He may never taste the sweet fruit of his trees, but banana plants grow tall and strong for one Victoria man.

Marco Gagliani has crafted a near-tropical paradise in his urban yard with one tree growing particularly tall.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 pushing 17 feet now,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he leaf is taller than me and IB次元官网网址檓 six feet tall.B次元官网网址�

It wonB次元官网网址檛 bear edible fruit, but the ambience of living in paradise is enough for Gagliani who enjoys time spent in Hawaii and Maui where the love of tropics is rooted.

B次元官网网址淚t was just a love of tropical plants,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 like to recreate what I would see and feel in a tropical climate; thatB次元官网网址檚 my hobby,B次元官网网址�

Visitors frequently ask for the secret to making them hit 15 to 17 feet. ItB次元官网网址檚 expensive, but can be done, he says. This particular tree seems to get bigger every year, hitting 14 feet in 2023.

B次元官网网址淚t may not get any bigger next year but IB次元官网网址檓 sure going to try,B次元官网网址� he said with a chuckle.

He hopes to inspire others who might be looking for a home-grown getaway.

B次元官网网址淚 want to show people you can do this and get that tropical feel in Victoria for at least a couple months a year in your back yard,B次元官网网址� Gagliani said. B次元官网网址淚n the summer months we can replicate whatB次元官网网址檚 going on in tropical areas.B次元官网网址�

While the plants will grow and sprout fruit, those bananas donB次元官网网址檛 ever get to the point you can eat them.

B次元官网网址淚t starts too cool here, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 get warm enough,B次元官网网址� Gagliani said.

The Japanese fibre banana B次元官网网址� or Musa basjoo B次元官网网址� plant is popular and fares well outdoors in the region, says Bob Duncan of Fruit Trees and More in North Saanich.

B次元官网网址淭his banana is quite hardy, itB次元官网网址檚 commonly grown outdoors on the south coast. It will flower and it will reduce bananas, but the bananas are not edible,B次元官网网址� Duncan said.

That said, there are folks in the area who grow the fruit successfully B次元官网网址� indoors.

B次元官网网址淚 do know people who are growing those as well, but they are all in greenhouses and those greenhouses are heated in the winter,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey have to be in a greenhouse to succeed and a heated greenhouse at that.B次元官网网址�

But aside from the inedible fruit, outdoor banana trees on the south Island can provide leaves, which Duncan notes are a popular wrap for cooking over coals.

There are other successful tropicals that do fruit in the region, said Duncan, who has been growing subtropical Mediterranean tree fruits outside on the Peninsula for more than 40 years.

DuncanB次元官网网址檚 successes include citrus B次元官网网址� with 30 years of tasty limes, lemons, oranges and mandarins B次元官网网址� olives and his B次元官网网址渕ost difficult childrenB次元官网网址� are avocados and pomegranates.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 give up easy though,B次元官网网址� he said.

Gagliani shows a similar stubbornness cultivating his city oasis, with windmill palms, hibiscus and other plants not common to the area.

B次元官网网址淭he downside is come winter, by the end of October, IB次元官网网址檓 going to have to winterize all these plants,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 have to protect them B次元官网网址� building cages around them and stuffing them with leaves and insulation material so the frost doesnB次元官网网址檛 kill them. Others I have to take out of the ground and put them in a pot and put them in the basement.B次元官网网址�

Then he does the reverse each spring.