Family
Musaceae
Botanical Name
Musa 'Silk'( Silk, A A B Group)
Plant Common Name
Banana, Hybrid Banana, Silk Banana
Special Notice
This entry has yet to be reviewed and approved by L2G editors.
General Description
A delicious and fragrant dessert banana, 'Silk' is an ornamental tropical herb (not a tree) with large, flat, green leaves and fruits of a distinctive, acidy, apple-like and sweet flavor. They are plump, round-tipped fruits that will have split skins once fully ripe with white flesh. This hybrid triploid banana is detrimentally affected by Panama disease. This cultivar rivals 'Dwarf Cavendish' in worldwide popularity for the local orchard.
As with all bananas, each stem flowers and sets fruit only once before dying. That stem, or cane, is chopped out as the banana hand is harvested so that the other stems can grow fully. Best in lowland, humid tropical areas with rich soils, nutrient poor and dry soils (as well as cooler weather) results in fruits that have dry flesh and little flavor. Thus, these plants (although root hardy with light frosts), may prove nothing more than vegetative curiousities outside of the warmest regions with long growing seasons. They are only moderately vigorous in growth and habit.
Banana plants love warm fertile soils with consistent moisture. Full sun exposures are best and a long growing season is required to set the flowering stalk and subsequent fruits. Avoid sandy, poor soils unless compost, mulch or other rich organic matter can be placed over the root zone. These plants are often root-hardy in warmer temperate zones and rejuvenate after spring frosts. Large but thin, the leaf may shred in high winds. The exotic and tropical look of the banana, even without flowering, is reason enough to grow this plant, the wondrous flavor and fragrance of the fruit lends silk banana a prominent place in home fruit production. It is often called the apple banana, causing confusion as bananas of the Pome AAB Group may also be referred to with that moniker.
Characteristics
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AHS Heat Zone
12 - 10
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USDA Hardiness Zone
9 - 15
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Sunset Zone
H1, H2, 23, 24
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Plant Type
Tender Perennial
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Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
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Height
10'-13' / 3.0m - 4.0m
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Width
6'-10' / 1.8m - 3.0m
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Bloom Time
Indeterminate
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Native To
Hybrid Origin
Growing Conditions
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Soil pH
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
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Soil Drainage
Average
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Soil type
Loam, Sand
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Growth Rate
Fast
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Water Requirements
Average Water
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Habit
Clump-Forming
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Seasonal Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Special Characteristics
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Usage
Edible, Feature Plant, Fruit / Fruit Tree, Mixed Border, Screening / Wind Break, Tropical
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Sharp or Has Thorns
No
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Invasive
No
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Attracts
Hummingbirds
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Self-Sowing
No
