If you want to create a tropical feel in your garden this summer to take advantage of these high temperatures then think about buying a banana plant.
They are fantastic for creating impact and with so many hardy varities now available in the UK you can combine brightly coloured foliage with beautiful flowers:
http://www.hardybananas.co.uk/store/Garden-and-Plants/banana
http://www.easytropicals.com/pcp/Bananas.html
The key to succesful plant growth for bananas is linked to location .They prefer to be planted in light shade that is sheltered from wind and frost. The perfect place to position your banana plants is in a corner of a garden,close to a house or hedge or even on a slope or dip where they will not be exposed to intense conditions.
Always select hardy varities like the attractive Musa basjoo pictured above ( Japanese root-hardy banana). With the right growing conditions, Musa basjoo can reach up to 7ft in one year and can eventually grow to a staggering 20ft. In the height of the growing season, the huge leaves can be produced at the rate of one a week.Mature stems on the Musa basjoo will also produce beautiful flowers if temperatures remain consistently above 30c.
Bananas always need plenty of food and regular watering – moist soil is a must and add some general fertiliser and an organic mulch of farmyard manure to a depth of around 15cm to encourage growth.
Over the english winter any frost will destroy the foliage so wrap and protect the trunk for the winter so that new growth will sprout from the top, producing bigger plants and a higher possiblity of flowers and fruits.
Bananas look really wonderful when mixed in a herbacous border with bright cannas and dahlias which is how they are used in my favourite garden at Great Dixter, East Sussex – http://www.greatdixter.co.uk
Check here for more information about growing bananas in the English climate:
http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/BananaArticle.htm
Enjoy the impact of these wonderful plants in your garden as temperatures soar but don’t expect tons of fruit in the UK. At the moment, bananas rarely bear fruit if grown outside in the UK but who knows what our changing climate might make possible in the future.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:56 pm
Pls do you think i can grow banana and plantain on a large scale in the U.K becasue of the weather condition?
Which part of the U.K is good for this? which country con you re
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March 24th, 2016 at 6:16 pm
It is not possible to grow these plants on a large scale but I successfully grew a banana in a pot in my back garden for 4 years and it flourished. It did involve wrapping it in fleece from November to April to protect from frosts and damp. Bananas need lots of water even when they are dormant over UK winter so very important to keep the soil moist as well.
August 28th, 2016 at 9:49 am
I grow musa basjou in my garden in the ground cambridge uk, a fleece bag with leaves bent down for added protection in winter,they keep on growing ,bedding geraniums flower every year ginger lillys just left in ground,mayber mulch on top .
Mild winters,garden has high fence all around about 30mtr squar.im planting bannanas in my brother inlaws new garden , wont get frosted.
November 19th, 2017 at 2:02 pm
Inspired to Grow Banana Backyard…Thanks for sharing!!!