Musa Coccinea/Scarlet Banana

I recently divided and moved this plant..

North side of my house in shade zone 8b Louisiana, Southern U.S.

Musa Coccinea is possibly my most favorite ornamental banana. It grows to 7 feet for me here in zone 8b. A slender, sparse, thin, tender, plant with light green leaves and true red blooms with yellow tips.

It can take very little or almost no wind without getting broken up. It's blooming now in late October, looks best in shade, and blooms just fine with little sun.

I grew it next to a window inside my house the first winter after I bought it as a small 10'' tall division and the foliage was flawless, although it grew a little slow, it was steady. In the spring I planted it in my yard in 3 locations.

It has frozen to the ground all but last winter, which was far warmer than usual and all my bananas grew to absolute maturity. I have never seen this happen before and my place looked like a rain forest. I am wondering if I will ever see it again so lush.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_coccinea 

Musa Ornata Milky Way Banana Flower

Milky Way is a recent introduction to the ornamental banana collectors trade I've had for 4 years maybe. It grows to 7.5' in height and 6' wide in 2 or 3 years for me here. It makes a thick grove as trees grow close together. Leaves have a dark grey purple tinge and blooms are gorgeous but, hard to photograph as automatic focus doesn't like white and tends to focus on something darker like the closest leaf or stem. I've grown it in several different environments here in zone 8b and have been over all very pleased with its performance. However it will not bloom well if it is grown in less than ideal conditions. The plant is a  little hard to find but worth the while. I believe I bought this plant from Martha's Secrets on line store. She 's a very nice lady and good at her business.