Almost all banana trees thrive in tropical or subtropical areas. The Musa does not only give sweet fruits in her homeland. In fact, it also surprises hobby gardeners in this country with small fruits.
description
The Musa belong to the monocot perennials, as they have a false stem. This reaches a height of up to 8 meters. Their leaves are not naturally pinnate. Here the wind has a hand in the game. Bananas were originally called paradise figs. They thrive from Asia, through Africa to Latin America. The local world market benefits from intensive banana exports. In Germany, the banana is at the top of the popularity list. Dessert bananas (Musa × paradisiaca) are primarily cultivated for this purpose.
In contrast, others are used in the textile industry. These include, for example, the Japanese fiber banana (Musa bajoo). Due to its resilience, it enjoys great popularity in domestic gardens. Smaller specimens are suitable as decorative houseplants. They are available in different sizes.
Maintenance:
- Location: sunny, no direct sunlight
- Watering: keep moist regularly, do not let dry out
- Fertilize: 1 to 2 times a year (liquid fertilizer)
- Substrate: permeable to water, suitable soil with coconut fibers
- Transplant: every 1 - 2 years, remove cuttings and plant separately
- Propagation: also seeds (only with wild bananas)
- Overwintering: depending on the variety in the cellar, conservatory or garden
- Fruits: Some varieties form edible bananas.
Similar plants
A total of around 100 Musa species have been documented to date. There are also other variants that look similar, but they do not belong to the Musaceae family. These come from other plant genera. These include enseten (ornamental bananas) or strelitzia (strelitzias).
tips and tricks
The banana fruit can not only be enjoyed raw. Rather, it is also suitable for baking, cooking, dehydrating or freezing.
FT