Musa ornata (Flowering Banana)

Adding an exotic splash to gardens and containers, award-winning Musa ornata (Flowering Banana) is a robust, suckering evergreen perennial boasting huge, paddle-shaped,  blue-green leaves, up to 6 ft. long (180 cm). Erect spikes of orange-yellow flowers adorned with showy pink bracts appear seasonally on mature plants (2-3 years old). They are followed by greenish-yellow fruits that contain numerous black seeds and creamy white flesh. While edible, these bananas are so seedy that they are not worth the trouble to eat. The leaf sheathes overlap to form a trunk-like pseudostem. Each pseudostem has a limited lifespan. It only lives as long as it takes it to flower and produce fruit. After flowering and fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but the roots push out new shoots (banana pups) which form new pseudostems. One of the best of the ornamental bananas, this banana species can be massed or grown as a specimen in the ground or in a container.

• Recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society.
• Grows up to 6-9 ft. tall (180-270 cm) and 5-7 ft. wide (150-210 cm).
• Performs best in full sun in humus-rich, well-drained soils. Best growth occurs with consistently moist soils that do not dry out. Banana trees do not do well in drought conditions since they need to be watered often for proper growth. Shelter from the wind to prevent the leaves from being damaged. Fertilize plants regularly during the growing season.
• Great choice for wall-side borders, coastal gardens or Mediterranean gardens where it will proudly stand out.
• Disease free. Keep an eye out for glasshouse red spider mite, mealybugs and aphids.
• Propagate by seed, separate suckers or by division.
• Native to Northern India.