Musa Basjoo
Musa basjoo
Tropical Plants Difficulty: Moderate
📖 About this plant
The legendary Japanese Fiber Banana, famous as the world’s most cold-hardy banana plant. While the pseudostem dies back to the ground at -10°C, the underground corm survives and rapidly regrows in spring, reaching full height in a single growing season. Produces small, ornamental (inedible) bananas. Primarily grown for its dramatic, tropical-looking foliage in temperate gardens.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
☀️
Light
Full sun (6-8 hrs)
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Water
Every 2-3 days
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Humidity
High (60-80%)
🌡️
Temperature
10-35°C
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Soil
Rich, well-draining, moisture-retentive soil with high organic matter; add compost and aged manure generously
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Fertilizer
Heavy feeder — balanced NPK fertilizer every 2 weeks during the growing season; mulch heavily with compost
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Ryukyu Islands, Japan — the most cold-hardy banana species
- 📏 Max height
- 300-600 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 180-300 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Summer
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Fast
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic to humans and pets
- 🌱 Propagation
- Division of suckers (pups) emerging from the base; corm division; each pup must have its own root system
🛡️ Health & Safety
🐾 Pet safe
✅ Non-toxic
Non-toxic to humans and pets
Common issues
- Root rot from overwatering, Panama disease (resistant but possible), Banana weevil, Cold damage to pseudostem
💡 Care tips
- The most cold-hardy banana plant surviving to minus 15°C with mulch,Produces small inedible fruit but grown primarily for its foliage,Grows incredibly fast adding several feet of height per season,Cut to the ground after frost and it will regrow in spring
🪴 Add to My Plants
One click — added instantly. Watering every 3 days, fertilizing every 14 days.
