Japanese fiber banana -
In certain circles it would be Musa basjoo. Common names have a way of muddying the waters.

Ahh, thank you Las Palmas Norte. I know what you mean...I hadn't a clue what they were talking about at Loews but I'm addicted to a run to all my big box stores at least one a month in case I find something unusal!

Basjoo was originally developed in Japan for the textile industry. That's why its called the "fiber banana". Its hardiness and subsequent catching on in the horticultural world were second to its application as a textile material source.

"Basjoo was originally developed in Japan for the textile industry. That's why its called the "fiber banana"."

It is my understanding that basjoo is in fact from China, not Japan. Also, I beleive it to be the case that it is not the "fiber banana" used for textiles. That banana, from what I've read, is Musa balbisiana.

Ya, basjoo grows in Japan but was introduced, it is native to China, there are no native Musa to Japan. Musa balbisiana is used for the ito-basho (also called just basho) fiber. Also of course Musa textilis is used heavily for fibers in different parts of Asia.

All that said, I probably wouldn't even mess with a basjoo if I lived in South Florida! So many other edible and decorative varieties can be grown there.

Super dwarf cavendish is a very compact banana and probably won't get much taller than maybe 6 feet? Plants for retail can be in quite small pots. Regular Dwarf Cavendish will grow maybe 8 to 10 feet or more. 'Dwarf' is a relative term for bananas!

Hi Dave,

I didn't end up getting a basjoo. But I did get a super dwarf because alot of northerners seem to like to trade for them :). I also was able to salvage my dwarf cavendish after Hurricane WIlma from some new pups that popped up and I bought an ice cream & a grand nain pup about a month ago (still babying them!) I'm going to put everyone in the ground in a couple of weeks so hopefully I will have some nice banana plants soon!

I just cut down a few huge basjoo bananas and don't know what/how to deal with what is left of the stump. How deep does it grow? How to remove it?

Bananas are not woody like shrubs or tree's. Just dig about a foot out from the corm(trunk) and the root ball should come up. If they were grouped close together then you're going to have a large root ball. But should be a simple job. Just watch for small bananas coming up later that you may have missed. Because bananas love to make babies.