Hackney gardener's banana plant finally fruits 10 years later

A hobby gardener from east London was astonished to find his 10-year-old banana plant had produced fruit for the first time.

In Ripon Ray's Hackney garden, a variety of herbs, apples, grapes and courgettes crop up, but this year he spotted bananas.

"It's not something that you see or are meant to see in Hackney. I'm still shocked by it," he said.

Mr Ray said it was more surprising given the harsh winter and poor July.

He first planted them after buying it at Columbia Flower Market.

"I got a tiny plant and I thought let's see how it goes. It looked quite interesting, but for the first five to six years it looked shabby and every winter it rots," he said.

Bananas rarely flower or fruit outdoors in the UK, according to the Royal Horticultural Society, although some may grow in a heated greenhouse or conservatory.

However not to be outdone, RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey has also managed to grow the fruit.

Guy Barter, its chief horticulturalist, said they thought they had lost the lot following last winter's frost.

"It was very severe last winter as the frost had managed to cut through and kill all the upper parts but they've grown back magnificently," he said.

But Mr Barter is not expecting bananas to be something that will be commonly grown in the UK.

"Under climate change we'd expect the summers to get warmer and the winters mild but there'll still be cold episodes in winter and spring so outdoor banana plantations are probably going to be a thing we still rely on more southerly countries to supply."

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