Musa basjoo
Japanese Banana, Hardy Banana, Japanese Fiber Banana, Basjoo Banana Plant
Musa basjoo, the Japanese banana, is a hardy evergreen perennial native to Sichuan, China. It forms dense, fast‑growing clumps with a tree‑like silhouette, featuring arching paddle‑shaped bright green leaves up to about 3 meters long and a pseudostem that can reach roughly 4–5 meters tall; cream to yellow tubular flowers appear in summer on pendent inflorescences, followed by small, ornamental inedible fruits.
Prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well‑drained soils rich in organic matter. Suitable for beds, borders, or large containers, with winter protection required in cooler regions; underground rhizomes are cold hardy to around −10°F, and above‑ground growth may die back in zones 5–8. Can be grown in large containers or outdoors in sheltered spots, and overwintered indoors or under glass in colder areas; propagation by division (offsets) or seeds; commonly grown for tropical foliage, dramatic architectural presence, and screening, with pests such as aphids and spider mites and diseases like anthracnose or wilt to watch for.
Perennial
72-168 inches
6-8 feet
Zones 5-10
Ideally full sun (6–8 hours of direct sunlight daily); tolerates partial sun or partial shade; adaptable to full sun to partial shade.
Fertile, well-drained soil rich in organic matter
Well-drained, fertile, loose, humus-rich soil that stays slightly moist but never waterlogged; in pots use a substrate with good drainage (e.g., loam-based compost such as John Innes No 3 with grit) and, if soil is compact or clayey, improve drainage with perlite or gravel.
No single ideal pH; tolerates acidic to alkaline soils.
Cream
Summer
Green
Green
Deciduous
Fast-growing
Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Seeds, Division
Attracts bees, butterflies, other pollinators, and birds