How to Grow and Care for Ensete

The abyssinian banana (Ensete ventricosum) is a vital component of Ethiopian food security. The roots, trunk, and growing point of the plant are eaten, and the leaves and harvest residue are fed to cattle. The leaves provide fiber for ropes, sacks, and baskets and when dried make an eco-friendly packaging. Seeds are used for necklaces, rattles, and rosaries.

Snow banana is a unique tree with a large round bluish-green trunk and distinct flowers that can grow 30 cm in width. Snow banana is a popular ornamental tree in tropical gardens, its common name comes from the color of its flowers.

Plants may grow up to 12 ft in height and the pseudostem may be up to half the height with a swollen base of up to 8 ft in circumference at the base. The leaves are bright green in colour on both sides with a deeply grooved and short petiole. The leaf sheaths are persistent at the base and leave closely set scars on the corm. The fruits are about 3 inches long and more or less triangular with dark brown seeds. The upper parts of the plant die out during the dry season leaving the corm, which forms new leaves at the beginning of the monsoon.

Abyssinian banana 'Maurelii' has eye-catching purple-green leaves that differ markedly from its green-leafed parent. It is best placed in a sheltered spot so that the wind doesn't damage its delicate leaves. In cooler climates, it should be brought indoors in winter, or grown indoors.