Cold Hardy Banana Tree

Light Needs

Full Sun

(At Least 6 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

10-15 Feet

Mature Spread

10-15 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 11

The Cold Hardy Banana Tree is the easiest way to get a big-leaf tropical look in a cold winter climate. In the ground it can reach about 10–15 feet tall and 10–20 feet wide. The underground corm is quite cold hardy and sends up fresh stalks each spring, with leaves that commonly stretch several feet long. Musa basjoo is grown primarily for foliage, as its fruit is not palatable. We recommend sheltering it from wind, since its huge leaves can shred in an exposed spot.  

Cold Hardy Banana Tree Care

Plant Cold Hardy Banana Tree outdoors 3–4 weeks after your last frost, spacing plants 6–10 feet apart if you want them to form a grove over time. Give plants full sun to partial shade in fertile, well-drained soil, with a moderately acidic pH around 5.5–6.5. Avoid cold, wet sites that can rot the corm. Trim off yellow or tattered leaves during the season. After frost browns the foliage, cut stalks back to about 12–24 inches and mulch heavily to help it return strong.

Growing Cold Hardy Banana Tree

In warm weather Cold Hardy Banana Tree can put on height quickly, especially with consistent moisture, and a clump will expand as pups emerge from the corm. Give it enough room for its mature footprint, and keep it evenly moist through summer since drought stress can stall growth. It usually needs a long frost-free stretch and an intact pseudostem for flowers or fruit to form, so treat it as an ornamental foliage perennial in colder zones.

Growing Cold Hardy Banana Tree in Containers

Use a 20–30 gallon container with multiple drainage holes and a fast-draining potting mix, and plan to increase pot size as the root mass fills in. Repot every 1–2 years while it’s sizing up, then every 2–3 years, refreshing potting mix and dividing pups if needed. In containers Cold Hardy Banana Tree makes a beautiful thriller on patios and pool decks, and is easier to move into shelter before hard freezes. Pot it with coleus and petunias for foliage contrast and a colorful flowering base. In the garden, it grows well with elephant ears and cannas lilies for an easy, tropical canopy-and-understory effect.

Watering Cold Hardy Banana Tree

Water deeply whenever the top couple inches of soil dry, and expect to water more often in peak summer heat because bananas use a lot of moisture while they’re forming leaves. If leaves fold inward, brown along the edges, or new leaves emerge smaller, more consistent watering is likely needed.

Feeding Cold Hardy Banana Tree

Feed every 2–4 weeks during active growth with a balanced fertilizer, and prioritize nitrogen early in the season to support bigger leaves and thicker stalks. Stop feeding as temperatures cool in late summer to early fall so growth can slow naturally before winter weather sets in.

SKU:

EDB-BAN-COL-LGL