Red Abyssinian Banana
Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ · a red-leaf Abyssinian banana
Huge paddle leaves flushed burgundy-red give an instant jungle look in a single season, in beds or big pots. Give it sun, steady moisture and shelter from wind that shreds the leaves; overwinter it indoors wherever it freezes.
- Mature size
- 10 × 8 ft
- 3 × 2.4 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 10a–11b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Moist
Red Abyssinian Banana at its mature size
A mature Red Abyssinian Banana grows to about 10 ft tall and 8 ft wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension, Chicago Botanic Garden.
Through the year
What Red Abyssinian Banana looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
In leaf · Year-round
Huge paddle leaves flushed burgundy-red.
Growing Red Abyssinian Banana
- Grows well in
- The Southeast and California.
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Good for
- Specimen and fast growing
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Native to
- Ethiopia
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Red Abyssinian Banana, that’s about 8 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Red Abyssinian Banana in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.