I had to google 'banana shrub', 'cause I knew exactly what you meant but couldn't think of its botanical name. Looks like there are places listed to buy it too, but I didn't want to waste time getting back to you. There are other Michelias too--one of my doctors is a gardener too, and we spend more time talking gardening than anything medical--he just found a new and different michelia he's very excited about. You might like to check on those too! Here sometimes they call them 'bubby flowers', 'cause long ago ladies would drop them down the front of their dresses for the fragrance.

Thanks! Now why didn't I google that? Duh!

Jo

I remember those!! They smelled so good. My grandma used to put a couple of them down my bra in high school and when I got home they were all brown but I sure did smell good all day. Think I'll try to grow one. I hope it doesn't take too long to bloom. At my age I don't have that much time left. lol
Thanks for the memory.

Michela Figo is the banana shrub. I have two of those and I saw buds on them yesterday. I love that smell. Now I want a Michela Alba, it's supposed to smell like joy perfume.

I had one in St. Bernard, we called it banana magnolia.

One of my favorit plants! In garden centers, it will often be called Magnolia Fuscatta Var. Skineriensis (best one). My spelling may be a bit off.
For some reason, when ordering wholesale, I almost never see this plant under its botanical "Michelia".
If you ever find one under the Flowerwood label, get it, they have the best strain.

I live close to Tupelo, Miss. I have a banana magnolia (magnolia fuscata) that I have had for many years. It is a small tree, about ten feet tall, ever green with small shiny green leaves. The blooms in the spring are small yellow with brown on the outside. Smells real good just like bananas. The original plant came from Mobile, Alabama. The plant roots real easy. Larry

I think the name used to be Magnolia fuscata, and then as they seem to do with so many plants they renamed it to Michaelia figo. You're likely to find both names I suppose. And there are other Michaelias, some that look very interesting (some might not be hardy here.)

Same here, we call it Banana Magnolia. I had one 33 years old and about 8 to 10 feet tall. The salty flood waters from Rita in 2005 got the tree. I thought it was dead but then suckers are growing around the trunk. Can those suckers be removed and start new trees. The tree is gone.

Last I saw, Katrina killed mine in St. Bernard, as it did most all plant material. However, I sold my property about a year later, so it could have come back without my knowing. As for your suckers, I believe that, yes, you could definitely start new trees, and I would certainly try several. Good luck with that, I hope you are successful.
Laurie

We just bought a "Banana Magnolia" from Roy Young in Abbeville, LA. My daughters had a winterguard competition in Lafayette and we swung by on the way to buy some (more) fruit trees. When we started to leave my wife noticed the banana smell and it reminded her of her grandmother. We ended up buying one. Now we have to figure out where to put it. Somewhere close to the house.

I bought a "Skinnia" (not sure of spelling) variety at Lowe's 2-3 years ago. It was about 3 feet tall when I got it; now it's probably 12 feet tall and flowering like crazy. It smells very good.

i bought one of these today at a small nursery here in Waveland. Do they need full sun or is morning sun and some afternoon shade ok? What about on the west side of the house where thay will get a little sun during the day and a LOT of afternoon sun?
I'm still trying to decide where to plant it if it's going to get 10 feet tall!! LOL
Thanks for any info!

I'm also a Louisiana native who remembers the banana magnolia. My mother had a huge one in her yard. I have never seen one close to it in size. It was cut down a few years ago to allow room to add a carport. I want my own Michela Figo. I am hoping to find one at the Hilltop Arboretum spring plant sale. They are rather slow growing but require a lot of space. I have the space so I will give it a try. (If I find them, I will buy another for my mother as well. She misses the scent.)

They will grow in shade. However, they also grow in sun. Shade will give you a more open look to the plant. If grown in sun, the foliage will be dense but might look yellowish. (Mother's had very dark green foliage.)

I have 3; two are in a mostly all day sunny location, and one is in a morning sun only location. The two in the sunnier location produce many, many more blooms than the one in more shade. They can be pruned each year after flowering to maintain more shrub like growth which suits my space needs just fine.

Steve

Thanks for the input. I will try to pay attention the next few days to see how many hours of sun each location gets before I plant it. I may have to go buy another one and put one in each spot...that's a good excuse for buying another, don't ya think? LOL

They are available at Clegg's nursery all year round.

Hey ya'll
I have scale on my banana bush. It's the only
plant with scale. Any ideas on how to treat
and control it?

Thanks
Brenda

These are prone to scale. When I had one in St. Bernard, I just kept it as airy as possible. In other words, I selectively pruned out branches (thinning, not heading back cuts) so it would have some air. I also removed the scale insects by hand (some are too squeamish for this) and got rid of them. I also gardened organically and invited birds and beneficials into my yard. You can spray with a horticultural oil, you must get the parts with scale, including underside of leaves. This smothers the scale. Make sure you read label directions becoz temperature is a factor. You may have to do a couple or 3 applications, weeks apart, as new ones hatch. Again, read label. Hort. oil is considered to be one of the less toxic products.
Laurie

Thanks Laurie,
I will try the oil and pruning as well.
It hasn't bloomed yet. Does it take
a couple of years to get established?
I've had mine for a few years. The
bush is about 3 feet tall. Thanks
again for the info.

Brenda

I'm looking for a banana magnolia or shrub.Does anyone have any to share?My brother had one he was going to root one for me but I have lost him to Cancer.He had to sell his home to pay the bills and the new owners pulled it out and trashed it.Didn,t know till it was to late to save it.Would love to find one in memory of my brother he loved the smell of this shrub.

I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I planted a small banana shrub last fall. It looks a little puny, but has many buds and blooms. Leaves are very yellow green, I guess because it is planted in full sun in the front yard/bed. Is there anything I can do to make it healthier looking, or just give it time? Should I wait until the bloom cycle is over, or is it okay to treat it now, and with what? Will epsom salts help?

Thanks, in advance, for any guidance you can provide.

I planted mine a year ago. It was pretty small then. I don't think they really grow until they get transplanted into the ground. I just took a couple pics with a gardenia in the background. You can see the contrast in shades of green. Is yours more yellow or about the same?

natal, thanks a lot for the pictures. Mine is a little bit taller, shaped more like a tree than shrub, leaves are about the same color, but yours looks happier/healthier than mine does. I'm wondering if the few cold snaps we had (in the 20's) might have affected it somewhat.

I'll just keep an eye on it. Do you feed/fertilize yours with anything?

After the stormy weather this afternoon, I probably need to go see if it's even standing - ha!

Thanks again.

Wodka, I haven't fertilized it yet. I'll probably just use a complete fertilizer in another week or 2.

Have you been getting all the latest waves of storms too? I'm a little tired of picking up broken branches. Looking forward to a couple days of clear skies and cooler temps.

Spider Lily: It's called Michelia Skinneriana. Any real nursery in the Deep South will have them. Just insist on the 'old, unimproved' variety. I planted four of the 'improved' hybrids, and am regretting it. They are far less healthy than the 'plain 'ol' kind.

So sorry to hear you lost your brother.

I live in Texas anyone where i could buy one

It is called a Magnolia Viscotta (sp?) I believe, small tulip looking cream colored banana smelling flowers.