Additional reporting by Charlie Carey
We’ve seen some high temperatures and heavy rainfall in Kent in recent weeks.
And it seems the tropical conditions are having an effect – with one Deal resident stunned to find bananas growing in his front garden.
Doing this outdoors is usually impossible in damp, volatile British weather.
Civil servant Craig Riddell told KentOnline he bought a banana tree three years ago, never expecting it to bear fruit.
But now three small bunches have suddenly sprouted, leaving him unsure whether to put it down to climate change or pure luck.
“I wasn’t even trying,” he said.
“I had not touched the tree at all since I bought it. I’m no gardener.
“But I went out one morning and noticed it had started growing some actual bananas.”
The 57-year-old bought the tree in an online nursery when it was half a foot tall. It is now 12ft, nearly twice his own towering 6ft 6in height.
He discovered the bunches when he was pruning other trees in his garden this week.
The tree, believed to be from South America, produced small bananas, still green and unripened.
Mr Riddell added: “I have no idea if they’re going to be edible or not.
“But I Googled it and it’s very rare for these trees to produce fruit and flower in the UK. I don’t know if that’s the result of global warming or I just got lucky.
“I’m just going to leave it and see what happens now, they are not supposed to survive the winter.”
Due to the inconsistent weather patterns in the UK, it is rare for bananas to grow outdoors here. The short growing season of this climate means that the fruit is rarely edible.
But they can be grown in heated greenhouses,
Bananas need a warm, tropical climate with high humidity and consistent temperatures, such as in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In recent weeks, Kent has experienced two heatwaves and flash flooding.
In 2014, KentOnline reported that a householder in Gillingham grew bananas from his tree after 14 years.
It was believed that Byron Richards, a keen gardener, had achieved it through skilled cultivation.
