📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banan Zholtyi (Yellow Banana)
- 🌍 The Controversy: This variety is sold in Russia by the “Poisk” seed company under the name “Yellow Banana.” However, Russian growers who ran side-by-side grow-outs have universally concluded that this is simply a repackaged, renamed version of the famous American heirloom Banana Legs (originally bred by Tom Wagner).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: The seed packet falsely claims it is an indeterminate (tall) vine. In reality, growers report it behaves exactly like Banana Legs—a bushy determinate that rarely exceeds 1 meter (3-4 ft) in height.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Elongated, bright yellow/gold paste tomatoes with faint lighter stripes and a distinct little point (beak) on the blossom end.
- ⚖️ Weight Discrepancy: The seed packet claims 80-120g (2.8-4.2 oz), but real-world growers consistently harvest fruits closer to 30-40g (1-1.5 oz).
Here is the description directly from the seed packet:
“Sunny, bright yellow, meaty fruits for any salad. A mid-season, high-yielding variety for high tunnels/greenhouses. The plant is tall (indeterminate) and requires pruning and staking. The funny fruits look like small bananas in both shape and color. Weight 80-120g (2.8-4.2 oz). Excellent for canning and fresh eating.”
Photo credit: Alenusik.
It seems to me that Yellow Banana is actually just Banana Legs. 😲 It looks incredibly similar. Though I could be wrong.
Yes, it looks extremely similar—it even has the faint stripes that are characteristic of Banana Legs, and that little beak/nipple on the blossom end. It’s a shame there isn’t a good photo of the whole bush to compare.
But the description for Yellow Banana above says it’s a tall indeterminate. My Banana Legs plants never grew above a meter (3 ft) even inside the greenhouse. Also, Yellow Banana seems to have fewer fruits per truss than true Banana Legs.
Well, the packet also says the weight is 80-100g (2.8-3.5 oz), but on the digital scale in the photo, we clearly see it weighs 34g (1.2 oz). I highly doubt Alenusik deliberately picked the smallest fruit she could find just to photograph it.
I’m going to plant Yellow Banana this season and we’ll see “who is who” 😂. My seeds are from the Poisk company.
I ran a direct comparison: I grew “Yellow Banana” from the Poisk seed company right next to “Banana Legs” from the Partner seed company. I planted them side by side—there is absolutely zero difference between them. The only actual difference is the price: Poisk charges 25 rubles for the packet, while Partner charges 100 rubles.
