The Indian banana blooms completely differently than we know from local fruit trees. The color of the flowers is particularly unusual. That alone is a reason to plant an Indian banana in the garden. Not to mention enjoying the delicious fruits that develop from it.
What does the flower of the Indian banana look like and when does it bloom?
The Indian banana blooms in May with unusual purple-red to rust-red flowers that are bell-shaped and hang downwards. The scent of the flowers is unpleasant and serves to attract scavenging insects for pollination.
Flowering ability
The Indian banana is a tree with a long lifespan. Therefore, it can take a few years to bloom. If you grow an Indian banana from seeds, you have to be patient for at least seven years. Grafted trees manage to form some flower buds as early as the third year.
Flowering time
The flowers of the Indian banana appear in front of the leaves. But the tree is smart enough to wait for the frosts. This means it rarely happens that its flowers freeze. The tree is usually in full bloom in May. The current weather can only delay or bring forward the flowering time by a few days.
Appearance of the flower
The hairy flower buds are formed the previous year at the ends of the newly sprouted branches. They easily survive high temperatures below zero in winter. Here's what we have to say about the flower itself:
- has 3-4 egg-shaped sepals
- they have a red-greenish color
- are hairy on the outside
- each flower has two circles, each with 3-4 longer petals
- the nerves are clearly pronounced
- they are colored purple to rusty red
- the petals are slightly curved outwards
- the flower takes on a bell shape
- like the bell, it hangs with the opening facing downwards
- each flower has several ovaries
- the flower stalk is approx. 2.5 cm long and bent downwards
- he is fat and has red, fine hair
Unpleasant smell
Scents are not always pleasant, as the flowers of the Indian banana prove. But that is intentional. These trees want to attract scavenging insects. This ensures pollination in their native homeland. This is important so that the blossom matures into a delicious fruit by autumn.
These insects don't live with us. The busy bees don't seem to like the smell. That's why they rarely fly to the flowers.
Tip
To increase the pollination rate, you can painstakingly pollinate the flowers by hand with a brush (€4.00 on Amazon).
