Williams Cavendish Banana Plant

About the Williams Cavendish Banana Plant

This is the Cavendish dessert banana of the Williams type, the familiar sweet, creamy banana sold in shops around the world, here from a plant you can grow yourself. It is medium-sized and sturdy, quick to establish and one of the fastest bananas to fruit, producing large bunches of long, curved fingers that ripen to a mellow sweetness. Homegrown bananas left to colour on the plant or in your kitchen taste noticeably better than store-bought ones. A reliable first banana for gardens in hot and warm climates. Available as a rhizome (the most economical option), a young plant or an established plant.

How to Care for It

To plant a rhizome (corm), dig a hole about 50 cm wide and deep, mix in compost, and set the corm with its top just at soil level; water once and then sparingly until leaves appear. Bananas want full sun, shelter from strong wind, rich soil and abundant water without waterlogging. Feed monthly with a potassium-rich fertiliser, mulch heavily and remove damaged leaves.

From statement ornamentals like variegated Musa, Siam Ruby and the blood banana to fruiting red, apple and Cavendish bananas. Every variety comes in three sizes: a rhizome (the most affordable way to start), a young plant, or an established plant for instant impact.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Musa acuminata (AAA group, Cavendish subgroup) 'Williams'

Family

Musaceae

Native to

Southeast Asia; the Cavendish group supplies most of the world's export bananas

Mature height

2.5–4 m

Plant spacing

2.5 m

Years to first fruit

0.75–1.25 years

Light

Full sun

Water

High, keep moist

Cold tolerance

down to 0 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics, Dry tropics, Subtropical

Grows in a pot

Best in the ground

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas