🍎 Banana
Musa spp.
fruits
herbaceous perennial (largest herb)
☀️ Sun
full sun
💧 Water
consistently moist; heavy feeder requiring abundant water
🗺️ Zones
8, 11 (cold-hardy varieties to zone 7 with protection)
🧪 Soil pH
5.5, 7.5
🪴 Soil Type
rich loam, very high organic matter
📏 Spacing
8-12 ft apart (clumping; mat spacing 10x10 ft)
⏱️ Maturity
9-18 months (from planting sucker); 12-20 months for fruit to mature after flowering
🍴 Edible Parts
🍽️ Fruit
Key:🤝 Grows well together❌ Keep apart☀️ Sun needs💧 Water🗺️ Hardiness zone
🤝 Companions (8)
Nitrogen-fixing groundcover; suppresses weeds
Understory crop in banana shade; complementary market crops; traditional agroforestry
Potassium-rich mulch , bananas are extremely potassium-hungry; chop-and-drop feeds mat
Nematode suppression , bananas highly susceptible to burrowing nematode
Aphid trap for banana aphid (vector of bunchy top virus)
Nitrogen-fixing shrub; windbreak protecting banana leaves; biomass production
Living groundcover under banana canopy; suppresses weeds; tolerates shade; complementary root depths
Shares moist soil conditions; grows in banana understory; traditional Pacific Islands polyculture
⚠️ Keep Apart (4)
⚠️ Aggressive vines
Can climb and overwhelm banana pseudostems
Allelopathic; extreme water competition
⚠️ Other Musa (too dense)
Overcrowding leads to poor air circulation, increased sigatoka disease, reduced yield , maintain 8, 10 ft spacing
Juglone sensitivity
🛒 Buy Seeds & Plants
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Botanical Interests
True Leaf Market
Burpee
Territorial Seed Company
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