bit of a chore. Thus we grow this hardy banana strictly for ornamental reasons, and it provides a tropical look and feel to landscapes, particularly when grown in proximity to companion plants like cannas, ginger lilies, palms, and elephant ears.

Above photos: Musa velutina, Pink Banana, produces pink fruit that is edible but full of hard seeds. Most people grow this hardy banana for ornamental reasons, providing a tropical look and feel to the landscape. Both photos: C. DeWitt, CC BY 4.0. Lower photo: Musa basjoo, Hardy Banana, also grows in Eastern North Carolina. It has large, paddle-shaped green leaves and greenish yellow fruit that is inedible. Photo: Illustratedjc, CC BY-SA 4.0

Musa basjoo is a slightly larger species that grows up to 14 feet tall and wide. Fruit are 2 to 4 inches long, greenish-yellow, and may look a little bit more familiar than the pink Musa velutina, but have little pulp and numerous seeds and are all but inedible. Musa basjoo is actually cold hardy to zone 5, meaning it can withstand low winter temperatures to -20 degrees.

Both of the hardy banana types produce a similar yellow-orange “torpedo-shaped” flower, with reddish-brown bracts at the top of the stem (pink bracts in the case of Musa velutina). Though cold-hardy, the above-ground growth will turn brown in winter. Many gardeners pack leaves, straw, or similar organic materials around the base of the above-ground pseudo-stem during winter, but that isn’t usually necessary for us in hardiness zone 8. Grow these plants in full sun, with lots of moisture but well-drained soil. Be aware they will multiply, so provide plenty of space and be prepared to thin your stand every few years to maintain control. They can also be grown in large containers to limit size and spread, if desired.

Matthew Stevens is the County Extension Director and Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pitt County Center. If you have questions about this article or gardening in general, please contact the Pitt County Extension Master Gardeners at [email protected] or 252-902-1705.