Golden Lotus Banana

Golden Lotus Banana

Musella lasiocarpa

(mew-SEL-uh) (las-ee-oh-KAR-puh)

Wordless Wednesday

Lavender Lady Flowering Banana

Flowering Banana
Musa ornata 'Lavender Lady'
(MEW-suh) (or-NAH-tuh)
Synonyms: Ornamental Banana

This Banana was growing at the Cleveland Botanical Garden and the flower color was striking. I love the way Bananas add a touch of tropical flair to our northern gardens. We have several at work but they grow in containers where these were planted in the ground. ‘Lavender Lady’ even looked like it was going to reward its cultivators with a crop of fruit.


There was no reference to this cultivar on Google and it is not too often that a plant stumps that search engine. Luckily I had taken a picture of the sign to properly id it. Like most Americans I am looking forward to the long holiday weekend.

These pictures were taken with the D700 and Nikon 105mm VR macro lens.

Pink Fruiting Banana

Pink Fruiting Banana
Musa velutina
(MEW-suh) (vel-oo-TEE-nuh)
Synonyms: Elvet pink Banana, Hairy Banana, Baby pink Banana, Guineo rosado
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This Banana was a new one on me but appears to be very popular with gardeners in USDA Zone 8 (winter lows of +10 °F) and higher due to their ease of cultivation. They are easy to grow from seed which probably also helps their popularity. Another thing this type of Banana ha going for it is its relatively small statue (4-5 feet tall) at maturity. The fact that they can flower and fruit indoors is another nice trait.

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Oddly, the Bananas peel themselves when ripe. That can take some of the mystery out of when to pick them. Once open the fruit is usually only good for a day or two. I am definitely going to have to look into getting a couple of these for work. Since container culture is stated to be rather easy they should fit in with the other Bananas in the Conservatory.

Blue Bananas

Banana
Musa acuminata ss. ‘Java Blue’
(MEW-suh) (ah-kew-min-AY-tuh)
Synonym: cv. ‘Ice Cream’, Ney Mannan
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This Banana was growing at Quail Botanical Garden in San Diego. While the tropical gardeners here probably think it is common, to me it was an amazing sight. I had never seen blue bananas before and found them to be both enchanting and exotic. The tree itself didn’t appear to be that special but the flower and fruit were.


According to the couple of sources I found the fruit of this tree is very sweet and several people rated it as the sweetest banana available. The tree grows from 15 to 20 feet tall.

We made it to Maine and of course it is raining here. The flowers and farm fields really look lush and green. It was a ten hour drive and I am still feeling the effects of that but want to go out and get some pictures.