I purchased 4 tissue cultures of this plant a year ago, kept them through the winter in a window in my house along with other small ornamental bananas, where I learned Siam Ruby is a bit more fussy.
In March I planted 3 plants in different environments in my garden, and one in a container inside my shade house.
So far it is my opinion that they are cold sensitive, do not like the low humidity inside a house, leaves are tattered easily in the wind, and stalks are weak. The plant in the shade house under drip irrigation fares best, and is a joy to grow.
The tissue cultures in this batch were not consistent in color as some are a bit more green in coloring than others. I prefer this one that is almost entirely red.
Plant yours out of the wind or harsh sun. It loves ideal conditions, where it grows to 8 feet high and 5 feet wide in one summer. In the spring I will let you know how it fares zone 8b temperatures in the ground.
OK, spring 2015 is here and Siam Ruby is coming out of the ground like a winner. It survived a colder than average winter in zone 8b.
