Musa velutina

(Hot Pink Banana)

An up to not more than 5 feet tall dwarf banana species from North India. The little red fruits containing seed form already after 5 or 6 months, this should be the September or October well in our area. The inflorescence is upright and has pink high leaves, is an ornament. The fruits are edible, but enjoying with the greatest caution because of the seeds, still doesn't seem there to be any seedless cultivars. The species is astonishingly hardy, it already gives successful outplanting tests with thick mulch layer with rain protection in the USA in the USDA zone 7, no outplanting tests are confessed in Germany yet, but I already know some these want to make these tests, and I myself also want to make a test. Even in the USDA zone 7 itflourishes and sows itself, however the seedlings don't survive the first winter outdoors. If you want to overwinter seedlings successfully outdoors then you should dig it up and pot in, and plant them only then out when they are much larger and older and have already suckered, only then they will overwinter under winter protection outdoors successfully. Otherwise you could use the wire bag method or keep it as a pot plant. It also can be overwintered in the house because of the small size.

Musa velutina, left Musa basjoo "Sakhalin" (subsitute plant),  Summer 2003