Because it takes nine months or even more to reach maturity and fruit, almost without exception gardeners grow the banana plant only for its spectacular decorative foliage. However, as seen in the press more recently more and more gardners have been able to achieve a fruit harvest and reap the added benefit of discovering the astounding way in which fruit is developed.

Because of its stature, the banana plant is often falsely called a banana tree, athough, the banana is the biggest herbaceous perennial and belongs to the monocotyledons of the Musaceae family, which also includes palms, grasses, and orchids.

Bananas grow from rhizomes, which are stems that take root and send shoots (suckers) up through the soil. Banana plants may also be propagated through suckers that grow from the main stem of the plant.

 The banana plant grows best in full sun in soil that provides first-class drainage. Good drainage is crucial as saturated roots may die in less than an hour. It is also important to protect the banana plant from heavy winds that can shred the banana plant foliage.
The banana plant is a very heavy feeder. Soil should be nutrient rich, slightly acidic, and loamy enough to retain moisture and keep nutrients from leaching below the shallow roots of the plant.

Dig a hole about a foot wide and ten to twelve inches deep. Set the rhizome in the hole so that the union between it and the sucker stem are about six inches deep. If your site isn’t level, the eye of your banana rhizome should be on the uphill side of your hole. When planting, mix in as much organic matter as possible, ideally a mixture of farmyard manure together with an equal amount of home made compost into the bottom of the hole and the surrounding soil. Fill the hole and tamp down firmly to remove any air pockets. If planting more than one rhizome, plants need to be spaced at least three feet apart so that each gets the benefit of full sun. Water your banana plant sparingly to keep the rhizome healthy until the plant is established. Once the plant has been in the ground for a matter of weeks,rapid growth should start and you should be rewarded with a new leaf (up to a metre long) every week. All Bananas are gross feeders and like a ceaseless supply of nutrients so when watering (as with all plants, a good soaking every few days is more beneficial than a daily sprinkle) feed with half strength soluble fertilizer at every watering. Following these simple rules will see your Banana Plant comfortably through the season. .

If planted out and the plant is required for the following year, and this is the way to get large specimens, carefully dig the plant out before the first frosts, and pot up in a pot or tub just big enough to accommodate the root ball. Use free draining compost that is just moist. If brought into a heated conservatory, carry on growing on the dry side, or if in an unheated greenhouse cut the leaves off and leave dry, but in a light airy position.

If it is not possible to bring the plant indoors, then the prime consideration should be to protect the main stem if a large plant is required the following year. Small plants are easily protected by placing a chimney pot over them and covering up the top with a tile – in the more colder regions, it may be useful to add a stuffing of straw. A stage on from this is to use terracotta chimney flue liners. These are neat round or rectangular sections that stack together; they are easy to handle, easy to lift over a tall trunk, easy to pack with straw and can be added to as the plant grows each year. Unfortunately they are also expensive.

Larger, multi-stemmed plants present something of a quandary – do you protect the stems individually or collectively ? There are many inventive and creative solutions to collectively protect – from the highly effective wooden pallet house filled with straw to elaborate imitation huts of bamboo screens disguising a chickenwire cage similarly stuffed – your imagination and available time are the only limits.

Individual stems can simply be bandaged with horticultural fleece or hessian – effective though not necessarily the beauty-prize winner. An alternative is a large diameter plastic drainage pipe which is twin-walled giving good insulation, perforated allowing air movement, is easy cut to the required lengths and light enough for long sections to be lifted over stems. These are then lashed together for stability and the tops covered with plastic sheet to prevent rain entering. The result looks a little like the Manhattan skyline but in a surreal way almost sculptural. As a warning – avoid bubble wrap at all costs, this will stop all air circulation and at the end of winter you will be presented with a pile of mush.