Quote:
Originally Posted by jsclwal
Thanks for the reply! I had read on here that I couldn't save the mother, but was still hoping! Will both of these types of bananas turn yellow when ripe? When we dig our bananas, we leave them as tall as possible for the winter so they have a good start when we replant them. Is this how we go them to bloom this year since they are only in the ground from mid-April to end of October?
|
Yes, you should see them both start to turn yellow as they ripen. You'll likely have a lot of bananas to eat as they all tend to start ripening at the same time when you have to cut them all at once. Make some banana bread with anything you can't eat!
I would guess that is the reason you were able to get them to bloom. It's always best not to cut them back too far if you can help it. The bud comes all the way from the very base of the plant up through the entire length of the pseudostem so any time you cut a banana back very far, you run the risk of severing the bud (if the plant is old enough) and killing that plant. I live in Houston and I wrap my plants to help protect them from our winter temps here. When I unwrap them in the spring, I very carefully cut back any winter damage inch by inch until I reach good, firm, green growth in the center of the pstem. I know of many people who just whack theirs back to the ground, or near the ground, every year and then wonder why their plants never bloom. Umm, because you likely cut the bud off!