Temperate zone gardeners love to grow tropical plants (such as Musa) because they add flair to the garden. With the increasing interest in temperate tropicality we thought it was time to increase our selection of winter-hardy banana trees for sale (musa, musella and ensete). Most of the banana trees for sale here at PDN are reliable perennials in Zone 8, with some hardy into the warmer reaches of Zone 7. Our musa selections were chosen not only for cold hardiness, but also for flower, fruit, and leaf color.
Read More about Musa
As with cannas and other hardy tropicals, gardeners should plant musa outdoors before late August in climates north of Zone 8 to ensure establishment before cold weather arrives. From Zone 8 north, we recommend digging musa plants for winter storage or building a wire-constructed, leaf mulch-filled cage around the trunk. One exception to the rule is Musa basjoo, which overwinters here in Raleigh and much farther north with no mulch. The growth rate of banana trees is phenomenal when plenty of moisture and nutrition are provided. Cold, wet soil in winter, however, can spell death for banana trees in colder zones.
We hope you want to buy banana plants to bring a little tropicality into your perennial garden. If you see bananas forming on your musa specimen, cut the stem off before freezing weather arrives, place it in a bucket of water in the garage and the bananas will mature indoors. Why buy bananas at the grocery store when you can buy banana trees from us instead? When you are ready to buy musa (banana) trees/plants for your perennial garden, please check out our online list of musa (bananas) for sale below.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Sources - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
Recent research has shown that Musa basjoo, the world's hardiest banana species, is actually from Sichuan, China and not Japan. This 16-20' tall running species makes a thick, green stem that sports 6' long, narrow, green leaves arching from the top of the trunk. The flower emerges from near the top of the stem like a yellow-orange torpedo. After the flowers open, you will be blessed with clusters of small, yellow, 2" long bananas. Forget eating this one...just enjoy the tropical look and tease your neighbors. We recommend a good mulch in colder regions until the clump becomes well-established. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
This amazing banana is one of the most cold hardy of the edible fruiting bananas, commonly grown for fruit in the US Gulf Coast region. Musa 'Orinoco' amazes visitors with its nice fruit clusters in our Zone 7 garden. For us, a height of 10' is common, although Musa 'Orinoco' can reach 21' in more hospitable climates. In colder climates, cut the banana fruit stalk before the first frost, and keep it indoors in a bucket of water until the fruit ripens. In Zone 7, I recommend surrounding the trunks with a 3'-4' tall cage filled with leaves to preserve next year's fruiting stalks. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
I first saw this raving beauty when visiting Thailand in 2005. At great expense (I'm still driving my old vehicle), I procured one to bring home, we named it 'Siam Ruby', and we are thrilled to now be able to share it with folks here in the states. Our research indicated it originated in Papua New Guinea, where bananas have been cultivated for 10,000 years, as a sport of Musa 'Tapo'. We have never seen it taller than 8', so that's our guess for height. The leaves are a stunning, dark ruby red with tiny green flecks...the more sun, the more intense the color. This is one banana that loves intense heat and humidity...dazzling, stunning...can you tell I've lost my adjectiveness over this plant? Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
(syn: Musa hookeri) We are excited to again offer this little-known hardy ornamental banana hailing from high montane forests of the northeast Himalayas. Reportedly, the trunks can reach 14' in height with a diameter of 18" or, in other words, about the size of an NFL offensive lineman's neck. The leaf backs emerge a dazzling cinnamon-red. To say these bananas are edible is about like saying that Himalayan bathrooms are comfortable...both have an aroma, but that's about it. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
We are thrilled to finally offer this splendid form of the winter-hardy Musa sikkimensis, hailing from the high montane forests of the northeast Himalayas. Musa 'Bengal Tiger' (a selection from the less colorful Musa 'Red Tiger' strain) forms a 14' tall specimen with dark green leaves, heavily splotched red on the front and emerging solid red on the back. Each seedling has been selected for good red color, since the amount of red can vary dramatically from plant to plant. To say the fruit from Musa sikkimensis is edible is like saying that most remote Himalayan bathrooms are comfortable...both have an aroma, but that's about it. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
I fell in love with this 2' tall dwarf while on a trip to Florida...that is legal in Florida...isn't it? Shhhh...I hear my wife coming down the hall. Musa 'Truly Tiny' makes a perfectly formed but shrunken plant with leaves that are nicely blotched in red. Musa 'Truly Tiny' is great for containers and highly recommended if you are on the South Beach Diet, since if your plant ever produces a banana, it'll be a "truly tiny" one. Satisfy the dwarf fetish in you! Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
There's something mystical about a pink velvet banana that makes you want to start belting out Elvis tunes...hmmm. Musa velutina was our first introduction to hardy bananas and is still a favorite in our summer garden. Rarely exceeding 6' tall, Musa velutina produces copious flower stalks near the top of the trunk, starting in late summer. Each stalk is soon home to attractive clusters of small, pink, velvet bananas, which peel themselves when ripe. Don't plan on a snack from these seed-filled bananas unless you are exceedingly hungry or exceedingly drunk. Once established, they seem to be quite winter-hardy. Until well-established, a cage of shredded leaves around the trunk in the winter months should do the trick. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
We've grown Musa yunnanensis since 2006, but under the name Musa itinerans, with which it is often confused. According to the banana experts, all of the plants commercially offered as Musa itinerans are actually the recently named Musa yunnanensis. Regardless of their identity, our plants have performed wonderfully, reaching 20' each year, despite dying to the ground in winter and not re-emerging until mid-June. The new leaves emerge red underneath, but the color quickly fades, unlike the glaucous white-waxy trunk. So far, our plants have survived 9 degrees F with no winter protection. The giant leaves also double as a great toga party costume...duct tape not included. Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.83 L)
This banana was recently discovered around 5,000' elevation in the plant-rich eastern Himalayan region of Darjeeling, India. Musa 'Helen's Hybrid' is thought to be a hybrid of Musa sikkimensis and the edible Musa 'Chini-Champa'. The green leaves are occasionally marked with an upper red midrib, but you can consistently count on bright red leaf backs on the new foliage. The fruit is sweet, but seedy...sort of like the "treats" in a cheap Bangkok hotel. So far, these have survived 9 degrees F in our trials. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
(aka: Musa itinerans var. xishuangbannaensis) Musa xishuangbannaensis is a newly discovered species of cold-hardy giant banana from Yunnan, China. Musa 'Mekong Giant' is a seedling selection made by our friend Brian Williams of Louisville, Kentucky, for its bright reddish-purple trunk in addition to its outstanding winter hardiness in Louisville's Zone 6 climate for over nine years. Imagine a Musa basjoo on steroids and you get the idea, although Musa 'Mekong Giant' spreads from long rhizomes. In temperate climates, expect a 15' tall specimen, although it can reportedly reach 40' in climates with milder winters. I predict lots of folks will be goin' bananas over this one!
Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
.jpg "Epimedium wushanense (Wushan Fairy Wings)")
.jpg "Musa 'Truly Tiny' (Truly Tiny Banana)")
.jpg "Musa 'Helen's Hybrid' (Helen's Hybrid Banana)")
