Thought to be from Southeast Asia. An elegant medium-sized ornamental banana that suckers freely. The colorful dark pink inflorescence and fuzzy pink fruits are great for flower arrangements. Excellent as a container plant. Likes rich soil and regular applications of fertilizer during the spring and summer. Keep well watered during hot periods. It prefers medium shade, but tolerates sun. Makes a nice focal point for a tropical or subtropical patio or courtyard.
Rarely exceeding 6' tall, M. velutina produces copious flower stalks near the top of the trunk, starting in late summer. Each stalk is soon home to attractive clusters of small, pink, velvet bananas, which peel themselves when ripe. Don't plan on a snack from these seed-filled bananas unless you are exceedingly hungry or exceedingly drunk. Once established, they seem to be quite winter-hardy. Until well-established, a cage of shredded leaves around the trunk in the winter months should do the trick.
Can be grown indoors in a container since this is a excellent container-plant. For reasons of pollination it is best to have more than one banana plant. Can be used in tropical cut flower arrangements.
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