Banana Trees???
Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2006
by nittanylion228 on August 05, 2006 04:12 AM
We are a dwarf banana tree that we have been growing indoors for about 3 years. It has finally produced bananas! However, we have received conflicting advice on how to care for the fruiting tree. After the tree the produces fruit, then what? Do we cut the branch that produced the fruit? this would mean that we cut the trunk of the tree. We don't want to do that if we don't have to. Any suggestions or experience would be great!
by Longy on August 05, 2006 11:27 AM
You probably have small banana plants emerging from the base of the clump. These will be your next producers and the current producer will die off after harvest.
So, once the banana fruit are forming, you can cut off the flower on the end of the banana bunch. This will allow more energy to be put into the developing fruit. Once the bananas have fully formed and started to ripen, you remove the whole bunch and you can hang them in the shed or if you prefer you can leave them on the plant and just remove them as you eat them.
Once the bananas are removed from that trunk, then that trunk will die. So yes you will have to cut it off. In a pot you may as well cut it at near ground level. It'll just rot away and look very ugly. It has finished its cycle, but the new suckers emerging will take its place. Make sure you have one sucker only as multiple will give you poor results. You can have one sucker half grown and then allow another single sucker to emerge later and this way you get a better continuity of supply. Any you remove can be tranplanted to create new clumps. As you are coming into winter, it may not grow a replacement sucker until spring but don't despair, there is still life in the clump.
* * * *
The secret is the soil.
So, once the banana fruit are forming, you can cut off the flower on the end of the banana bunch. This will allow more energy to be put into the developing fruit. Once the bananas have fully formed and started to ripen, you remove the whole bunch and you can hang them in the shed or if you prefer you can leave them on the plant and just remove them as you eat them.
Once the bananas are removed from that trunk, then that trunk will die. So yes you will have to cut it off. In a pot you may as well cut it at near ground level. It'll just rot away and look very ugly. It has finished its cycle, but the new suckers emerging will take its place. Make sure you have one sucker only as multiple will give you poor results. You can have one sucker half grown and then allow another single sucker to emerge later and this way you get a better continuity of supply. Any you remove can be tranplanted to create new clumps. As you are coming into winter, it may not grow a replacement sucker until spring but don't despair, there is still life in the clump.
* * * *
The secret is the soil.
Similar discussions:
Search The Garden Helper: