Banana Sapling

Banana Sapling

Type	Seed
Grows	Banana
Season	All on Ginger Island; Summer in Stardew Valley
Growth Time	28 days
Island Trader	Dragon Tooth (5)
Sell Price	850g

The Banana Sapling is traded for rather than bought, and every route to one runs through Ginger Island or the desert. The Island Trader swaps it for Dragon Teeth hauled out of the Volcano Dungeon, Professor Snail hands one over for a finished fossil display, a cracked Golden Coconut sometimes holds one, and Leo sells one at his Desert Festival stall for Calico Eggs. Where the sapling is planted matters more than when: on the island farm or under Greenhouse glass the grown tree gives a Banana on every day of the year, and out on the valley farm it keeps to Summer alone. Four weeks of growing sit between the planting and the first fruit, and the eight tiles around the sapling have to stay bare for all of them. The first Bananas have jobs waiting, from the Island Obelisk to the shrine beside Leo's house.

Growing

The sapling goes into plain ground with a clear ring around it. Nothing at all may sit on the eight tiles touching it while the tree grows: no paths, no fences, no crates, no debris. A blocked night is a night of growth lost, and the morning report says so. Two saplings cannot share the ring, which puts an orchard on a grid of one tree every third tile.

Four stages over four weeks take the sapling to a mature tree, at the same pace in every season. Where the tree stands then decides everything. On the Ginger Island farm a grown Banana Tree gives one fruit a day without a break at the turn of the seasons, and the Greenhouse does the same. Out on the valley farm the tree waits for Summer, so a sapling meant for the mainland needs to be in the ground by the first day of Spring to be ready when its season opens.

Island planting has a second advantage. Because the island ignores Winter, a sapling planted there at any point in the year starts earning four weeks later, with no dead season to sit through. That makes it the obvious home for the first one.

Once the tree is grown, the ring stops mattering and sprinklers, chests and paving can go right against the trunk. A tree in the wrong place can still be moved: felling it with an Axe returns a Banana Sapling matching the quality of the fruit it was carrying, and a better sapling reaches full size faster when it goes back in.

Buying

The Island Trader on the north side of Ginger Island is the steady supply. The booth opens after ten Golden Walnuts have been paid to the parrots, and from then on it swaps a Banana Sapling for five Dragon Teeth. Dragon Teeth come out of the Volcano Dungeon, where they lie near the large skeletons, and Lava Lurks drop them as well. A Stingray Fish Pond with a full population will produce the occasional tooth too, slowly enough that the volcano remains the faster route.

Golden Coconuts are the second source. Shaking palm trees, digging artifact spots and keeping Blue Discus in a Fish Pond all turn them up, and Clint cracks them open at the Blacksmith for a small fee. A sapling is one of the better things inside.

Professor Snail pays one out for work already done. Completing the Large Animal display at the Island Field Office, which takes a Fossilized Skull, Ribs, Spine, Tail and two Legs, rewards Golden Walnuts and a Banana Sapling together.

Leo keeps a stall at the Desert Festival and sells a Banana Sapling for a hundred Calico Eggs. That price is higher than anything else on his shelf, but Calico Eggs vanish the moment the festival ends and are worth nothing in the Shipping Bin. Spending a surplus on the sapling is the one way to carry those winnings home, and eggs pile up quickly from the Scholar's quiz, Marlon's Skull Cavern errands, Willy's fishing jobs and bets on the races.

Uses

The sapling sells for a good deal more than most, but trading it away misses the point. One planted tree supplies fruit indefinitely, and the Bananas have specific work to do: the Island Obelisk needs a stack of them, and a single Banana placed on the shrine next to Leo's house brings a gorilla out with three Golden Walnuts in hand. Those two jobs alone are worth more than any sale.

As a gift the sapling is unwelcome, disliked by nearly every resident of the valley. A spare is better off on the island, or along the Greenhouse border where it fruits all year without using any soil.

Notes

Put the first sapling on the island, not the farm. The same tree gives fruit every day there instead of one season in four.

Clear the planting ring before the trip out. A sapling carried back from the volcano and then left in the bag because the site is still covered in debris is four weeks lost for nothing.

All Seeds

Every entry in this group, with its key details.

Name	Grows	Season	Pierre
Acorn	Oak Tree	All	-
Amaranth Seeds	Amaranth	Fall	70g
Ancient Seeds	Ancient Fruit	Spring; Summer; Fall	-
Apple Sapling	Apple	Fall	4,000g
Apricot Sapling	Apricot	Spring	2,000g
Artichoke Seeds	Artichoke	Fall	30g (Year 2+)
Banana Sapling	Banana	All on Ginger Island; Summer in Stardew Valley	-
Bean Starter	Green Bean	Spring	60g
Beet Seeds	Beet	Fall	-
Blue Grass Starter	Blue Grass	Spring; Summer; Fall	-
Blueberry Seeds	Blueberry	Summer	80g
Bok Choy Seeds	Bok Choy	Fall	50g
Broccoli Seeds	Broccoli	Fall	-
Cactus Seeds	Cactus Fruit	All	-
Carrot Seeds	Carrot	Spring	-
Cauliflower Seeds	Cauliflower	Spring	80g
Cherry Sapling	Cherry	Spring	3,400g
Coffee Bean	-	Spring; Summer	-
Corn Seeds	Corn	Summer; Fall	150g
Cranberry Seeds	Cranberries	Fall	240g
Eggplant Seeds	Eggplant	Fall	20g
Fairy Seeds	Fairy Rose	Fall	200g
Fall Seeds	Blackberry, Common Mushroom, Hazelnut, or Wild Plum	Fall	-
Fiber Seeds	Fiber	All	-
Garlic Seeds	Garlic	Spring	40g (Year 2+)
Grape Starter	Grape	Fall	60g
Grass Starter	Grass	Spring; Summer; Fall	100g
Hops Starter	Hops	Summer	60g
Jazz Seeds	Blue Jazz	Spring	30g
Kale Seeds	Kale	Spring	70g
Mahogany Seed	Mahogany Tree	All	-
Mango Sapling	Mango	All on Ginger Island; Summer in Stardew Valley	-
Maple Seed	Maple Tree	All	-
Melon Seeds	Melon	Summer	80g
Mixed Flower Seeds	Varies	Spring Summer Fall	-
Mixed Seeds	Varies	Spring Summer Fall	-
Mossy Seed	Green Rain Tree	All	-
Mushroom Tree Seed	Mushroom Tree	All	-
Mystic Tree Seed	Mystic Tree	All	-
Orange Sapling	Orange	Summer	4,000g
Parsnip Seeds	Parsnip	Spring	20g
Peach Sapling	Peach	Summer	6,000g
Pepper Seeds	Hot Pepper	Summer	40g
Pine Cone	Pine Tree	All	-
Pineapple Seeds	Pineapple	All on Ginger Island; Summer in Stardew Valley	-
Pomegranate Sapling	Pomegranate	Fall	6,000g
Poppy Seeds	Poppy	Summer	100g
Potato Seeds	Potato	Spring	50g
Powdermelon Seeds	Powdermelon	Winter	-
Pumpkin Seeds	Pumpkin	Fall	100g
Qi Bean	Qi Fruit	All	-
Radish Seeds	Radish	Summer	40g
Rare Seed	Sweet Gem Berry	Fall	-
Red Cabbage Seeds	Red Cabbage	Summer	100g (Year 2+)
Rhubarb Seeds	Rhubarb	Spring	-
Rice Shoot	Unmilled Rice	Spring	40g
Spangle Seeds	Summer Spangle	Summer	50g
Spring Seeds	Wild Horseradish, Daffodil,; Leek, or Dandelion	Spring	-
Starfruit Seeds	Starfruit	Summer	-
Strawberry Seeds	Strawberry	Spring	-
Summer Seeds	Grape, Spice Berry,; or Sweet Pea	Summer	-
Summer Squash Seeds	Summer Squash	Summer	-
Sunflower Seeds	Sunflower	Summer; Fall	200g
Taro Tuber	Taro Root	All on Ginger Island; Summer in Stardew Valley	-
Tea Sapling	Tea Leaves	All	-
Tomato Seeds	Tomato	Summer	50g
Tulip Bulb	Tulip	Spring	20g
Wheat Seeds	Wheat	Summer; Fall	10g
Winter Seeds	Crocus, Crystal Fruit,; Snow Yam, or Winter Root	Winter	-
Yam Seeds	Yam	Fall	60g