You can have an indoor tropical paradise if you garden for it, but be prepared for the scope of this kind of plant and enjoy the atmosphere (including cleaner air).
According to Fleur & Co. (houseplants website) banana trees can make perfect houseplants. ‘Perfect’? That depends…
What they didn’t mention was how intimidating they can become. I know, I have one – ‘Monster’. These demanding babies (notice the little plant on the left of the pot) may come to a store near you looking like a two or three-week old corn plant. However, the green guest can also take over. While you would expect a banana tree sold in a grocery store plant section to be a dwarf variety, the leaves still become monstrous as it shoots upward.
Don’t be deterred if you want one, you may enjoy the exuberant growth. Just realize it will soon need a very large pot and preferably one with a large saucer to water it from the bottom. These tropical rainforest babies are big drinkers as they grow in a sunny location in the dry heat of a winter home.
Provide rich deep, slightly acidic organic soil and feed them monthly. They like vermiculture castings.
According to the Gardener’s Path (gardenerspath.com) the banana is not a tree but a very large herb. The trunk is a cylinder of tightly layered leaves called a pseudostem.
Humans in the house have complained about the encroaching spread of our oxygen creating giant lurking near the patio door. It’s been threatened with banishment to the snowy deck months ahead of schedule.
But no! This tender greenery will thrive indoors until a warm day in late May. It will mean more fuss finding the right, not too sunny nor windy, location.
As for the bananas it has not yet produced, while some indoor/outdoor banana varieties produce edible fruit, mine may not. It’s eight months old now. If it’s a Musa basjoo banana plant, it apparently won’t fruit … but Monster makes oxygen all day long.
