cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant?

sups · 11-11-2014, 07:35 AM

Hi
I got my 2yr old old potted musa(not sure about the variety,could be rajapuri) indoor for winter. it has grown tall and it barely has any space to grow vertically.I thought i had read somewhere that you can cut the pseudo stem to half its length to reduce its height. Do you think this is safe or will it kill the plant?
I do not think it has as yet developed any flower stalk as the stem width is quite narrow.
it will remain in the living room behind a sunny window(OK that is only if the window gets any sun at all!)

from the sea · 11-11-2014, 11:42 AM

If the flower is not in the stem you should be ok

scottu · 11-11-2014, 06:47 PM

Hey Sups, just don't water more than once a week and remember you are only keeping it alive til spring, it will look like it's dying til it acclimates and then a little better. any growth at all is a good sign. If it pups you are golden. Also you could add a small light for some extra energy.

bananimal · 11-11-2014, 08:15 PM

By cutting the p-stem do you mean cutting off all the leaves? I would tilt the plant to 45 degrees or more to keep all the leaves intact. Prop it up at the point where the pstem does not bend very much.

Do this after watering and excess has drained from the pot.

If you do it please post pics ---- this is interesting.

bananimal · 11-11-2014, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottu

Hey Sups, just don't water more than once a week and remember you are only keeping it alive til spring, it will look like it's dying til it acclimates and then a little better. any growth at all is a good sign. If it pups you are golden. Also you could add a small light for some extra energy.

Hey Scott --- what's your weather feel like right now?

scottu · 11-11-2014, 09:31 PM

Dan, 9 o'clock Tuesday night its 55 degrees and that's the low for tonight, way high for normal and for what is coming.

Lancelot · 11-11-2014, 09:32 PM

My Black Thai was over 8 ft. tall, so I cut the stem down to about 1/2. Instead of cutting it straight off, I carefully cut each ring of the pseudostem removing each leaf, until I got to the internal leaf that was presently shooting up. The leaf is now to the point of almost ready to unroll, and hopes that the plant will have moderate growth through the winter. But if it does keep pushing out leaves, I've go about 5 ft. of ceiling clearance now.

hybridpower · 11-12-2014, 12:18 AM

Last month I cut a nearly 8 foot basjoo down to about 2 feet, split the pups of and moved it, as of today, it's grown about 2 more feet, and grown 4 very large leaves (interestingly, the leaves are the same size on the now short tree, as they were on it when it was tall).

If it's healthy now, I think you'll be fine.

cincinnana · 11-12-2014, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sups

Hi
I got my 2yr old old potted musa(not sure about the variety,could be rajapuri) indoor for winter. it has grown tall and it barely has any space to grow vertically.I thought i had read somewhere that you can cut the pseudo stem to half its length to reduce its height. Do you think this is safe or will it kill the plant?
I do not think it has as yet developed any flower stalk as the stem width is quite narrow.
it will remain in the living room behind a sunny window(OK that is only if the window gets any sun at all!)

Another forum member amantedelenguaje does this with success .
Visit their photo gallery for some great photos.
There is even a pic with with a plant fruiting......right out of the cut p-stem.

Many forum members will cut their stems very short to fit shipping boxes when they sell/trade their plants.
Banana plants will recover very fast when ACTIVELY growing .

sups · 11-12-2014, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cincinnana

Another forum member amantedelenguaje does this with success .
Visit their photo gallery for some great photos.
There is even a pic with with a plant fruiting......right out of the cut p-stem.

Many forum members will cut their stems very short to fit shipping boxes when they sell/trade their plants.
Banana plants will recover very fast when ACTIVELY growing .

Thanks Cincinanana, for the great information...i tried the search enjine to look up the above recommended users gallery couldn't get there(uh I must be a computer nerd!!

) could you post a link?

cincinnana · 11-14-2014, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sups

Thanks Cincinanana, for the great information...i tried the search enjine to look up the above recommended users gallery couldn't get there(uh I must be a computer nerd!!

) could you post a link?

My photo .....you can cut them pretty low ,this is acceptable and common.
This plant will most likely put up five or six new pups.
This is also a good way to FORCE your plant into producing new plants.

sups · 11-17-2014, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cincinnana

My photo .....you can cut them pretty low ,this is acceptable and common.
This plant will most likely put up five or six new pups.
This is also a good way to FORCE your plant into producing new plants.
Plant shown Orinoco.

Untitled by Hostafarian, on Flickr

Cincinana
WOW!!! that is a BOLD LOW CUT!!

cincinnana · 11-17-2014, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sups

Cincinana
WOW!!! that is a BOLD LOW CUT!!

It looks worse than what it really is.

Here are the pics from the other members gallery.
You may click on them and you can be taken to their gallery and see more pics.
As you can see the leaves will push right up from the stem.....just like nothing happened.

sups · 11-18-2014, 04:06 PM

amazing!

Nathan1023 · 02-09-2015, 03:13 AM

I know this is old, but I've done this and it works fine. I just posted photos of it in my gallery.

cincinnana · 02-09-2015, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan1023

I know this is old, but I've done this and it works fine. I just posted photos of it in my gallery.

Thanks...Posting this helps a lot of banana growers in the north.
This will demonstrate how much they/we/I can trim their plants to make them fit in their homes

.

PR-Giants · 02-09-2015, 08:30 PM

If you're growing it as an ornamental then maybe it's somewhat successful, but if you're trying to produce an edible fruit then it's a failure.

What's bad about posts like this is that someone might read it and think if I do everything just right maybe it'll work, but it doesn't and it won't. Just because you don't realize the damage you're doing doesn't mean it's not happening.

Best thing to do is to bend the leaves down, this does very little damage and it will continue to function.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cincinnana

Thanks...Posting this helps a lot of banana growers in the north.
This will demonstrate how much they/we/I can trim their plants to make them fit in their homes

.

cincinnana · 02-09-2015, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PR-Giants

If you're growing it as an ornamental then maybe it's somewhat successful, but if you're trying to produce an edible fruit then it's a failure.

What's bad about posts like this is that someone might read it and think if I do everything just right maybe it'll work, but it doesn't and it won't. Just because you don't realize the damage you're doing doesn't mean it's not happening.

Best thing to do is to bend the leaves down, this does very little damage and it will continue to function.

Lol....do you really think I / we can bend a 14 foot plant to 7.5 feet..
Remember....you are in the Carribean and I am in the Northern States.
We do what we have to do.

PR-Giants · 02-09-2015, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cincinnana

Please post a photo.of a 14 foot plant which you are overwintering in your basement....

What's a basement?

PR-Giants · 02-09-2015, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cincinnana

Lol....do you really think I / we can bend a 14 foot plant to 7.5 feet..
Remember....you are in the Carribean and I am in the Northern States.
We do what we have to do.

And while you are at it please post a photo in your zone 6 home on how you overwinter a 16 foot plant in a house with 7.5 foot ceilings.

a house with 7.5 foot ceilings, that's nuts!!!

11-11-2014, 07:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
sups Location: Switzerland, Zürich Zone: 6 Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 53 BananaBucks : 20,885 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 29 Times Was Thanked 19 Times in 10 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 28 Times	cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? Hi I got my 2yr old old potted musa(not sure about the variety,could be rajapuri) indoor for winter. it has grown tall and it barely has any space to grow vertically.I thought i had read somewhere that you can cut the pseudo stem to half its length to reduce its height. Do you think this is safe or will it kill the plant? I do not think it has as yet developed any flower stalk as the stem width is quite narrow. it will remain in the living room behind a sunny window(OK that is only if the window gets any sun at all!)

11-11-2014, 11:42 AM	#2 (permalink)
from the sea Location: Big Pine Key fl Find me on the map! Zone: 11 sunset 25 Name: Stephen Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 244 BananaBucks : 9,402 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 63 Times Was Thanked 332 Times in 157 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 172 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? If the flower is not in the stem you should be ok

11-11-2014, 06:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
scottu <div style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="font-weight: bold;">&lt;div style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;lt;di v style=&amp;quot;font-weight: bold;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&a mp;amp;lt;di v sty scottu 's Photo Gallery Location: Bethlehem,Pa. Find me on the map! Zone: 6 Name: scott Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,192 BananaBucks : 8,791 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,595 Times Was Thanked 857 Times in 368 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3,323 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? Hey Sups, just don't water more than once a week and remember you are only keeping it alive til spring, it will look like it's dying til it acclimates and then a little better. any growth at all is a good sign. If it pups you are golden. Also you could add a small light for some extra energy. __________________ Viva La Banana

11-11-2014, 08:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
bananimal Member bananimal's Photo Gallery Location: Port St Lucie, Fla Find me on the map! Zone: 10a Name: Dan Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,512 BananaBucks : 573,751 Feedback: 12 / 100% Said "Thanks" 4,688 Times Was Thanked 4,979 Times in 1,509 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 191 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? By cutting the p-stem do you mean cutting off all the leaves? I would tilt the plant to 45 degrees or more to keep all the leaves intact. Prop it up at the point where the pstem does not bend very much. Do this after watering and excess has drained from the pot. If you do it please post pics ---- this is interesting.

11-11-2014, 09:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
scottu <div style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="font-weight: bold;">&lt;div style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;lt;di v style=&amp;quot;font-weight: bold;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&a mp;amp;lt;di v sty scottu 's Photo Gallery Location: Bethlehem,Pa. Find me on the map! Zone: 6 Name: scott Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,192 BananaBucks : 8,791 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,595 Times Was Thanked 857 Times in 368 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3,323 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? Dan, 9 o'clock Tuesday night its 55 degrees and that's the low for tonight, way high for normal and for what is coming. __________________ Viva La Banana

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11-11-2014, 09:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
Lancelot Going Bananas in Camelot Lancelot's Photo Gallery Location: Bonduel, WI Find me on the map! Zone: 5 Name: Lancelot Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 71 BananaBucks : 9,531 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 2 Times Was Thanked 74 Times in 35 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? My Black Thai was over 8 ft. tall, so I cut the stem down to about 1/2. Instead of cutting it straight off, I carefully cut each ring of the pseudostem removing each leaf, until I got to the internal leaf that was presently shooting up. The leaf is now to the point of almost ready to unroll, and hopes that the plant will have moderate growth through the winter. But if it does keep pushing out leaves, I've go about 5 ft. of ceiling clearance now.

11-12-2014, 12:18 AM	#8 (permalink)
hybridpower Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 97 BananaBucks : 33,251 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 13 Times Was Thanked 169 Times in 58 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? Last month I cut a nearly 8 foot basjoo down to about 2 feet, split the pups of and moved it, as of today, it's grown about 2 more feet, and grown 4 very large leaves (interestingly, the leaves are the same size on the now short tree, as they were on it when it was tall). If it's healthy now, I think you'll be fine.

11-18-2014, 04:06 PM	#14 (permalink)
sups Location: Switzerland, Zürich Zone: 6 Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 53 BananaBucks : 20,885 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 29 Times Was Thanked 19 Times in 10 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 28 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? amazing!

02-09-2015, 03:13 AM	#15 (permalink)
Nathan1023 Location: Richmond, VA Zone: 7 Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 43 BananaBucks : 11,960 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 16 Times Was Thanked 31 Times in 13 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: cutting pseudo stem to reduce height of indoor container plant? I know this is old, but I've done this and it works fine. I just posted photos of it in my gallery.

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