FRUIT > BANANA
IN THIS GUIDE
BANANA GUIDES
Banana plants can give any garden , polytunnel , nursery or conservatory a tropic feel .
When you think about garden in the UK , banana plant are not potential to be one of the first plants that natural spring to mind .
So you may be surprised to see that there are several that can be grown successfully in our mood – and though they are tender plants , some can even be leave outside all winter long .
Musa basjoo
“ Banana plants have always been one of my favourites to grow , ” part Will Purdom , possessor of Botanico .
Unfortunately , the banana plants that can be grown successfully in the UK wo n’t usually give an edible crop of fruits .
Sadly most will not fruit at all , and even when they do , those fruit are unremarkably inedible – so do n’t look to give up buying bananas for your household any sentence soon !
That sound out , it is sometimes potential to achieve a small takings of eatable fruits with sure sort , as long as you interpret what they need and provide the right conditions .
And even when you do n’t get any bananas from your banana tree plants , they can still be very worthwhile additions to your garden – they can have great ornamental solicitation , and give your garden or undercover growing areasan exotic look and palpate .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureSheltered
Height1 – 4 metre
Spread1 – 2.5 M
PreferredChalk , Loam , moxie
MoistureWell Drained
pHAny
When we pertain to ‘ banana ’ plants , we are referring toMusaandEnsetespecies .
Banana flora in the UK are normally grown for their ornamental appeal , they have large , dramatic leavesthat can make them stand - out in a garden outline .
They can also look grand in the corner of a conservatory , or in a greenhouse or polytunnel .
Some types also have attractive flowers and will flower successfully in the good condition once established .
A few even have the potential to produce fruits ( though , as note above , these are not usually edible , there are a few exceptions that will potentially make a few edible fruit ) .
Habitat & Growing Conditions
When choosing and grow banana tree plants in Britain there are a numeral of important condition .
First of all , you should mean aboutwhat you would wish from your banana tree plant .
Are you concerned in grow them strictly for their ornamental leaf ?
Would you prefer a variety that will bloom and yield ?
If fruit are produced , are you keen to try for an edible crop ?
Another important consideration isthe conditions where you hold out .
There is likely a banana plant that you’re able to arise successfully where you live , but in more uncovered and more northerly country , it is potential that you will only be able to do so undercover or inside .
Think about how sheltered a position you will be capable to provide , and make certain you realise the climate and microclimatic conditions in your exceptional garden .
Choosing A Banana Plant Variety
In social club to make a conclusion about whether a banana industrial plant is good for you , and where you might be able to develop one where you live , it will be helpful to take a feel at some usual varieties that you could see .
“ A houseplant indisputable to overtop aid would beMusa x paradisiaca‘Variegata ’ which has some of the most striking diversification I have ever come across , ” shares Master Horticulturist Peter Lickorish , when discussing his favourite banana plant potpourri .
Here are some other types of banana tree works that can potentially be raise in the UK :
This cultivar is relatively hardy and can cope with light winds .
It will grow to an ultimate height of around 2.4 m ( 8 ft ) and if it is grow in optimum conditions , is one of the few varieties of banana tree plants that may produce edible fruits .
The related cultivar ‘ Orinoco ’ is another banana flora that may produce edible fruit when grown cloak-and-dagger or indoors .
It is somewhat taller however , and can reach a height of around 4 m ( 13 foot ) . While it will do best in a warmer surround , it is hardy down to as low as -1 ° C .
If you want to seek to grow a banana tree plant outside , then this ( Nipponese banana tree ) is often read to be the best , hardiest choice .
It is usually produce successfully outdoors in milder and more southerly function of the UK , and has even been known to survive in shelter gardens further north .
It is an attractive and dramatic plant that can produce to an ultimate height of around 3 - 4.5 one thousand ( 10 - 14 foot ) .
Fruits may form , but these are uneatable and normally less than 5 centimeter or so long .
Known as ‘ Chinese yellowish banana tree ’ , this eccentric of banana works can also produce inedible fruits , though this is rare in the UK .
It is more typical for flowers to constitute , but fruits rarely set .
The industrial plant can be very attractive , however , with riotous greenish leafage ; it will typically rise to around 1.5 m ( 5 ft ) in height .
This is a relatively low - get cultivar that is another good choice if you are growing in container , but the principal reason to opt this type is for its highly decorative leave of absence , which are deprive with red .
If you are growing indoors class - round , or only have a very lowly garden , this could be a in force choice .
This cultivar grow to only 2 - 3 one thousand , and yet still gives a dramatic impact with its carmine - stripy leave-taking .
One net choice , of the Ensete variety , is the Abyssinian banana tree .
Though sensitive and attender , this is increasing in popularity as a summertime bedding flora .
It is ideal for tropical garden schemes , with its Brobdingnagian paddle - like reddish bronze and green leaves , which come forth from its compact trunk .
In autumn , after being go away out in summer , these are cut back down and take indoors until former springiness , when they can be re - bedded and should quickly re - grow .
How To Grow Banana Plants
As mention above , where you live and which variety you choose will dictate where you’re able to grow banana plant and where these should be placed .
If you are in a more southern and sheltered location , hardier banana species ( such asMusa basjoo , mentioned above ) can find a lasting home in a suited growing orbit in your garden .
It is essential that the spot you opt is sheltered from strong wind that could tear up the leaf – and it is also of import to choose a land site that does not become a frost pocket over the wintertime months .
The soil or farm sensitive into which the banana industrial plant is embed should be liberal - draining and well - drain , with honorable quantities of constitutive topic .
When growing even the hardiest banana plants outdoors , it is usually crucial to provide wintertime protection .
For most gardener , however , and most type of banana plant , it is dear to grow them in containers .
Containers can be pose out of doors , in a polytunnel or nursery , or in a conservatory or another gay and warm elbow room inside your home .
It is sometimes potential to place containers outside during the summertime before bringing them indoors or under cover throughout the cold calendar month .
Banana works are comfortably plant into container or a suitable outside spot in belated spring .
Containers should be filled witha loam - based potting mixwith extra grit to meliorate drain ( add around 30 % gritrock by intensity ) .
Usually , Musa mintage are propagated by commencement or suckers , which are detached from the parent and set into their own private pots , though many gardeners will choose to purchase a big banana tree plant for more immediate impact .
The planting hole or container should be just large enough to take them .
Do not be tempted to give a banana flora a large container than it needs , as this can create problems with waterlogging .
Instead , pot on into larger pots in spring every year or two , as the plant grows .
Increase pot size by around 5 cm at a time to begin with , then , once the plant is vigorous and well established , increase the container by around 10 cm each time .
Banana Plant Care
Banana plant take plentifulness of warmth and sun , wherever and however they are grown .
“ If you endure in one of the ardent surface area of the UK , you may find your outdoor banana tree plant sustain impressively large – even too declamatory , ” add Peter .
“ If so , you’re able to reduce it down to around 60 cm with a sharp pruning see in later spring or early summer . ”
so as to thrive ( and potentially farm yield in the face of some cultivars ) , they will need temperatures above 15 ° C for 9 - 15 months .
Ideal temperatures however , are around 25 - 29 ° C .
After this , a further 2 - 4 month will be necessitate for the yield to ripen .
Of course , these conditions can not be met out of doors in the UK .
Though banana plants involve a loose - draining soil or growing medium , they also want to be water well over the spring and summer month .
tearing should be reduced in fall , and you should only water when container dry out out during the winter months .
richness should also be look at .
Feed banana plants in the ground or container with a general - purpose constitutive liquid plant provender every couplet of weeks over the spring and summertime .
“ feast with a high - potassium fertiliser can improve cold - hardiness in a mountain chain of tender works , but this is only one of many tools postulate to get them through the wintertime , ” Peter says .
If you care to get fruit , feed with a atomic number 19 - rich provender ( such as comfrey tea , for example ) when flowers and fruit get down to make .
Though some cultivars can be grown outdoors , they will need some protection .
It is best to wrapM. basjooor other hardy banana tree plants if you plan on keeping them alfresco over the winter .
“ prominent farewell can be cut off and wry stalk can be packed around the stem , which can then be wrap in hessian or horticultural fleece , ” shares Peter .
Tender banana plants should be brought indoors when temperatures drop below 14 ° C , as Peter explains further :
“ This can be take exception with their large size , so you could cut off the foliage and place them in a abeyant state of matter somewhere dark and frost - free . ”
