Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Watson
I fancy growing something unusual and a banana tree (not a plantain) has been suggested as something that ought to grow in rural Cambridgeshire, but almost certainly won't bear edible fruit.
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There are "hardy" bananas, most well known are Musa basjoo, Musa sikkimensis and Musella lasiocarpa. Their fruits are inedible even when grown in perfect conditions. In Cambridgeshire they are more likely to display root-hardiness, in other words would resprout from the ground each year, rather than stem-hardiness you can get in the coastal SW if you protect well. Would still need protection though, in which case there are tales of them resprouting after external temps as low as -15C.
You won't be able to grow the Cavendish banana (the one whose fruit you buy in the shop) outdoors, fruit or no fruit.