Banana plants are often mistaken to be trees but they are
not. Bananas are the largest herbaceous flowering plant. They can grow as tall
as eight meters high and the leaves which grow at the top of the trunk can grow
as long as 9 feet.
Bananas grow fruits in hanging clusters. The hanging
clusters are called bunch or commercially known as “banana stem”. Most ripe
banana fruit turns yellow in color.
The tropics is where most bananas grow in commercial
quantity. In regions where it is colder, bananas are cultivated as an ornament.
Last year, I planted a sapling I bought from a local
nursery. I wasn’t sure that it will survive. The weather in Southern California
is drier than the tropics but with constant watering it not only survived but
thrived and is now bearing fruit.
The one I planted is not as tall as the bananas found in the
tropics and the leaves are not as long and as wide either. Other than the size,
the plant is very healthy.
I hope the fruit will be sweet.
