Green /Cavendish Banana 🍌

Cavendish bananas are the most common variety. They are the long yellow, slightly sweet bananas at supermarkets around the U.S. They go from under-ripe green to perfectly ripe and still firm mellow yellow, to riper deep yellow with a brown spot or two, to super soft and browning. The perfect ripeness depends on personal taste.

Plant Type
Fruit Tree / Evergreen Perennial Herb

Did you know? The banana plant is actually an evergreen perennial herb, not a tree! The large ‘trunk’ is actually a pseudostem, which is made of bulky, leafy layers that emerge and wither over time. 

Harvest Season
Year-round

With good care, bananas will fruit within the first 15-18 months of planting. 

Mature Size
6-10 ft.  Banana plants can be grown easily in containers and overwintered indoors if needed.

Banana plants are fast-growing, and prone to reproducing new plants through mini clones known as suckers.

Soil & Moisture
Rich, moist well-drained soil, nitrogen-rich soil, and humid conditions similar to their native areas tropical and subtropical regions. In well-drained soil, bananas can almost never get enough water, sunlight, and nutrients. 

Light Requirements
Full Sun, Part Shade

Self-Fertile
Yes

Growth Rate
Fast

Zone Hardiness
Outdoors 7-11 with frost protection; Patio/Greenhouse 4+