Bananas.org - View Single Post - Flag too late again...ready to just get rid of them.

Wills · 10-17-2013, 07:18 AM

I live about 60 miles north of Tampa Florida and have a IceCream that has been in the ground 4 years. The plant grows wonderfully is huge but always blooms too late. Right now have a bunch of bananas on it from a flower in Mid September and another flag now. The plant grows in a mat and in the past two years have restricted it to one main and it blooms too late so this time I figured the shot gun approach so it had 3 main stems and a pup left on each.

The plants are irrigated on a timer twice per day plus I have a very small (concrete mixing tub) pond for the ducks in the middle of the banana clump so they get extra water from that and manure. The plants are fertilized heavily, they get all the duck house manure and that is from 20 ducks.

We always get at least 3 frosts a year, been here 10 years and have not had a frost free winter yet. So my question is should I cut the flowering stalks down? Should I just cut off the bananas / flower so the energy goes in to growing the pups so perhaps they will have a chance to flower early enough next summer? You would think with a 10 month growing season it would not be that hard to get a mature bunch of bananas.

Any tips, ideas or guidance is very welcome.

10-17-2013, 07:18 AM	#1 (permalink)
Wills Location: Citrus county Florida Find me on the map! Zone: 9 Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 13 BananaBucks : 14,947 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 8 Times in 5 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Flag too late again...ready to just get rid of them. I live about 60 miles north of Tampa Florida and have a IceCream that has been in the ground 4 years. The plant grows wonderfully is huge but always blooms too late. Right now have a bunch of bananas on it from a flower in Mid September and another flag now. The plant grows in a mat and in the past two years have restricted it to one main and it blooms too late so this time I figured the shot gun approach so it had 3 main stems and a pup left on each. The plants are irrigated on a timer twice per day plus I have a very small (concrete mixing tub) pond for the ducks in the middle of the banana clump so they get extra water from that and manure. The plants are fertilized heavily, they get all the duck house manure and that is from 20 ducks. We always get at least 3 frosts a year, been here 10 years and have not had a frost free winter yet. So my question is should I cut the flowering stalks down? Should I just cut off the bananas / flower so the energy goes in to growing the pups so perhaps they will have a chance to flower early enough next summer? You would think with a 10 month growing season it would not be that hard to get a mature bunch of bananas. Any tips, ideas or guidance is very welcome.