Ueberwinden

I have a Japanese Fiber Banana (Musa Basjoo) that before winter set in had about six different stalks. (stalks??) Are these suckers that can be divided below the surface and potted up as separate bananas? If so what should I expect once warm weather returns, will I get multiple stalks poke up through the soil?

Michael

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White Horticulture
Rare, Tropical, Unique

Chironex

Absolutely. It will happen for you with patience.

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Scot

Ueberwinden

So I guess that the stalks are just that, stalks (banana branches)

Michael

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White Horticulture
Rare, Tropical, Unique

JCDerrick

You'll eventually have more Basjoo than you'll know what to do with. I had 13 last year and by the end of the year I had close to quadruple that many - one plant that was in the ground for its second year had 14 pups at one point. Do a search on how to separate them here on the forum - I have found (thanks to advice here) a digging bar is the way to go. See this thread:Digging bar - excellent tip!

When possible, always try and take the sword suckers. They'll grow stronger than water suckers (see below for comparison - the one with all the roots is the sword sucker).

These are also some good photos to give you an idea of what's going on underground:

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Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

mskitty38583

i had one before winter had 17 pups on it...all of these are on the one plant.

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Ueberwinden

I appreciate your input, I bought a tray of 72 last year. I sold them all except for eight, which I could have sold, but I wanted to plant them so I could observe them and begin to understand the best way to care for them. This is their first winter so I am hoping for the best.

Michael

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White Horticulture
Rare, Tropical, Unique

Ueberwinden

Based on the diagram, I could use my trenching shovel on a slight angle to the base of the mother and remove the pups without harming the mother or the pups.

Michael

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White Horticulture
Rare, Tropical, Unique

JCDerrick

That should work pretty well, I tried a similar ditch shovel but the bar will give you significantly more leverage and you'll need it - trust me. When I dug up a few of my larger pups, I'd have done a lot more damage had I not had the bar. I tried everything from a regular shovel to the bar, and ultimately the bar was my hands down favorite. Can be found pretty cheap at HD or Lowe's. I use a smaller crowbar like tool for very small pups (or a knife if the whole plant is dug up). Rule of thumb - the pup probably should be about 1-2' tall before you take it. I've had smaller survive (some just inches) - but they will take forever to get going (I have some very tiny pups I took off a banana I fully dug up in October that are still just starting to grow in my heated garage). If you get a larger pup (1-4') they'll bounce back in less than 4 weeks usually. And don't be surprised if they loose their leaves after you chop them from the mother corm. They'll pop right back in no time - it freaked me out the first time.

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Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

Chironex

Generally, you want to get a small piece of the mother corm so that you have some roots for the pup. Then just lean it back away from mom and yank it out - no need to baby it. If you have heavier soil without much sand, then you might go a bit easier, but in general don't worry about losing a few roots. They'll grow back.

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Scot

Worm_Farmer

I pulled a few suckers and gave a few away this year. The ones I dug up had a large peice of the corm I cut out also. Them seem to be growing, but if any of these were a water sucker and I potted them and put them in the ground, will they still grow up and fruit? Also are the water suckers the ones that grow really slow? Should I remove all water suckers, or do they help the plant?

When the tree was in standing water it shot out 4 suckers right away. I assumed they were stress suckers, and after the flooding went down the tree started growing fast again, and I cut out these suckers.