Lady Finger Banana Trees

Lady Fingers

• A number of Lady Finger cultivars exist. These plants commonly reach heights of 25 feet and exhibit disproportionately thin trunks. Despite their thin trunks, Lady Finger plants possess especially strong root systems that anchor the plants against strong winds and other environmental adversities. These cultivars grow fruit in groups known as hands. Each bunch of Lady Finger bananas contains 10 to 14 hands, each of which has 12 to 20 hands, or individual fruits. Plants begin fruiting within the first year or two of life, despite only being 4 or so feet tall at that point.

Lady Finger Cultivars and Fruit

• Types of Lady Finger cultivars include Lady's Finger, Pome, Brazilian and Prata. Cultviars constitute those plants designed by horticulturists or botanists specifically for growth in controlled environments. These plants all produce similar small, thin fruit. These miniature bananas constitute the most distinctive features of this group of cultivars. Lady Finger fruits measure approximately 1 inch in diameter and 4 inches long. Texas A&M University horticulturalist Julian W. Sauls describes the flavor of Lady Fingers as superior to that of supermarket bananas. Lady Finger bananas have light yellow skin and a sweet flavor.

Propagating Lady Fingers

• Cultivars do not constitute species of plants and therefore do not produce fertile seeds, much like mules cannot reproduce because they are not a real species of animal. Fruit producers create Lady Finger clones as a means of growing new specimens. This process entails removing genetic material from a mother plant, such as rhizome segments or a tissue culture containing meristems and replanting this material such that it grows into a new plant. Inexperienced growers can purchase Lady Finger specimens from fruit producers, growers, or greenhouses or nurseries.

Growing Lady Fingers

• Once planted, Lady Finger plants require much the same culture as standard banana trees. Culture requirements include deep, well-drained soil, tropical weather, sun exposure and protection from wind. Banana trees require regular watering to flourish, but they won't tolerate flooding or standing water in soil. Banana tree roots may grow as far as 18 feet in all directions from the tree; Lady Fingers, as with all bananas, require plenty of room to grow. Applying an 8-10-8 fertilizer at a rate of 1 to 1.5 tons per acre promotes optimal banana plant growth. Lady Fingers are resistant to Panama disease, a soil-borne fungal disease that kills a number of banana plants.