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fmu65
11-19-2011, 09:34 AM
Momma plant isn't doing too well... Then she started putting off pups. Should i cut her down? Or should i wait until she completely turns brown? I know some (most?) plants with this type of root system will pull the nutrients down from dying leaves into the roots, so i am hesistant to cause any more problems than i already have. but aren't the pups so cute? ;)http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=46845&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=46845)

venturabananas
11-19-2011, 11:06 AM
Leave it the way it is. Try to figure out why momma wasn't happy and correct that if you haven't already.

Olafhenny
11-19-2011, 06:55 PM
Leave it!

Mother and pups are forming a unit, feeding all from the same corm and roots until separated. Any green still
left on the mother still contributes to the photo synthesis of the whole unit, thereby helps to sustain the pups.

By all means cut off everything, that is obviously dead or diseased.

Good luck,
Olaf
PS: Some unsolicited repeat of my mantra: "Make sure, that the pot is big enough." In your case topping off
the soil to 1/2 inch below the top of the pot, will help greatly in bringing on healthy growth through the winter.

fmu65
11-20-2011, 09:42 AM
Thank you for the advice! By topping off the soil, I'll be covering the pups a bit. Is this okay? I am always afraid of rotting their pstems. I have a high quality soil mix, but I have had issues with other plants in the past (for various reasons I won't get into here)- momma SDC has had a bout of root rot, and I cleaned her up and repotted, which is how I found the pups in the first place). Just being paranoid. Thanks!

Olafhenny
11-20-2011, 11:09 AM
Thank you for the advice! By topping off the soil, I'll be covering the pups a bit. Is this okay? I am always afraid of rotting their pstems. I have a high quality soil mix, but I have had issues with other plants in the past (for various reasons I won't get into here)- momma SDC has had a bout of root rot, and I cleaned her up and repotted, which is how I found the pups in the first place). Just being paranoid. Thanks!

No, Lisa Marie, you are certainly not paranoid. I have seen huge Ponderosa Pine trees succumb to just
one foot of fill around their bases, but bananas can take it and even seem to thrive on it.

In colder climes, where I live per example, it is part of protecting the corm from frost, to plant the Banana
1 foot below the previous (pot-) soil level, to give it additional protection from frost.

In your case, even though the roots are further down and may not make it up to the new soil, the nutrients
will penetrate down with each watering.