Worm_Farmer

I have a nice mat that just shot out another flower. It is so close to getting our first freeze I was thinking that I should just cut it down to focus on the main bunch that is already maturing. Then I thought Hey, what if I just cut off the bud and new bunch. Will the leafs left on that stalk help the other bunch on the same plant ripen faster? Or should I just cut the whole talk down?

pitangadiego

I do not think the leaves on the second stalk will aid in ripening, but they do add energy to the mat, for the benefit of existing plants, and pups to come.

__________________
Encanto Farms Nursery
http://encantofarms.com
We Be Bananas
http://webebananas.com

bananimal

Mike ---- Why worry about a freeze? They forcasted a milder, drier winter than last year for So Fla. And frost danger is usually latter Jan, early Feb.

What I would do is cut down the other main pstem. Continue monthly Fert on just the area covering the roots of the one in fruit. This will sustain the mama corm, feed the earlier bunch and kick start the cut side pups for next year.

Dan

Gabe15

I wouldn't cut anything. You may have some slight gain for the other bunch, but it is really doubtful. If you have a mild winter, you would have wished you kept them both.

__________________
Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Worm_Farmer

I love you man!

I do not really think we are about to have a mild winter. The weather man is wrong every year and almost every day.

So I should be kicking my self for cutting down one of the stalks already. But it would have had 3 bunches at one time on it.

Thanks for the great advice everyone!

Gabe15

The practice of keeping one bunch on a mat at a time is done commercially to maximize the the size of each bunch, but it works because the other bunches are prevented from even being formed, the suckers are removed. When you see a banana bunch coming out of the plant, it's size and behavior has already been determined months ago, so there is not much you can do to change that.

Although it will be putting resources to new bunch, it has already put a lot into it thus far and cutting it would be a waste, additionally, it will only be taking nutrients from the other bunch if your plants are undernourished. If you've been feeding them, there is no reason it would reallocate nutrients meant for the other bunch if it can get them from the soil.

If you are not a commercial grower, I believe it is much better to have multiple bunches at a time on a plant. Each bunch may not be as large as its maximum potential, but you will still have tons of fruit and it will be more evenly distributed throughout the year, and you will end up actually having more fruit overall.

__________________
Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.