The gardening world has trends, with certain plants being the "In Thing" for the moment. One plant which has recently captured the attention of gardening enthusiasts and the like, is the Yunnan Banana (Musella lasiocarpa) or "China Yellow" as some nurseries have named it.

It is originally found in the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou in China. It is abundant in the cultivated lands around Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, growing up to 2,500 metres above sea level.

It is also present in Vietnam and possibly Laos, but may have been introduced there for cultivation. Botanists familiar with the plant and the region think that M. lasiocarpa may be extinct in the wild and cultivated only by farmers in Yunnan and Sichuan.

The local name for this plant translates as "yellow lotus emerge from the earth" or "yellow lotus of the earth mother" and it is this that gives the plant its charming beauty.

The waxy-textured inflorescence is shaped like a lotus flower, a bright buttery yellow in colour and lasts for up to six months at the apex of the plant. The plant itself grows to 1.2-1.5m high.

It has been mentioned that the plant is cultivated as pig fodder, but there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that the young suckers may be sliced and cooked to remove a "poisonous principle" and then eaten. It has also been suggested to have medicinal qualities though the exact use is rather vague.

Its ornamental value seems to be more appreciated outside its area of origin, where in Northern America it is highly prized as a very cold-hardy banana. When it was first introduced into the market, each small plant cost over US$200, but prices have now dropped dramatically to around US$20. This is due to increased propagation as M. lasiocarpa suckers quite freely, and tissue cultured plants are now also available.

We bought a sucker about a foot high last May (measured from the base of the trunk to tip of me leaves), and planted it in a large earthen pot and placed it under our Pong-pong tree (Cerbera odallam).

We thought as seeing it came from a high altitude, cold climate region where it is snow covered in winter, it should need a relatively shady spot. It received direct sun for only a few hours a day. It grew quite well, with a new 'leaf produced every 7-10 days and two suckers developed at the base as well.

Progressively we noted that the newer leaves looked less healthy and decided to put it in the ground on the east side of our house where it could receive the morning sun. Concerned that it might be too hot, but left with no choice, we diligently watered it every day, sometimes even twice a day. Aside from some initial burning on the leaves, it flourished!

The suckers were now themselves a foot high and the gray-green leaves were developing at a steady pace of about one every 7-10 days. Daily watering and monthly feeding (with a mixture of organic and slow-release fertilizer) continued. Then in December, we had to transplant it to another spot in the garden to make room for our three dogs. We took the opportunity to separate the two suckers and replanted the main plant and the smaller sucker at a sunnier spot on the east side of me house.

We gave the third, larger sucker, to a friend. At their new home, the plants received light from sunrise to about 2 pm., although the young sucker was sheltered partially behind a vigorous 3 metre tall Heliconia. The main plant did not seem to undergo any transplanting shock and was almost immediately producing new leaves.The base of the trunk widened, giving it a slight conical shape. It was now 1.2 m tall, with a trunk height of 0.5m. In early March, we noticed the new leaves were dramatically smaller and wondered if we were underfeeding it. However, the plant looked healthy enough.

A few weeks later, a slight yellowing of the tip appeared and the apex started to swell. The yellow became brighter and the swelling grew-unmistakably it was starting to flower! We were astonished that it would flower in a tropical, sea-level climate and within such a relatively short time span. We believe that the microclimate in our garden assisted in the flowering process.

We live in a valley (TV transmissions are notoriously bad in our estate!) and the nights are relatively very cool. The temperature drops to below-mid 20's on a normal night and is even cooler on rainy days and in the early hours of the morning. It may be this regular large difference in temperature that helped it to flower. We had seen flowers on plants imported already in bloom by the various nurseries, but no one knew whether flower initiation could occur in Singapore. We have since learnt that ours is not the only one that has flowered locally. We believe M. lasiocarpa can now be confirmed to be of great ornamental value in Singapore.

They seem to do best in full sun with frequent feeding and watering.

The inflorescence gradually opens, layer by layer, at a rate of about 1-3 days each. Each layer has 3 waxy yellow bracts, which opens to reveal 9 tubular yellow flowers neatly arranged, 3 flowers per bract The base of me flowers are swollen, coloured green and coated with a dense layer of fine hair. The inflorescence is highly attractive to ants, so it is possible mat nectar is produced abundantly. These first flowers are female, and subsequent bracts may not have any flowers at all. Male flowers emerge at a later stage; our inflorescence produced male flowers at me fifth layer. The yellow tubular male flowers are easily recognised due to me presence of pollen. On older flowering plants, the leaves completely wither and fall off, leaving me 'stump' with the huge inflorescence at the apex, which can be over 12 inches in diameter. Ours is about 8 inches, measured across the tips of me bracts.

Suckers develop freely and it is not unheard of to see a plant with multiple suckers, all flowering at the same time! Although thought not edible, we have since learnt that the fruits are quite sweet, but there is not much flesh.

The seeds are like "buck shot", rounded and brown black in colour and are apparently difficult to germinate. It is not known what factors trigger off germination-maybe they have a long dormancy period. Or the seeds produced may be not viable.

However, Fail-child Tropical Gardens in Miami has succeeded in raising several plants to maturity by seeds. There is much to learn about this plant, and home gardeners can provide a wealth of knowledge to the professionals as we are in the position to grow and observe the plant at close quarters.

The flowering of M. lasiocarpa in our garden has encouraged us further to pursue the challenge of growing and learning about-uncommon plants, and more importantly, to share the knowledge gathered.

This article is produced with kind permission of the Singapore Gardening Society (www.gardeningsingapore.org).