Musa velutina
There’s something mystical about a pink velvet banana that makes you want to start belting out Elvis tunes…hmmm. Musa velutina was our first introduction to hardy bananas and is still a favorite in our summer garden. Rarely exceeding 8′ tall, Musa 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, velvety bananas, which peel themselves when ripe. Don’t plan on a snack from these seed-filled bananas unless you are exceedingly hungry or quite inebriated. Once established, Musa velutina seems to be fully winter-hardy in zone 7b as long as they are grown in full sun. Until well-established, a cage of shredded leaves around the trunk in the winter months should do the trick.
