Create an exotic getaway with Ever Red Hardy Banana, Musa sikkimensis.  This tough treasure may be grown directly in the ground year-round in the St. Louis area, it is hardy here. Its huge, breathtaking, striped green and maroon-red leaves on woody stems bring a fun, tropical look to gardens and patios. Ever Red Hardy Banana can grow in the ground or in containers. Although we think of bananas as trees, Hardy Banana is technically an herbaceous perennial that grows 10-13′ tall. Not a culinary banana, this plant sometimes produces fruit loaded with seeds, making it inedible. After flowering and fruiting, the fruiting stem dies, but the roots push out new shoots, known as pups. Musa sikkimensis is also known as the Darjeeling Banana Tree, Sikkim Hardy Banana Tree, and Red Banana Tree.

Use Ever Red Hardy Banana in containers and the garden, wherever an exotic show is welcome. In winter, the plant will die to the ground in the St. Louis area.

Growing instructions: Plant in full sun to part shade in soil that has been amended with compost or other organic matter. The plant will grow best with consistent moisture. In fall or winter, after a foliage-killing frost, cut back the plant to 2-3′ and apply a protective thick mulch.