Coug99

I have a basjoo that I planted outside last year by this time it had grown quite a bit, but so far this year the growth rate is much slower. I know it could just be weather differences but this plant now has 8 pups growing off of it. I was wondering how much pup growth will slow down the mother plants growth rate. Also, If I remove some of the pups will the healing process slow down growth. I guess my question is do I remove the pups or leave them?

Thanks,
Chris

kaczercat

what zone are you in? 8 pups is a bit much. mine has the mother and 2-3 others. when you remove them fill it in with some soil. I water then and growth picks back up within a day or so

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Matt

Coug99

Zone 8, I will have to repot some and give them away.

Chris

Coug99

Removed 4 out of 8 pups yesterday I figure I will leave it alone for a couple of weeks and then remove a couple more.

sman87

I'm in zone 6 and one of my basjoos have pushed out more than a pup a week since Memorial Day and now have about six. Then I have an identical basjoo planted 5 feet away that's the same size, age and hasn't pushed a pup up yet lol. I think it can very greatly from plant to plant and rely heavily on its growing environment. Once the corm is large enough that it has more energy it knows what to do with it will defiantly pup out. since the "mat" it's producing is essentially a clonal colony it's technically still one plant system until you separate them. I believe the plant won't send out pups unless it senses from its environment it can aduquatly keep supporting itself at an active level. Ex: That's why you may see a lot of container banana plants struggle to send out pups when they are stuck in small containers.

Rick H

Hi, I am experiencing the same thing. I have 3 basjoo's and each one has sprouted between 2 and 4 pups. Will they slow the growth of the mother plant considerably? I was hoping to get atleast one of the grow pretty tall before the cold weather arrives. The mothers are all about 3 1/2 feet tall right now, and the pups range from 3 inches to about 9 inches. Should I remove the pups or leave them alone? Thanks for all the great info.
Rick

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I am in Upstate NY, home to lots of SNOW!!! I am hoping to be sucessful in growing some Musa Basjoos around the pool to make our short summers feel more tropical!!!! Always open to advice from others!!!

Abnshrek

I had one pup before Azomite, now I have 5.. Good thing I put them on Craig's list or they would be composted.. :^)

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

sman87

Rick, I would keep the pups intact with the mother plant. The pups emerging right now is a great sign your plant is healthy this season and the corm is hitting maturity. At this point in the season it's doing everything it can to produce as much energy as possible for the plant system. I'd wait till the pups are at least a foot to a foot and a half before separating them for independent growth, most likely that hight will be archived by early August if you are up north. At that point (august) I'd separate the pups from the mother and pot them up in a container for the remainder of the growing season (60-70 days?). The reason for this is you won't have to shock them a second time by digging them up in October. The pups will likely grow considerably slower for the latter part of the growing season after separation because it has to regenerate its roots and regenerate its own corm. I wouldn't recommend transplanting them directly back into the ground if you have less then 60 days of growing season left because they may not be strong enough to sustain themselves underground over the winter. Basjoos that make it without problems through long cold winters generally have strong,mature and robust corms. Hope u have some rapid growth and good luck!

sunfish

Does not amount to a hill of beans one way or another

LilRaverBoi

On a Basjoo, who cares. On any plant, really (unless you are farmer growing for best possible/consistent-sized fruit or just want to separate to sell/plant elsewhere/give to a friend/etc) again, who cares. Pups will not significantly the main plant and removing them can damage roots/corm and cause damage to the main plant. So like I said, unless you're a farmer or just want to separate them, no reason to remove.

People ask all the time on here whether they should or should not remove pups for x or y reason. My answer: leave it be and go have a cold drink.

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Rick H

Thanks all for the advice. Its appreciated, and been helpful to my banana plant experience up here!!! Thanks again!

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I am in Upstate NY, home to lots of SNOW!!! I am hoping to be sucessful in growing some Musa Basjoos around the pool to make our short summers feel more tropical!!!! Always open to advice from others!!!

Funkthulhu

This is my first post! Woot!

I'm in 5b Omaha, Nebraska. These guys have been overwintering in my office after I bought them late last summer. Just had to repot the bigger one.

Both looked like crap because they barely got any window light and just fluorescent light over the winter, but now out in the sun they're going nuts!

On that Dwarf Cavendish(?) I now have (as of 3 days ago) NINE pups! Some of them are just inches short of the mother stem. Is swear the mother stem throws out an new leaf every 2-3 days.



So, should I also leave my pups be? I was going to split them out to make sure I have more corms come this time next year.

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"Ph'nglui musaglw'nanna Funkthulhu R'Omahaea wgah'basjoo fhtagn"
"In his house at Omaha, dread Funkthulhu plants bananas."

sunfish

Sure go ahead

Funkthulhu

go ahead and split 'em, or let them be?

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"Ph'nglui musaglw'nanna Funkthulhu R'Omahaea wgah'basjoo fhtagn"
"In his house at Omaha, dread Funkthulhu plants bananas."

sunfish

Split them