Bananas are everywhere in my area (south Louisiana). My dad calls them yard roaches. lol Some people do not take the time to maintain their bananas after planting. When I hear people complain about bananas it's always........ "They are invasive" "You can't get rid of them" "They are ugly after a frost"
Bananas have been viewed (mostly by older folks) as the poor mans landscaping plant because people are always giving them away down here and they look shabby when not maintained. They grow fast and quickly provide some shade from the summer heat. But now I'm seeing bananas planted in new high end subdivisions. People are discovering that with a little maintenance bananas can be an attractive addition to the landscape. Tropical plants in general are becoming very popular down here. Even Wal Mart is selling Bird of Paradise. The local nursuries are selling lots of Rojo and Maurelii. And even the "big plain green ones" like I have are being used. The old look of perfectly trimmed boring hedges is fading.
So good news. Your ahead of the latest fad. By the time your bananas are all looking their best your neighbors may very well be envious of the tropical look you have created in your yard. By next year I'm hoping to have my home surrounded with a jungle.
I keep the lower leaves trimmed on mine and remove pups on a regular basis to keep them from taking over. And I plan to plant evergreen tropicals such as philodendron seloum in front of my bananas. That way when they are killed back by frost, I can cut them to the same height as the seloum and the frost damaged stalk will not be visible. The seloum can get quite big so eventually I'll only have to cut a little off the top to hide them. Another evergreen tropical looking plant to check out is Melianthus Major "Honey Bush". I think it is a striking plant and I plan to use it around my bananas also.
