Don’t think you have to fly to some distant shore to enjoy tropical beauty.
The most cold hardy banana tree in the world is the Basjoo Banana. Actually, bananas aren’t trees but the largest perennial in the world. Their “trunk” is created from tightly packed unfurled leaves that work to form an upright stem. The Basjoo or fiber banana will thrive even in winter chills of -20°F. So no matter where you live in the US, most likely you can grow ornamental bananas in your yard too.
These exciting tropical plants are very easy to grow.
The Basjoo Banana tree grows so fast it is incredible at 2 feet per week. You can enjoy them in a container where they’ll reach 6-9 feet tall. For that awesome banana tree accent in your cold climate landscape Basjoo will soar to 16 feet tall when planted in the ground. These cold hardy bananas are known to do well all they way up into Canada! If you live in zone 4, it would be a wise idea to mulch the roots heavily for winter. That way, no matter if you have good snow cover or not, your Basjoo Banana will thrive for many years.
