Thinning Leaves?

[Snookie]

This is the tag that was on the two nanna's I bought see pictures. I'm not sure if they are what they say they are however; my question is look how THICK and bunched the leaves are. Seem to be healthy and about 4' tall but man they have twice as many leaves as my other plants is that normal?

Do I need to remove some of the lower leaves?

Heck am I normal lol?
Thanks
Snookie

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[sunfish]

No

[caliboy1994]

It's probably because of the variety it is. Looks like a dwarf, maybe SDC. Dwarf varieties have closely packed leaves.

[sunfish]

Probably grown in shade in greenhouse

[Velutina]

Definitively a dwarf variety. No way it's Cardaba. I wouldn't remove any green leaves. They look very healthy!!

[pitangadiego]

Never remove anything that is green. Period.

[sandy0225]

It doesn't look like cardaba to me. Unless the greenhouse you got it from might have sprayed it with some heavy duty growth regulators so that they could hold them longer as shorter plants before sale. I don't do that myself, but I know some commercial places do. It doesn't seem to have any blotches of red on the pups, so it's probably not super dwarf cavendish. It might be rajapuri. but if the pups have red blotches, and they just didn't show up in the pictures, then it is probably super dwarf cavendish of some sort.

[LilRaverBoi]

Originally Posted by pitangadiego

Never remove anything that is green. Period.

^^This^^
I don't remove anything that is green virtually ever. Even had leaves break and hang on the plant for a while till they were yellowed/brown before removing (though that is probably a bit extreme). I figure if it's green, it's helping feed the plant and should be kept on there.

Oh and the front one in the pics looks like SDC to me, but not 100% sure.

[Yuri Barros]

Don´t remove the leaves.................

I remove some down leaves of mine..............and the plant doesn´t grow as thick as I spected.......................bad thing to do............

Dry leaves...............when they are face down.........but close to pstem..............helps to avoid excessive heat in the trunk................

Your plants look great....................

Reading a text.........optimum temperature is around 27 C...........and the growth stops at 38 C..............

Many leaves.........including dry ones.........help to maintain stable temperature around the plant..............

My Dwarf...........feels very bad..............and the new leaves is much smaller...................

This severe "leaf management".............make the plant sprout a Pup.........

I will never touch in the leaves of this new Pup.................

That was my not so good experience with choping leaves.............

[chipboy44]

After looking at the two plants it is obvious that the husky thick trunk plant with all of the bunched leaves is definitely not a cardaba. Mine looks like the other trees that you are showing below it. But as far as cutting the leaves off once they start to turn yellow and fold I dont hesitate to cut them off. I never wait till they are folded downand dead. It just doesnt look nice, to me.
rick

[pitangadiego]

LilRaverBoi nailed it.

[PR-Giants]

I remove hundreds of green leaves everytime I walk through my fields, for the sole purpose of clearing a pathway. It may have an effect on yield or it may even hasten or delay harvest time.
I had a row of plants with 8 foot P-stems and cut the tops off of every other plant to a height of 5.5 feet, only to see if it reduced the plant size at harvest. A few months later the plants are all similar in height again. I will record yield and harvest time, but do not expect any major differences.

[chipboy44]

Hello Keith, I do not expect thet your yields will be any smaller at all. Because all bananas produce only 43-47 leaves usuallly exactly 45 before they produce their cone. That being said it is also a fact that by the time that the plant is halfway to maturity their cone is already developed deep down within their trunk working itself up and out. By that time all is already set and it is just a matter of time till it finally makes it up and out to bloom.
rick

[PR-Giants]

I do not expect the yield to change, but I do expect them to flower a few days earlier.

[chipboy44]

And as long as you have at least 5 leaves on the plant when they bloom they they will ripen the fruit too.
rick