Chop or not to chop

natedogg1026 · 06-03-2008, 10:21 PM

Taking opinions here. The mother plant was wintered under the house and is an Orinoco that stood about 6'. It was planted about 6 weeks ago and has since shot up a nice pup which has almost surpassed the mom. The parent has struggled terribly with our cool spring and soggy conditions. It has been cut back several times due to rot and as you can see, it can barely get a healthy leaf out. So,with that said. Should I wait it out and try to get two plants or chop mom to give full growth to the pup? Do you think the gain will be big if I cut her. Never been in this situation before having to debate slaughtering one of my nana's. What ya think? I would sacrifice my number of nana's if I'd get some height in return.-Nate

xavierdlc61887 · 06-03-2008, 10:26 PM

i say cut her till shes about the size where she started growing maybe that will help her generate better leaves....in all i say cut her down but not out

keep trying she will come through

never give never surrender :P

momoese · 06-03-2008, 10:36 PM

One thing to keep in mind is that it's not unusual for the first pup to rapidly outgrow the mother in height. It looks like you have done a nice job removing the rot so it can only get better from here. Let it grow I say.

xavierdlc61887 · 06-03-2008, 10:38 PM

i take back my answer yes leave it

Lagniappe · 06-03-2008, 10:43 PM

Definately let it grow . It is ,at least, getting fed by those scraggeldy leaves now. Your Maurelii may gobble up that portion of your garden before you know it though.

natedogg1026 · 06-03-2008, 11:00 PM

Yea Pete your right. Luckily I just built a new bed last weekend and the Maurelii will be moved there.

banana berserker · 06-03-2008, 11:24 PM

can't you just seperate the mom from the pup?

pitangadiego · 06-04-2008, 01:00 AM

As the President of the "Never give up" club, I would give it a little more time. It doesn't look like it is really going to thrive, however, it might produce more pups.

hydrojeff · 06-04-2008, 07:42 AM

real nice siam Nate, do you bring it in the winter or cover it?

mskitty38583 · 06-04-2008, 10:11 AM

well nate, being new to the whole nana thing, i would say leave it to grow. if you get pups i would move the pups when they get bigger if you are having problems with rot. jmo

bencelest · 06-04-2008, 11:31 AM

My first thought was to leave it alone as I have done with my nanas due to winter blues.Now that the weather changed they are all thriving very nicely.

natedogg1026 · 06-04-2008, 10:55 PM

Jeff, My Siam was wintered in the greenhouse. It was about four foot when I took it out but was very skinny and almost snapped. I closed my eyes and chopped all the leaves off. It grew back stronger and is on it's fourth leaf. Can't wait to see how big it gets.

Banana Mike · 06-10-2008, 01:04 AM

Here's my 2 bits worth.

I think the pup is feeding, big time, off the parent corm. The parent is going into decline. I think it wants to die. Maybe somethings affected it, maybe not. But corms are hard to persuade and this one seems to want to put all it's juice into the pup.

Now the pup, and yes, it's a fine looking pup, is certainly more than ready to go it alone. Heck, it was ready to go it alone when it hit 2 ft tall. Certainly at a slower rate, but ready just the same.

I'd say you have some options. If want the pup to get as big as possible quickly, I'd cut the parent to the ground.

If you want to try and save the parent, I'd separate the pup. I'd be interested to see what happens in this case. I think the parent is a goner. But who know, it might recover and be a nice match to the pup.

Another idea, if you where the adventurous sort, and honestly I don't think it would be too big an adventure, would be to chop the parent to the ground and separate the pup. I wish I had more bananas to experiment some of these ideas with. But I think by doing that, you set the pup off to grow on it's own. The parent corm, now with no Pseudo-stem or pup, is just thinking survival.

I think that there's a fair chance you might induce more pups to shoot out of the parent. And if that doesnt happen, you might give the corm a chance to recover, dig it out and attempt a corm division...

Either way good luck with your bananas. I live in San Antonio and it's been a nightmare with the heat! Ouch!!!

06-03-2008, 10:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
xavierdlc61887 xavierdlc61887's Photo Gallery Location: Texas Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: Fernie Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 472 BananaBucks : 9,990 Feedback: 14 / 100% Thanks: 60 Thanked 58 Times in 50 Posts Welcomes: 31	Re: Chop or not to chop i say cut her till shes about the size where she started growing maybe that will help her generate better leaves....in all i say cut her down but not out keep trying she will come through never give never surrender :P

06-03-2008, 10:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
momoese Organic Mechanic momoese's Photo Gallery Location: West Los Angeles CA Find me on the map! Zone: zone 10 Name: Mitchel Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,953 BananaBucks : 28,579 Feedback: 9 / 100% Thanks: 32 Thanked 371 Times in 200 Posts Welcomes: 91	Re: Chop or not to chop One thing to keep in mind is that it's not unusual for the first pup to rapidly outgrow the mother in height. It looks like you have done a nice job removing the rot so it can only get better from here. Let it grow I say. __________________ Mitchel

06-03-2008, 10:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
xavierdlc61887 xavierdlc61887's Photo Gallery Location: Texas Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: Fernie Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 472 BananaBucks : 9,990 Feedback: 14 / 100% Thanks: 60 Thanked 58 Times in 50 Posts Welcomes: 31	Re: Chop or not to chop i take back my answer yes leave it

06-03-2008, 10:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lagniappe Banana Padawan Lagniappe's Photo Gallery Location: North La Find me on the map! Zone: 8 Name: Pete Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 784 BananaBucks : 7,475 Feedback: 20 / 100% Thanks: 176 Thanked 138 Times in 87 Posts Welcomes: 230	Re: Chop or not to chop Definately let it grow . It is ,at least, getting fed by those scraggeldy leaves now. Your Maurelii may gobble up that portion of your garden before you know it though. __________________ I'm not tipsy ! I'm just not very articulate and maybe a lil tipsy .

06-03-2008, 11:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
natedogg1026 Banana addict natedogg1026's Photo Gallery Location: Pittsburg, Kansas Find me on the map! Zone: 6b Name: Nate Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 616 BananaBucks : 8,348 Feedback: 2 / 100% Thanks: 134 Thanked 113 Times in 92 Posts Welcomes: 3	Re: Chop or not to chop Yea Pete your right. Luckily I just built a new bed last weekend and the Maurelii will be moved there. __________________ Banana's are a safe addiction. Right?Maybe I need classes.

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06-03-2008, 11:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
banana berserker Location: sacramento, CA Find me on the map! Zone: 9 Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 152 BananaBucks : 4,022 Feedback: 0 / 0% Thanks: 2 Thanked 7 Times in 5 Posts Welcomes: 1	Re: Chop or not to chop can't you just seperate the mom from the pup?

06-04-2008, 01:00 AM	#8 (permalink)
pitangadiego Senior Member Location: San Diego, CA Find me on the map! Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 487 BananaBucks : 4,345 Feedback: 5 / 100% Thanks: 0 Thanked 177 Times in 70 Posts Welcomes: 0	Re: Chop or not to chop As the President of the "Never give up" club, I would give it a little more time. It doesn't look like it is really going to thrive, however, it might produce more pups. __________________ Encanto Farms Nursery http://encantofarms.com We Be Bananas http://webebananas.com

06-04-2008, 07:42 AM	#9 (permalink)
hydrojeff Bananacitus Location: orange city,FL Find me on the map! Zone: zone 9b Name: jeff Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 246 BananaBucks : 1,213 Feedback: 8 / 100% Thanks: 76 Thanked 39 Times in 38 Posts Welcomes: 97	Re: Chop or not to chop real nice siam Nate, do you bring it in the winter or cover it? __________________ Jeff

06-04-2008, 10:11 AM	#10 (permalink)
mskitty38583 banana junkie mskitty38583 's Photo Gallery Location: sparta, tn. Find me on the map! Zone: 6-7 Name: mskitty Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 3,598 BananaBucks : 16,629 Feedback: 24 / 100% Thanks: 23 Thanked 462 Times in 393 Posts Welcomes: 59	Re: Chop or not to chop well nate, being new to the whole nana thing, i would say leave it to grow. if you get pups i would move the pups when they get bigger if you are having problems with rot. jmo __________________ WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION "kokomo" beach boys:

06-04-2008, 11:31 AM	#11 (permalink)
bencelest Banana Nut bencelest's Photo Gallery Location: California Zone 9 Zone: 9 Name: Benny Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,510 BananaBucks : 8,205 Feedback: 2 / 100% Thanks: 2 Thanked 159 Times in 138 Posts Welcomes: 0	Re: Chop or not to chop My first thought was to leave it alone as I have done with my nanas due to winter blues.Now that the weather changed they are all thriving very nicely. __________________ Banana Nut

06-04-2008, 10:55 PM	#12 (permalink)
natedogg1026 Banana addict natedogg1026's Photo Gallery Location: Pittsburg, Kansas Find me on the map! Zone: 6b Name: Nate Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 616 BananaBucks : 8,348 Feedback: 2 / 100% Thanks: 134 Thanked 113 Times in 92 Posts Welcomes: 3	Re: Chop or not to chop Jeff, My Siam was wintered in the greenhouse. It was about four foot when I took it out but was very skinny and almost snapped. I closed my eyes and chopped all the leaves off. It grew back stronger and is on it's fourth leaf. Can't wait to see how big it gets. __________________ Banana's are a safe addiction. Right?Maybe I need classes.

06-10-2008, 01:04 AM	#13 (permalink)
Banana Mike Location: San Antonio Find me on the map! Zone: 8b Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 26 BananaBucks : 759 Feedback: 0 / 0% Thanks: 4 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts Welcomes: 0	Re: Chop or not to chop Here's my 2 bits worth. I think the pup is feeding, big time, off the parent corm. The parent is going into decline. I think it wants to die. Maybe somethings affected it, maybe not. But corms are hard to persuade and this one seems to want to put all it's juice into the pup. Now the pup, and yes, it's a fine looking pup, is certainly more than ready to go it alone. Heck, it was ready to go it alone when it hit 2 ft tall. Certainly at a slower rate, but ready just the same. I'd say you have some options. If want the pup to get as big as possible quickly, I'd cut the parent to the ground. If you want to try and save the parent, I'd separate the pup. I'd be interested to see what happens in this case. I think the parent is a goner. But who know, it might recover and be a nice match to the pup. Another idea, if you where the adventurous sort, and honestly I don't think it would be too big an adventure, would be to chop the parent to the ground and separate the pup. I wish I had more bananas to experiment some of these ideas with. But I think by doing that, you set the pup off to grow on it's own. The parent corm, now with no Pseudo-stem or pup, is just thinking survival. I think that there's a fair chance you might induce more pups to shoot out of the parent. And if that doesnt happen, you might give the corm a chance to recover, dig it out and attempt a corm division... Either way good luck with your bananas. I live in San Antonio and it's been a nightmare with the heat! Ouch!!!

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