Banana trees aren’t real trees or palm trees even though they are known as banana palms.  Bananas are actually perennial herbs that spring from their stem underground and grow into a false trunk. 

Banana trees are mainly grown for their edible fruit but can also be used for cooking purposes and their leaves are used for wrapping food, eye-shade or protection from the rain.

It is also often used as a stunning feature tree in a garden landscape or for indoor or container planting.  Bananas can take up to 12 months to ripen and can be planted with flowers, legumes, papaya and other nitrogen-fixing plants.

• Tolerates temperatures as low as 23°C
• Estimated height: 9m
• Estimated width: 4.5m
• Planting distance: 3m

Cultivars: Pisang Awak, Cavendish.

Pollen compatibility: Self-pollinating.

Water requirements: Water regularly.

Herbaceous perennial: Banana plants aren’t evergreen or deciduous, but rather herbaceous perennials since their roots remain alive while the top dies down to the ground yearly and sends up new top growth.