Japanese bananas growing in colder US climates
In Japan, banana plant's broad leaves are beaten, bleached and dried into raw material that's used for making carpet, cloth and paper, according to plant experts.
This past winter, recreational farmer Randy Needham, moved a large plant into the basement, sticking it in a 5-gallon bucket of sand and keeping it moist so it would go dormant but not die as long as the indoor temperature did not dip below 40 degrees. They normally take 18 months to two years to bear the bananas, he said.
"The bananas are a little smaller than what you buy in grocery stores but look basically the same, and taste the same in banana pudding," he said. "I've not tried them outside the pudding, but my mother says they do not taste the same."
Source: leadertelegram.com
