Scientific Name:
MusaProduct Details:
Plants are too large to ship with leaves, so we are sending a 1 ½ to 3 foot tall pseudostem (trunk) and corm. Plants will be unaffected by this and will continue to grow well after being replanted.
Musa 'Red Iholene'- One of the most ornamental of all banana plants and this one bears fine-tasting fruit, too. This Hawaiian cultivar has leaves that are burgundy colored on their lower surface to match the red-pink pseudostem. Being of a modest height, it is suited to both the landscape and greenhouse where it makes a beautiful specimen. Has slightly drier fruit than the dessert bananas, but can be used for cooking or eating out-of-hand. The unripe fruit skin starts out pale yellow and should not be picked until it is totally and really ripe. One must be careful to not pick fruit too early based on color. This is a close relative of Musa White Iholene and Musa Haa, which is the dwarf form of the Iholene group.
Banana leaves, pseudostem (trunk) and fruiting stem (raceme) grow from the underground rhizome (or pseudobulb's) top surface and the roots grow from the lower surface of the rhizome. The fleshy stems sheathed with huge broad leaves can grow from 2 to 35 feet in as little as 1 year, depending on variety and growing environment. Each pseudostem produces one flower cluster, which develops fruit, then dies. In addition each parent banana plant during its life cycle, will produce as many as 10 suckers which grow into new plants. New pseudostems then grow from the rhizome.
Bananas grow best in a uniformly warm environment and need 9 to 15 months of frost-free conditions to produce a flower stalk. In the subtropics, fruit ripens in 2-3 months. In cooler climates it may take several weeks longer to ripen. Plant growth stops when temperatures drop to 57°F. Stokes Tropicals' Banana Blend (6-2-12) is the best fertilizer source for these fascinating tropical giants.