Local Focus: Whanganui's going bananas

It was 2014 when Steve Clotworthy's 10-year-old banana tree fruited for the first time.

It sits in the middle of his Aramoho backyard and made headlines, but these days fruiting banana trees are not unusual.

Gareth Carter, of Springvale Nurseries, says Whanganui's warming climate has allowed more people to grow a greater variety of fruits.

"Towards Springvale, St John's Hill heading into Castlecliff, there are very few frosts now," he said.

"Most winters we might get five frosts and they're very light," says Carter.

Growing the fruit is becoming more popular as people discover they are relatively easy care.

They require a sheltered spot to prosper, but with sun and water, they self-propagate.

Mark Daniels, of Castlecliff, says his bananas took three or four years to grow and bear fruit.

"I bought two to start with and they've clumped to a number. The tree grows a banana, then it dies and the next ones come up."

The banana varieties at garden centres are different from the ones you find in the supermarket, but provide enough fruit to be useful.

"Probably a kilogram off each bunch, a couple of kilograms maybe. They're only small but they're very sweet and they ripen fairly quickly once you cut them," says Daniels.

The banana bunch ripens from bottom to top, and that means a constant supply of fresh bananas.

"You can pick the whole bunch, but when I've done that I've had to eat too many bananas every day, so I'm just going to pick them every day."

New Zealand doesn't yet grow bananas commercially, but there are trials around the country supported by AgResearch scientists.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, New Zealand imports more bananas per capita than any other developed country.

For hobby gardeners, it means fewer food miles in their fruit bowl.

Bananas can be planted in the ground after the last frost or kept in a pot on a deck or in a sheltered sunny spot until ready to plant.