Bamboochik - thanks for the info, but the fungus was at the base of the plant and when the plants fell over it looked like it had white hairs or veins through it. The raj bloomed at about 6 1/2' which I think is about normal. I have a question though regarding dwarf Cavendish. I recently purchased two bananas, d. Cav. and Iholene, and they look exactly alike with red pattern on the top of the leaves. Obviously one is not d. Cavendish. Do you think they are both Iholene?

It is first year and my banana tree fool of bananas. I am wondering if I can cut those stalks located end of the bunch, since they are not eatable because they are so small I thought that it is a good Idea to cut the stalk and let the rest of it grow faster. Please let somebody answer me soon. Thanks
Gulsay

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Gulsay, Your banana will not grow any further once it has put out a flowering stalk. It is the signal for that plant to stop production and give up it's life to it's suckers that have come up around it throughout the year or years depending on which type you have. Just leave it and cut the whole plant down after it fruits. Allow the suckers to grow and produce. deb/s.al

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Make your words soft and sweet; you just may have to eat them someday.

...make sure you let the bunch plump out to its fullest and then sever the bunch and tie a rope around it and tie it "inverted" (opposite of the way it was growing on the tree) in a cool area, ie: garage etc...then in a three week period, cut back the mother, for she is still nurturing her daughters, and then they will be the next generation...if there are more then 3 of them,,, sever the extra ones from the mother and replant..Nick

Soil:
I just thought I would share this secret recipe of mine that seems to work very well for my plants which by the way I am growing indoors (at least until winter is over) The soil mixture I found works very well is equal parts of potting soil. perilite and sphagnum peat moss which can be purchased anywhere you can buy lawn and garden supplies. I have found that this mixture allows for good drainage which is vital to the root system and prevents the plant from rotting in the soil which is normally wet and heavy. Banana plants love water but do not due well when they sit in a heavy soil that does not drain well. Also the addition of soil in the mix allows the plant to pull some nutrients from the soil. The sphagnum also aids in drainage, so what you will wind up with is a medium that will be fluffy and allow oxygen pockets to be formed within the soil aiding in the production of the root system. With a little addition of some fertilizer once a month when watering makes for a winning combo. I am currently growing 4 different varieties with the following soil mix and all are doing great !! So this is my little piece of advice and best of luck to you all !! Wayne

One tip here about the pups. I found it best to wait until the pups are from 2-3' tall before severing from the mother plant. This way they have the strength and corm size to make it on their own much easier.I also find that feeding the plants once a week with a 20-20-20 fertilizer by half strenth really gives my banana's a real boost in their growth speed.

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Make your words soft and sweet; you just may have to eat them someday.

Hello everyone ... read through this entire thread, and thanks to everyone for all the good information! I'm in my first house, and have been caring for some banana plants that were very neglected before I got here. They're doing well, and I'd like to transplant some of them to another location in my yard; Everything I need to know seems to be covered here, but I've got a few questions:
*** WARNING: Beware possible super-novice newbie questions below! *** ;)
1) How do I determine what is a "pup" ?? Is it any of smaller, new stalks coming up near a more mature stalk?
2) Regarding post quoted below - my banana clump is just starting (has been around for a while, but previous owner just let them grow without watering or caring for), and I'm trying to get the area to fill in for aesthetic reasons; Will leaving the already-fruited stalks alive for future seasons result in the suckers not growing as well, or any other detractions to the remaining bananas? I understand that every banana plant still alive is going to be using resources from the soil, but other than that is there any detraction to leaving them there, at least until the suckers fill in the remaining area and then I can start thinning the older stalks?
Begin Quote "Gulsay, Your banana will not grow any further once it has put out a flowering stalk. It is the signal for that plant to stop production and give up it's life to it's suckers that have come up around it throughout the year or years depending on which type you have. Just leave it and cut the whole plant down after it fruits. Allow the suckers to grow and produce."
3) Quote of post from Nick: "then in a three week period, cut back the mother, for she is still nurturing her daughters, and then they will be the next generation"
Why wait three weeks? Just curious ...

Thanks again to everyone who gives their time to help those of us who are not "in the know".

I really don't believe the "mother" plant is nurturing the pups once she has flowered. Once the pups are up they can make it on their own. If they couldn't then you would have no success when digging up pups, which of course we all do.

I like to dig my pups for moving to other areas only when they have reached 2 1/2-3' tall. I find by then they have a much better chance at surviving in their new home, whether it be pot or ground. If pot, make sure it is not overly large as the new corm will rot if kept too wet in the beginning. Once it is up and growing vigorously it can take all the water you can give it along with a lot of fertilizer. I use my own Bunny-Worm compost for all my plants along with a well composted chicken manure from my flock. If I had to use a chemical fertilizer I would go with Peters 20-20-20 as that is what I used with great success many years ago. Seems to work well for everything.

Note: I have found that my musa and ensete like a little afternoon shade now. The ozone layer is so damaged that it is even effecting sun loving plants and causing them to burn on new leaves. Frightening!

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Make your words soft and sweet; you just may have to eat them someday.

First of all I have to agree with bamboochik in all her statements. As far as the pups go, they a typically little shoots near and around the base of the mother. If, as in your case the mother has already fruited then it is time to remove the pups and cut down the mother and allow the next generation take over. By leaving the mother you are just prolonging the inevitable. Here is the cycle of life you will be able to see. The mother will grow to a mature height which will depend on the variety you have and before the plant fruits you will see pups pop up from the ground first, because the mothers first mission is to proprogate new offspring. Soon there after you will begin to notice the mother will begin to show signs of flowering and then fruit will appear. You do not want to leave the pups attached for too long after the mother begins fruiting because the mother will focus more on the pups then producing good quality fruit. So as bamboochik said when the pups reach a height of about 2 feet high you want to remove them from the mother so the mother will focus on producing a high yield healthy fruit and once harvested it is time to cut the mother down as she will not fruit again. You will also will be able to make room for the next generation of pups. Well I hope this information helps you in some way.

Thanks for the updates/replies everyone. Much appreciated!

....not to convolute the banana issue any more then it has been, but I have had very good success in south florida by allowing the mother to maintain 2-3 pups "while" fruiting and excising any others; the benefit i find here is that the 1 pup, will be breaking an inflouresence while the mother has already produced a bunch (and in my case a substantial bunch) and after waiting about 3 months to cut the stalk and ripen it inside my garage,will find the second bunch already formed; at this point I cut the original mother back and watch the develpment of the second bunch.......and yes! at this point the third pup is ready to break her flower development....and i continue the clump in this manner, at all times there is 3 -4 banana plants with one in fruit and one in flower......my bunches average 15 lbs...more then enough for my taste...(Raja Puri is the species) Nick

Edited by speedboy002 on Jul 25, 2008 at 02:49 AM

This is very common for banana plants grown in pots or ground in colder climates or anywhere for that matter. Many years ago when I started buying my banana corms from William O. Lessard, Most of them would not come up from the corm but would pup-out. It doesn't matter whether they do or not. This spring I had some coming up from the original corm and was actually surprised! In the first place, I had not even mulched it or protected it in any way so was not even sure that it would grow. It did.

I highly recommend W.O. Lessards book on banana growing if you can find it.

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Make your words soft and sweet; you just may have to eat them someday.

Edited by speedboy002 on Jul 25, 2008 at 02:49 AM

Hi, I have mature fruiting banana's that seem very happy with little care in this semi tropical zone. I'm wondering if when i cut old fruiters down do i have to dig the corm out in order to maintain the space...that is to keep them from spreading? Or will a new plant emerge out of the 'amputation?' Unfortunately i bought a tall variety and the base of the tree at maturity is a foot wide, tough digging and hacking off from 'her' neighbors. Is this the process to keep the rotation in the same area?

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