Hardy Banana vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Hardy Banana vs Falsebox

Musa basjoo

Paxistima myrsinites

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Hardy Banana
Falsebox

The Hardy Banana is a fast-growing evergreen perennial that dies down to the ground each year. A stunning tropical-looking accent for your yard and patio, the Japanese Fiber Banana can be overwintered outdoors in several northern U.S. states and southern Canadian regions. In northern regions, you can bring this plant inside and leave it in your garage. If you enjoy Mexican cuisine, you can use the leaves to make tamales.

Falsebox is a hardy, native evergreen shrub found in forests, rocky slopes, and open woodland sites. Though small and easily overlooked among the leaves, the maroon flowers still supply nectar and pollen for pollinators such as native bees and flies. Blooming in spring, they provide an important early-season food source. Its year-round greenery adds visual interest through the winter.

Falsebox is a low-growing shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions, including drought once established. It thrives particularly well beneath the shade of mature trees, where few other plants succeed. With its resilience and ecological value, Falsebox is well-suited for naturalization, restoration projects, and diverse landscape plantings.

Hardy Banana Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 5a
Zone: 5a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: very fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: large cream to yellow
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Fruit: Large inedible
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: japanese banana, japanese fibre banana
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood