Lovetogarden

My Musa basjoo is currently flowering. I hear the plant will die after fruiting shortly. Will this mean I should dig up the plant after it dies? I see a few medium size pups already. New at this so looking for opinions please. If the main plant dies should I dig it out? Only thing is the pups are all in the same cluster as the plant that is fruiting? I am in zone 7?in Maryland

Botanical_Bryce

They old dies months after and turns to soil. Just leave it and remove only the dead above ground that is unsightly.

edwmax

The main stem slowly dies after the fruit is the harvested. But, the corm should produce new pups. Actually, you should already have a large pup growing from last year which should bear next years fruit. .... Just cut the old stem off just below the leaves (4 or 5 ft.). This will allow the sap to flow back into the corm and be used by the pups as needed. The old stem is a huge reservoir of nutrients and will feed the pups about 40% of their needs.

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mari@adams.net

Such valuable information to the new ones growing banana plants.

Starstryke

Yep, cut it off if it is unsightly but do not dig. All of your bananas are connected to an underground corm and you will kill all of them if you dig it up.

cincinnana

This year.

Let the clump die back as it has done before there is no need to do anything different. Do not touch.
Mulch just as you had done in the past.
And pretty much do what everyone else has suggested.
.
Basjoo winter kill.
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr


Next year..

The old flowering pstem will kook like the empty round ones in the photo surrounded with pups.
The old stem will eventually die off and become part of the soil.
Still do not disturb the old corm for a season or two...there is a lot going on underground still.
If you do not like the look of the old stems just mulch right over them.


Untitled
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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