mmacmobile@aol.com

I am new to this site but found it by searching for proper time to harvest the bananas. I am in Mobile, AL and have a healthy group of banana plants off my patio that have been there for well over 30 years. I have no idea what kind they are but for the past 3 or 4 years at least one has yielded a stalk of bananas. They winter in place and the leaves are left on the plants to cover and protect the stalks from the cold. In the spring I cut them off and "top" the stalks down to the firm part. Some are 8-10 feet tall. The group replenishes with new plants continually. I have only seen one stalk shrivel up and die but it was on a very young plant. They get watered twice a day except Nov thru Jan. Before I learned not to cut the stalks down to ground level I never had bananas but I got lazy and left them alone from then on. I dump ashes from my fireplace into the "plantation" throughout the winter and spring. So, all that being said I am planning to harvest a nice stalk with 2 hands of fruit today before the first frost that is expected within the next few days.