venturabananas

I'd choose the ones more in the 18" - 3' range, personally, but the taller ones will probably do fine. And if you want to get rid of the larger ones anyway, there's no reason not to.

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ronke

Thanks! I'll be heading out with my digging bar tomorrow.

ronke

I want to thank everyone in this thread (especially venturabanana!) for their guidance on the removal of pups. I dug out my first three on Friday for donation at my local CRFG chapter. Charles Portney -- my fruit-growing god -- took my medium size pup and later wrote that I had dug it out with "just the right amount of tissue and roots". I owe it all to you!

Cathypiper

My name is Cathy I live n western ky. I transplanted a banana tree that's 3ft tall yesterday an this morning it is wilted. Is this normal or is there anything I can do? Thanks

ronke

Cathy, I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert on bananas. You would be better off starting a new thread. I do know a lot depends on the quality of the roots on the pup; although a couple of months ago I hurried to pull a Gros Michel pup out of the ground before I had to jump on a plane, and it finally emerged without most of its roots. I stuck it in a pot of compost and cactus mix in the shade and over a four week period it remained good and green at which point I gave it away. Some people here actually pull all the leaves off before transplanting except for the growing tip at the center, so if it is merely the outside leaves that are wilting, that is not a problem. If the whole plant looks limp, I'm sure someone with a lot more experience can guide you. Good luck.

IsleWalker

Hi-

I can't seem to find out WHY one has to separate pups if it is the method of propagation. In the wild, do they not just continue to make a stand of banana plants?

In other words, if my goal is to grow a bunch of banana plants, why would I need to separate the pups? Will it cause the main (I can't even tell which that is now) to not fruit?

IsleWalker

venturabananas

If your goal is to grow a bunch of banana plants in one big clump, then there is no reason to separate pups. If you want to propagate more plants or manage the size of your clump (which affects fruit production per plant), then separate pups. Otherwise, just leave your clump alone.

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beam2050

that and many here are zone benders. by keeping one or two in a mat you can force it to fruit faster.

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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

PlantDad

Hello everyone, I'm new and I'm not sure how to navigate the site very well. Where do people post bananas they are selling? Thanks for the help.

edwmax

Look at the forum index and find the 'For Sale ' section.

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Bananagardendreamboy

1.) it can help the mother plant grow fruit faster and a larger rack potentially (see dole’s row method on YouTube)
2.) you can trade the pups, share, sell, or plant in other locations
3.) they become easier to keep clean with less trees on the mat
4.) take up less space


I have a couple bananas in the front I’m paying super close attention to as part of my landscape but I also plan on having some go wild in the backyard and let them be totally natural

sirdoofus

So then in the interest of fruiting one would cut the pups out as viable, stand alone plants and not just lop their heads off, correct?

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Who keeps calling me nuts??

venturabananas

If you just lop off their heads, they'll grow right back. You need to remove them to keep them from just shooting back up or sending new pups up from the base of the corm even if you've managed to kill (e.g., by gouging) the original growth point.

Personally, I like to have 3-4 pseudostems per plant (mat). When you let it get much beyond that, you see clear effects on fruiting, e.g., smaller bunches of smaller fruit.

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Anekin007

Not in the case of my namwah. Fruit bunch will be depends on stalk size/thickness. The bigger, thicker stalk will have more bananas in the bunch. I have 15 in here, not counting the ones I already took out. I took out 10 this year and still have more continuing to pop up. I’m about to get my 8th flower this year in this bunch. Late bloomers doesn’t mean less bananas. It’s the size of the stalk. My biggest one I counted atleast 100 bananas. It was my 4th flower.

venturabananas

How long have you been growing it?

I agree that regardless of how many pseudostems you have in a mat, the bigger ones will make bigger bunches. The trick is keeping big ones coming when you allow mats to get and stay big for long periods of time. Generally they get smaller as the years pass, because the fertilizer and water needs are big for a big mat, and there is competition for light, nutrients, and water among the different pseudostems. Also, for many (most?) varieties, the new pseudostems emerge higher and higher and so are not well rooted in the ground and get unstable.

So, for me at least, limiting the number of pseudostems per mat is helpful. And I know some people are way more ruthless about limiting the number of stems per mat. But do what works for you!

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Anekin007

Not in the case of my namwah. Fruit bunch will be depends on stalk size/thickness. The bigger, thicker stalk will have more bananas in the bunch. I have 15 in here, not counting the ones I already took out. I took out 10 this year and still have more continuing to pop up. I’m about to get my 8th flower this year in this bunch. Late bloomers doesn’t mean less bananas. It’s the size of the stalk. My biggest one I counted atleast 100 bananas. It was my 4th flower.

wstrickland1

Great picture.

cincinnana

Overwintering indoors swords take some time to sort themselves out.
Can't wait for spring.


Sword
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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beam2050

thats cuz ur feeding them to much acid! whoa...whoa..whoa

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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

cincinnana

That one was a sword .

They take their time indoors.

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