Caline

Hi Banana growers friends,

My Ladyfinger has become a thick and tall banana mat. It has now overreached itself horizontally and vertically for the space, too much screening and shadow on tomatoes.

I would like to thin it out and leave 1 tall PS and a few small ones. I have some doubts how to remove certain taller plants without disturbing the ones I want to let alone.
Here's the details.

• 1 PS has fruit. I am still waiting to see yellow color on bananas to harvest.

• 3 PS 9ft tall approx., not counting leaves

• 3 PS 7ft tall, not counting leaves

• Half a dozen smaller PS in various heights.

Is it possible to remove a PS in the center of the mat safely?

I am thinking of topping off the very tall PS, and then removing them.

Is there a way to tell which one is about to put out a flower?

I would leave that one and remove the others.

Is there a way to tell which ones are sword or sucker when they are grown a bit ( non fruit bearing)?

Here are pictures of the mat now.

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Goin' bananas

sputinc7

Unless you don't want any bananas for a while, I wouldn't remove any of the biggest ones but most of the smallest ones and any mid size ones you can without too much root damage to the biggest ones. After the biggest ones fruit and you harvest you can keep it under control from then on.
It is easier if you keep up with it instead of waiting until it's a mess like that.

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If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

Caline

Yes... I can see that now (about keeping up with it). I'll get started on removing the smaller ones this weekend. Thanks for the tips.

When I think that in a year ago it was just a bedraggled little thing, just one stalk, broken off at about 4ft height with a shredded leaf, after that big wind we had here in Tampa Bay. Bananas are amazingly resilient.

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Goin' bananas