A newbies guide to disaster
 

While I have had my Ice Cream banana for 3-4 yrs never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would ever have fruit. I have always cut the pstems down after a winterkill, maybe to about 3 ft. After a mild winter I spied new growth from the top of the pstems so I cut off all the dead foliage and had a head start on the season.
What a surprise when a bud formed and fingerling bananas started showing up. Here's where my downfall started. I had about 10 hands when I decided to cut off a pup to send to a friend in TX. Production immediately halted, no more blooms and the fruit got no larger. I was okay with that figuring that something would happen later. Well something happened alright my pstem bent in half during a storm. I had read that I could either "shore it up" or leave it be. I elected to leave it be, too much trouble to try and straighten up a banana tree and splint it. I also forgot to mention that as time progressed some of the fruit began to rot but this was before bending in half.
Half of the stem died but there was enough life left in that piece of a stem to give me one hand of little 3 in bananas last week.
So after all that I have questions. Next yr I will have about 3 pstems that are large enough to fruit, should I tie a rope around the mat to try and keep them upright? Brace and splint each individual plant before they break? I really want to do better next yr!

Re: A newbies guide to disaster
 

For a start dont take off pups during fruiting, its not always a problem but I dont recommend it especialyl since that seems to be when your problem started. A pole type of device placed under the stem of the bunch is a good way to stake the bunch to prevent it from toppling.

Re: A newbies guide to disaster
 

Supporting the plants with a kick stand helps keep the weight of the bunch from pulling the plant over. You can make it from PVC, wood, bamboo like what I use, or tie it with a rubber inner tube to a fence or another plant that's leaning the opposite way.

Re: A newbies guide to disaster
 

Hey Kabby!!!:pinwheelnaner: Glad you finally made it here, this is really a great nanner forum. Not the least of which is these fun little nanner people...:06: