beam2050

I have some gran nains in pots with a number of pups. does anybody know the best way to pull the pups without hurting them? do I just yank them out by their little heads or do I pull the entire plant out and separate and repot or is there something else?

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Darkman

If the pot is really large....

IMHO the best way is to use a trenching shovel that you have sharpened with a file or wheel. With the blade not handle, held vertically make plunge cuts between the pup and the mother P-stem. Once you have severed it from the corm you can them finish circling the pup staying about one foot away loosening the soil. The pup should then pull free easily and have good roots.

WHY TRENCHING SHOVEL?

Some bananas send out pups fairly deep from the mat and you'll need the extra depth the trenching shovel will give you. Be sure to sharpen the shovel. The corm can be very hard and it may require several plunge cuts to completely sever it from the mat!

SINCE YOU ARE IN A POT

and I'm assuming it is not a huge pot then probably a smaller stiff serrated knife may be your best tool!

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Darkman in Pensacola

AS ALWAYS IMHO AND YOUR MILEAGE MAY DIFFER!!!!!!!!

Life - Some assembly required, As is no warranty, Batteries not included, Instructions shipped separately and are frequently wrong!

Kentucky Bourbon - It may not solve the problem but it helps to make it tolerable!

Statistics - Data that analyst twist to support the insane opinions of those that pay them.

Kat2

I yanked pups by hand not long ago but they were growing in a very well mulched mat so just popped out. (Potted up and growing well.) I've never dug around in a pot. I've always tipped it over, rinsed off the dirt, teased out the root knottings and then potted up the offsets/main plant. BUT, huge but, these were not bananas except the DC I did last year. All went well and I gave away lots of potted pups but it was just a DC so if it hadn't gone well, no harm, no foul since it's easily and cheaply replaced with a stop at Walmart, HD or Lowes.

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beam2050

went to the gulf coast for 2 weeks to clean up a cabin that got 7 inches of water in it. friend of mine for 20 years. a couple of years ago he brought down some dwarf bananas and planted 3 at the first cabin, the one we cleaned you can only reach by water. he lives out of state so his bananas never was able to get good care. one died completely. another died but left some pups. the third was gone but had a little left in her. but left daughter and grand daughter. I dug up the pups and grand daughter put them in pots. I also found grandmother below the surface, she was still attached to mother slightly, still had some white rhizome showing, so I potted her. had given 2 plants to the next door neighbor, he knew nothing about growing bananas either, the first year he said he had really good tasting bananas but after that got very poor bunches. well he had 5 plants growing on 1 rhizome, I took a sharp shovel and separated that plant and was able to get 3 pups. the second one had 2 plants growing on one rhizome and 2 pups. one plant had rotted at the top and one leaf, I took that plant and one pup. I cut the rotten part of the top off and planted them in pots. that was about 9 days ago. I came home yesterday and repotted the 4 pups from the neighbor into bigger pots and planted the stump. every body are doing fine with new roots coming out and the stump has a shoot coming out of it big as my thumb and new roots. grandma I have left in the pot, we will see if she makes it. I brought 8 plants home.

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Kat2

Do post pictures of the process/progress; I love mystery musas. I sometimes worry about overcrowding in the groups planted just outside my back door but I've harvested a bunch from one side and have another coming along on the other. They look crowded to me but pups and mamas seem happy so I've left them alone; they're in compost over sand and only get my morning coffee grounds. P-stem on baby beside spent mama is 1/3 larger and she's much taller. Yikes! Could there be another bunch in that group this season? We'll see.

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beam2050

no these are dwarf cavendishes. unless I am mistaken abought what you are saying. they came from a greenhouse in tennesse. but yes grandma might be a learning experiance

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Kat2

If you know what you have that's a good thing. DCs are easy to find in FL so you can experiment freely. (Is that where you are? You need to fix your profile so we know; it makes it easier for us.)

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beam2050

not a computer genius. hit the map. just south and west of Jacksonville. took me along time to get this far on this sight. type writing class in the late 70s helps. this infernal machine has been helping me get done what I want to do tho.

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Kat2

Click on User CP and explore the options; not sure where you find the "spot" to enter your city and zone but that's where you go to add stuff. I had my 1st DC when I lived in Jacksonville. Never had her bloom but she was growing well when I left; I did tarp her a couple of nights. (Snow that year.) You're doing fine so far on the site; keep posting.

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