EASY-TO-GROW AND HARDY PERENNIAL BANANA
FEATURES:
- Large, dark green banana leaves add a tropical flair to your summer landscape
- Very fast growing and easy to grow
- Hardy to sub-zero temperatures
- This selection of the Japanese Fiber Banana was developed by Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
- Hand Selected, Fresh from the Grower
- Ships in a plant-safe designed box
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-10
- Mature Height: 12-15' tall
- Mature Width: 6-14' wide
- Exposure: Full Sun/Part Shade
- Spacing: 6-15' apart
Northern Wonder Banana™
Bower & Branch Trees and Plants
Musa bajoo 'Northern Wonder'
Regular price
1(866) 873-3888
EASY-TO-GROW AND HARDY PERENNIAL BANANA
FEATURES:
- Large, dark green banana leaves add a tropical flair to your summer landscape
- Very fast growing and easy to grow
- Hardy to sub-zero temperatures
- This selection of the Japanese Fiber Banana was developed by Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
- Hand Selected, Fresh from the Grower
- Ships in a plant-safe designed box
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-10
- Mature Height: 12-15' tall
- Mature Width: 6-14' wide
- Exposure: Full Sun/Part Shade
- Spacing: 6-15' apart
Why plant Northern Wonder Banana™?
A gorgeous easy growing tree that won't drive you bananas! The tropical Hardy Banana Tree is actually one of the world's largest perennials and can be grown pretty much anywhere! Do you crave a lush rainforest vacation feel in your own backyard but live where winters are harsh? This big beauty will capture that with canopies of remarkably huge banana leaves in forest green foliage while withstanding sub-zero temperatures! Low maintenance, fast-growing, and reaching heights of 12 to 18 feet! It may not produce bananas, though it will create an exotic flare as if just walking out into your garden, you've stepped out into the jungles of Hawaii.
How to use Northern Wonder Banana™ in the landscape?
Your Northern Wonder Banana likes average to moist soil but not wet feet so choose a location that drains well and doesn't puddle in rainy weather. It loves soils high in organic material and lots of nutrient so help it out with lots of compost when you plant. It does not do well in dry, poor soils. It will produce ornamental bananas in the deep south but the stems do not live long enough to fruit further north. When you plant your banana, be sure to plant it where it gets lots of sun although light shade is fine especially in the south. Also be sure to give it room, you will be amazed at how fast it can grow. In time, the cluster of trunks can reach 6 feet wide at the base and the large spreading leaves can cover an area twice as wide.
Planting Zones
Hardiness Zone: 5-10
How To Plant Northern Wonder Banana™
Northern Wonder Banana is a year round tree in the southern climates of Hardiness Zones 9 and 10. In hardiness Zones 8 through 5 where the winters are colder, Northern Wonder dies back to ground level in the winter and then grows in leaps and bounds once the weather warms up in the spring easily reaching heights of 12 to 18 ft. Your Northern Wonder Banana comes to you as a single stemmed plant. Starting in its second year it will put up multiple stems each spring and gradually create its own little tropical forest. In Zones 5 through 8, each year late in the fall, you should cut your banana down to 6 inches tall and apply an additional 8 inch layer of loose mulch in a 4 ft (or larger) circle for the winter months to protect the root system from winter weather extremes. Remove this mulch in early April in Zones 5 and 6, in early March in zones 7 and 8. Northern Wonder is an improvement over the original Hardy Banana, Musa basjoo, because it has proven to be more reliable and cold hardy in northern climates. There is even some experimenting happening further north to see just how cold hardy it is!
How To Water
Water twice weekly for the first 3-5 weeks; then water weekly for the remainder of the year until winter. When you water, water slowly and thoroughly. Bananas do not like dry soils or drought conditions. Watering needs may be altered due to extreme weather conditions.
How To Fertilize
Incorporate Elements Starter Plant food granular form into the soil when planting. If planting in spring or summer start fertilizing late fall using Elements Starter Plant food granular form on an annual basis each late fall. Continue this for the first three years to get your plant well established.
How To Prune
In the southern Zones of 9 and 10 you can expect your Northern Wonder to provide tropical foliage twelve months of the year. You can simply sit back and enjoy your banana while removing the occasional lower leaf as your banana grows. If you want to encourage fruit production for its ornamental value (this banana is not one we eat), prune out the stems that have bourne fruit once the fruit is gone to make room for new stems. North of that, in Zones 8 to 5, you can expect the cold weather to kill the above ground growth on your banana. Prune the entire plant back to 6" in late fall and apply an additional 8" of loose packed mulch for extra winter protection. Remove that extra mulch as the weather warms up in spring.
