My Climate Change Garden

If you want to create a tropical feel in your garden this summer to take advantage of these high temperatures then think about buying a banana plant.

They are fantastic for creating impact and with so many hardy varities now available in the UK you can combine brightly coloured foliage with beautiful flowers:

http://www.hardybananas.co.uk/store/Garden-and-Plants/banana

http://www.easytropicals.com/pcp/Bananas.html

The key to succesful plant growth for bananas is linked to location .They prefer to be planted in light shade that is sheltered from wind and frost. The perfect place to position your banana plants is in a corner of a garden,close to a house or hedge or even on a slope or dip where they will not be exposed to intense conditions.

Always select  hardy varities like the attractive Musa basjoo pictured above ( Japanese root-hardy banana). With the right growing conditions, Musa basjoo can reach up to 7ft in one year and can eventually grow to a staggering 20ft. In the height of the growing season, the huge leaves can be produced at the rate of one a week.Mature stems on the Musa basjoo will also produce beautiful  flowers if temperatures remain consistently above 30c.

Bananas always need plenty of food and regular watering – moist soil is a must and add some general fertiliser and an organic mulch of farmyard manure to a depth of around 15cm to encourage growth.

Over the english winter any frost will destroy the foliage so wrap and protect the trunk for the winter so that new growth will sprout from the top, producing bigger plants and a higher possiblity of flowers and fruits.

Bananas look really wonderful when mixed in a herbacous border with bright cannas and dahlias which is how they are used in my favourite garden at Great Dixter, East Sussex – http://www.greatdixter.co.uk

Check here for more information about growing bananas in the English climate:

http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/BananaArticle.htm

Enjoy the impact of these wonderful plants in your garden as temperatures soar but don’t expect tons of fruit in the UK. At the moment, bananas rarely bear fruit if grown outside in the UK  but who knows what our changing climate might make possible in the future.