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View Full Version : What increases the girth of a banana?


Snarkie
01-28-2015, 03:56 PM
Okay, so looking at my trees, I can see that as each leaf opens, it adds a little bit to the height by becoming part of the pstem. Does the stem itself increase its diameter with age like a tree as the mass of the plant increases?

from the sea
01-28-2015, 04:11 PM
yeah as the leaves come out they add to the diameter as well

Snarkie
01-28-2015, 05:31 PM
Awesome sauce! Thanks.

merce3
01-28-2015, 09:07 PM
some banana plants are just girthier than others. dwarf brazilian and praying hands seem to have more girth for me than some of the others i'm growing.

ozzymac
01-28-2015, 11:55 PM
Some of the Lady Fingers we use to cut when I was helping the father inlaw were huge, the size of a tree.
But they also were giving off good size bunches.
All needed propped up to help support the weight.

cheers

Snarkie
01-29-2015, 12:42 PM
Thanks for the info. I have Musa basjoo, and they are only an inch or so in diameter. I was just curious as to how they increase in girth as they get bigger.

cincinnana
01-31-2015, 07:07 AM
Okay, so looking at my trees, I can see that as each leaf opens, it adds a little bit to the height by becoming part of the pstem. Does the stem itself increase its diameter with age like a tree as the mass of the plant increases?

Yes the leaves are similar to rings on a tree, here is a photo for a non scientific comparison.
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/110357684@N02/14459737979" title="cut stem by Hostafarian, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5506/14459737979_2c9297aeb5_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="cut stem"></a>

Here is a post that is a good example of what to expect from your plant.
Read my posts in the thread.
It might answer some questions down the road.

http://www.bananas.org/f10/hibernating-basjoo-19512.html#post235281