andrewc2005

I have a dismal history trying to grow things, but I've managed to keep three banana trees I planted as little ones alive for 7 months or so. I planted two of them in my front yard because I wanted to create a dense tropical stand of plants. So one of them is growing a lot of pups (see attached pic) and I was thinking of leaving them on because (a) I'm worried if I try separating them I'll kill the parent tree; and (b) because I like the idea of a dense stand of jungle plants.

Is this a bad idea? If I fertilize and water enough will they be alright? For the ones in the front yard I don't care so much about actually growing bananas, they're there mostly for aesthetic reasons. If I have to get rid of them, would it be safest just to cut them at the base to make sure I don't inadvertently damage the main plant?

For some reason I can't upload pictures to my gallery, but here:

https://ibb.co/tXFyBBQ
https://ibb.co/RS4CR4b

beam2050

yours.

__________________
...................................................

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

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Jose263

Where do you live?
If you decide to separate pups from mom, It is far more iikey that you will kill the pups and mom will survive until she dies a natural death. There are posts on how to separate pups on this forum. Be sure to read and watch them before attempting. Aslong as you get good roots on the pups , they can be repllanted to start another mat.
Good luck

__________________
Growing: Orinoco, Rajapuri, Dwarf Cav, SDC, TT, Dwarf Red, Dwarf Namwah, Tall Namwah (aka Ice Cream), Dwarf Brazilian, Veinte Cohol, California Gold, Double Mohai, NOT-Goldfinger, Gran Nain, Velutina

PiaJensen

An old timer here in Uruguay told me that a stand of four, mother and three of her offspring is fine, more than that and apparently there's too much demand causing poor production. Anyone know if this is true?

Backyard Banana Joe

There is a mat of Saba in my neighborhood, he allowed all the pups to grow (10 or so) and didn’t care for them at all. However they are about 40 feet away from a pond so they probably get some moisture. He also probably fertilized his precious lawn, so they got some of that. Anyway, it’s taken 2 years to get fruit. With no care- so, I think it takes longer to fruit at first, and mabye longer to ripen the bananas (not a good idea if you are a frost prone zone), but in the end you get a steady supply of bananas! At least thats my take on on

Backyard Banana Joe

Great looking plants by the way👍👌

PiaJensen

Thanks, that makes sense, if resources are ample, crowded stands can do fine. Thanks too on the compliment. Need to pay more attention to nutrients and snail invasions this year. Amazed they pulled through the winter without excessive damage, though our winter wasn't much to speak of this year.

cincinnana

You may thin your plants if you wish..your choice..

__________________

PiaJensen

I did, yesterday, pics in my gallery.

PiaJensen

I'm going to try these tips this year, already removed two pups, leaving three tall nanners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4N-QLhXjjY

Backyard Banana Joe, beam2050