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View Full Version : When to cut flower


Tropicman
08-04-2010, 03:36 PM
I don't think the bottom fingers will ever mature,so should I go ahead and cut the flower now?

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_of77_9IEPRg/TFnOz1puVEI/AAAAAAAAEM0/nothzpQ0ykw/MVC-009F.JPG

hammer
08-04-2010, 03:44 PM
I would wait until you see some male blooms before i would cut it.

Tropicman
08-04-2010, 03:48 PM
But the bananas above has had the flowers already dried up,and if they haven/t been pollinated it is too late now,and the lower hands will never mature.

sunfish
08-04-2010, 03:52 PM
You can cut it now.

LilRaverBoi
08-04-2010, 04:14 PM
Looks like the 'fruit' at the bottom have male flowers and won't develop into mature fruit anyway. You can probably cut the bloom off now.

Gabe15
08-04-2010, 04:25 PM
You can cut now if you want, but its really not necessary in your case and personally I like to watch them grow. Also, they are extremely useful to leave on for identification and you can better see the differences between varieties.

Tropicman
08-04-2010, 05:24 PM
Would the above bananas mature faster,if I cut the flower off?
I'm in Kansas,and only have to the middle of October before the frost!

Gabe15
08-04-2010, 06:30 PM
The studies I have read that tested that thought found that there was no difference in time to maturity when the bud is attached or removed.

Tropicman
08-04-2010, 07:07 PM
Thanks
Sometime back on you tube,I watched some videos that on Banana plantations productions they would cut the flower,before they put the blue bag on,saying removing the flower would allow more energy in to the growth of maturing bananas.
In the past I have always cut them off,but they were in a greenhouse maturing,since I have 2 ,1 in fruit and one coming into flower,I might leave one on and cut one off.

pitangadiego
08-04-2010, 09:13 PM
If you plan to cut off the flower bud, wait till you have about 12" of stem below the last banana. If you cut it off to short, it may dry up into the bunch, and the bananas will then dry up and you will have wasted you plant and time. No benefit to being in a big hurry.

Tropicman
08-04-2010, 10:40 PM
Yes thats for sure!
Wouldn't want to lose the bunch!

momoese
08-05-2010, 01:10 AM
I usually leave about 6" after the last hand..when I cut them, which is unusual because I love Humming Birds and they love banana flowers! I've never had any drying that went up more than a few inches.

Tropicman
08-05-2010, 04:17 AM
Makes me wonder if the variety plays a role in the drying up issue...
The flower were already dried up before the male flowers appeared,but I also noticed a great amounts of ants on the flowers before they dried up,and never saw any bees,as they have been very scarce here the last few years.

island cassie
08-06-2010, 01:05 PM
I'm with Mitchel as I love to see the birds, bees and wasps attending to the flowers. But then when the flowers and nectar are dripping over a path or paved area, I usually wait until I have about 1ft of clear stem before I cut the bud off. I have lots of red flowers in the garden for the birds anyway - and the wasps can fend for themselves!!

Tropicman
08-06-2010, 05:52 PM
Come to think about it,haven't seen many wasp this year either.
My garden is full of flowers,and just haven't seen many pollinators this year at all.
Haven't been that many bumble bees this as well,but I have noticed this is the second year in a row for lots of cicadas,Hmm I thought they went in every 17 years cycles......

enigma99a
09-16-2010, 02:28 AM
So... is it true cutting the flower makes no difference? Winter is coming and I would like to cut if it means it will help

merce3
08-04-2014, 07:11 PM
good info here. who cuts and who doesn't? i'm thinking about cutting the heart at around 6" and removing a hand from my praying hands (there are 7 total and the last one looks a little small). thoughts?

Abnshrek
08-04-2014, 07:33 PM
I cut once I have enough room...

Nicolas Naranja
08-04-2014, 08:13 PM
I cut as soon as I can tell where the last hand is on bananas and with plantains I cut after the fifth hand.

Dplaza
08-04-2014, 08:28 PM
Makes me wonder if the variety plays a role in the drying up issue...
The flower were already dried up before the male flowers appeared,but I also noticed a great amounts of ants on the flowers before they dried up,and never saw any bees,as they have been very scarce here the last few years.

Any chance the bees, wasps, and ant can sense when the plant is ABOUT to flower? I have quite a few on my Namwah... maybe it's wishful thinking but I don't get why I have all the bugs on the stem lately.

BrianOC714
08-05-2014, 10:08 AM
Any chance the bees, wasps, and ant can sense when the plant is ABOUT to flower? I have quite a few on my Namwah... maybe it's wishful thinking but I don't get why I have all the bugs on the stem lately.

The ants bring aphids. Keep them off your plants.

Dplaza
08-05-2014, 09:25 PM
The ants bring aphids. Keep them off your plants.

Hmm haven't had any issues with aphids thankfully but thanks for the heads up. What do you use to keep the ants away? Biggest issue has been grasshoppers eating the leaves off tomato plants in the veggie garden ugh!

crazy banana
08-06-2014, 12:00 AM
Hmm haven't had any issues with aphids thankfully but thanks for the heads up. What do you use to keep the ants away? Biggest issue has been grasshoppers eating the leaves off tomato plants in the veggie garden ugh!

A band of petroleum jelly/ Vaseline works very well. Cheap and effective, ants will not cross it.