• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Open Every Day, Monday-Sunday, 9am-6pm
  • 713-861-5702
  • Location

Buchanan's Native PlantsBuchanan's Native Plants

Houston's favorite garden center devoted to Texas native plants and organic gardening.

Hide Search
Buchanan's Logo
  • Plants
        • Gift Card
        • Spread the love of gardening with your friends and family. Purchase a Buchanan’s gift card here!

        • Plants Overview
        • Annuals
        • Cacti and Succulents
        • Citrus and Fruit
        • Herbs and Vegetables
        • House Plants
        • Perennials
        • Roses
        • Shrubs
        • Texas Natives
        • Trees
        • Vines
  • Lawn and Garden
        • Outdoor garden with pergola
        • Dedicated to native plants and organic gardening,  we are experienced in helping customers create a lovely outdoor setting with the best quality native plants and environmentally safe organic products available today.

        • Lawn and Garden
        • Soils, Mulch and Amendments
        • Fertilizer
        • Garden Tools and Accessories
        • Pest, Weed and Fungus control
        • Birding
  • House and Home
        • Spartina Blue 2023
        • From entryways to vase fillers, we’ve curated a selection of unique home decor, and fashion items from around the world.  We believe your home should be as beautiful as your garden and with Buchanan’s — it’s easy for your style to blossom.

        • Boutique

        • House and Home
        • Fashion and Fragrance
        • Indoor Gardening
        • Kids
        • Purchase a gift card
        • Outdoor Living

        • Fountains
        • Outdoor Decor
        • Pottery
  • Shop Online
    • Purchase plants
    • Purchase a gift card
    • Gift Card Ordering Information
  • Resources
        • A Buchanan's Plants associate holds a bag of seeds
        • Tips and Resources

          Resources to help you create the garden of your dreams. From how-to videos, monthly tips, and a comprehensive plant library – explore what Buchanan’s has to offer.

        • Gardening Articles
        • Gardening Calendar
        • Gardening Guides
        • Gardeners’ Rewards
        • Helpful Resources
        • How to Videos
        • Plant Library
        • Soil and Mulch Calculator
  • News
    • This Week at Buchanan’s
    • Events, Seminars, and Workshops
  • About
        • Buchanan’s Native Plants has been serving Houston gardeners since 1986. Located in the historic Houston Heights, the garden center is dedicated to native plants and organic gardening.  You will find the best selections of hardy natives as well as perennials, herbs, vegetables, trees, shrubs & roses — all suited to the Houston climate.

        • About Us
          • Buchanan’s History
        • Our Team
        • Careers
        • Donation Request
        • FAQ
        • Contact Us
  • Show Search
Home » Plant Library » Tropicals » Red Banana
Red Banana | Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'

Red Banana

Botanical name: Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’

A popular choice for creating tropical effects; grown primarily for its stunning green and burgundy-red variegated foliage and stems, this variety makes a beautiful statement in the garden or containers; may be wintered indoors in colder areas.

Other names: Abyssinian Banana, False Banana, Red Leaved Banana

  • Characteristics
  • Features and Attributes
  • Planting and Growing

Characteristics

Hardiness zone 9b
Foliage type evergreen
Plant form upright spreading
Mature height 20 feet
Spread 8 feet
Light requirements

full sun to shade

Moisture requirements

average to moist

Plant origin import

Ornamental Features

Red Banana is a wonderfully ornamental plant with characteristically tropical foliage and a distinctive habit of growth. Its attractive large glossy narrow leaves remain green in color with showy burgundy variegation throughout the year. It is grown primarily for its ornamental qualities rather than any edible fruit. The scarlet stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Red Banana is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its wonderfully bold, coarse texture can be very effective in a balanced garden composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Red Banana is recommended for the following landscape applications;

Accent, Hedges/Screening, General Garden Use, Container Planting

Planting and Growing

Red Banana will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

Bananas are curious plants in a botanical sense. Strictly speaking they are perennials, with individual shoots rising up from underground rhizomes and maturing in one to two years, then ultimately dying after producing fruit, to be replaced by new shoots from the base. However, given their ultimate size and coarseness they almost behave as small trees in the landscape. This plant performs well in both full sun and full shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Red Banana is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Its large size and upright habit of growth lend it for use as a solitary accent, or in a composition surrounded by smaller plants around the base and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.

Tips

Our Monthly To-Do List For Your Garden

This month
Woman Holding A Box With Herbs In Her Hands

Store Address and Hours

Buchanan’s Native Plants
611 East 11th Street
Houston, Texas 77008

713-861-5702

Hours: 9 am – 6 pm
Open Every Day – Monday – Sunday

Stay in touch

Receive our weekly newsletter containing the latest specials, up-coming events and seminars.

* indicates required

NEW! Receive special offers, updates, content, and more via text!

Join our Mobile Text Club!

Connect on Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Tiktok
  • YouTube

We love your garden®

Copyright © 1999 - 2025 Buchanan's Native Plants, All Rights Reserved.

  • Return Policy
  • Privacy Policy