Musa Lasiocarpa (Chinese Dwarf Banana)

Musa Lasiocarpa

Musa lasiocarpa (dwarf Chinesebanana) is a captivating banana - (or banana relative) - which could be another nominee for the tropical-looking garden. It makes an impressive specimen plant in a large pot for the patio, conservatory or garden. It can be hard to propagate, as the many suckers it produces cling tightly to the base of the parent pseudo stem and cannot easily be removed without damaging the parent or slicing up the basal true stem of the sucker. The simplest method is to delay things until after flowering, when the whole plant can be broken apart. The seed requires cool stratification but then germinates easy in about 6-8 weeks (as the plant matures it produces tiny bananas full of shiny black seeds). It likes full sun to partial shade to enable it to grow to between 4 to 5 feet tall. Once growing feed and water generously, as, as with all the banana related species Musa Laasiocarpa is a heavy and thirsty drinker.

Musa lasiocarpa produces a large 6" artichoke like flower with magnificent deep yellow bracts that are very dramatic and a of sunburst shape lasting for many months - even up to a year given the right conditions (greenhouse or conservatory)- and inspires awe in visitors unfamiliar with the plant.

The Dwarf Chinese banana is a rare banana relative that grows naturally in high altitudes (to 9200 ft) in the Yunnan Province in China. The locals name for this plant translates to "yellow lotus of the earth mother" and this plant is looked upon as sacred to the Yunnan Buddhistmonks.