Description

Create a tropical effect in your landscape with this large growing cold hardy Mekong Giant Banana (Musa xishuangbannaensis 'Mekong Giant')! Each leaf can be 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. Leave in ground and mulch 9-12" thick and they will return as perennials every year. In Eastern Kansas, typically our 40 inches of rainfall is sufficient without extra water in good soils. This species will tolerate some degree of drought but fastest growth will occur in rich well-drained soils with extra water and fertilizer provided during the summer. Great for summer wet areas in full sun or around swimming pools (creates no messes). Plants are capable of growing 25-40 feet in their natural habitat. A more realistic height of 7-12 feet is achieved in Eastern Kansas under average conditions. Banana trees will slowly divide and send up offsets; this is a desirable sign that the banana tree is establishing well. Mekong Giant will spread our with further traveling rhizomes than Musa basjoo; sometimes 3-5 feet away. Another strange observation with our display garden plant is that it survives each year but only from spreading rhizomes: the main trunks never make it through the winter even with lots of mulch. I suspect the main trunks are rotting but rhizomes survive just fine. Spring emergence is always later than basjoo, often waiting until June to emerge from the ground. This banana seems more sensitive to and will not tolerate excessively wet soils during dormancy. Sunburning can happen with summer temperatures over 100 degrees F but it will quickly outgrow the damage. Bananas need at least 1/2 day of full sun and protection from excessive winds to properly grow. In our trial gardens in Lawrence, KS (zone 6a), an established specimen mulched 12" with ground up leaf mulch barely survived -17 degrees F. Our original plant came from Brian's Botanicals mail-order nursery in Kentucky.