Hey All - So I have absolutely no experience with a flowering banana and I have a couple of questions. Any input whatsoever is more than appreciated.
I got this Dwarf Orinoco last year at the end of summer, overwintered in my garage and put out this spring.
Low and behold, today I noticed a flag leaf (after a very skinny leaf popped out) which I guess would explain why the mother wasn't putting out more regular leaves. The pup seems to be growing quite fast though.
It certainly seems like there isn't enough leaf mass to create the necessary photosynthetic power to put out a flower stalk, let alone fruit. And, unless we have an unusually warm and long last 1/3 of summer, I don't think there is enough time to produce anything of substance even if leaf mass was appropriate.
My questions are thus:
1) are my above assumptions reasonable?
2) Should I leave the mother and just watch what happens (what I am inclined to do), or
3) Should I cut it out now and maybe give more energy to the upcoming pup(s)?
4) Should I just shut up and listen to all of you highly experienced banana growers:-)
I am most interested in the long term performance of the plant, although watching a flower form now would definitely be cool
Thank you very much for any suggestions!!
Big pup is in front of the mother p-stem.
Closer picture of the pups.
