permaculturekidd

I always thought the whole plant dies once it flowers and an offshoot from the mother is used to continue fruit production.

Velutina is hardy to 7b; texas star from what I hear is not that hardy and will die back to the corm in the harsher winters. I also really enjoy its indoor fruiting abililty something I don't think is all too common in the Musa genus.

The fact that Velutina is such a bright and striking color makes it a novelty and I would love to give them away as gifts and to sale through a resturanteur and farmer friend in SF. Its potable and small size would also be a plus for the indoor gardener in even colder regions much like the some peppers cultivars grown indoors in Siberia.

Basjoo is even hardier though with mulching I believe 4b or 5a; dwarfing would be in order before enlarging fruit; its something that could also be better utilized into a bast fiber crop if its incentive is a rare treat for those into the local food movement and into self-suffcientcy in the U.S. and Europe.

With flagstone and a water feature I could probably get a microclimate that would turn my backyard into a zone 10. So its not actually trying to grow something in my backyard; anyway about 5 minutes away there are some banana trees 20' tall in a backyard. I just enjoy novel and unusual plants.