Banana

Are you looking for a showy plant to add to your tropical-themed garden? Maybe even an indoor tree to keep summer going all year long? Then look no further than the Darjeeling banana. Like other banana species grown as ornamental plants, Musa sikkimensis is not truly a tree, but rather a very fast-growing herbaceous perennial that dies back after fruiting to sprout again from the base structure—a process that can take as much as three years.

The fruit, while edible, is not very flavorful, and Darjeeling banana is generally grown instead for the unique foliage, which exhibits a striking cinnamon-red color on the leaf undersides, with leaf tops that sport eye-catching red striped patterns.

In zones where it is hardy, this banana can be planted at any time. This fast-growing plant may put on as much as 9 feet in its first growing season and can reach 12 to 15 feet in three years or so, when it flowers and produces fruit.