Propagating banana pups Hi, I have a very healthy banana tree in my front garden and would love to use the pups in some pots this year. I have tried to carefully dig one out in the past and I found I just severed the pup from the mom and was left without any root attached to the pup. Does anybody have any advice or ideas on a good way to ensure you get some root ball with your pup for successful transplant? Thanks. Also, I would like to prune the banana tree as it is getting very tall and intruding on my house's gutters. Can I just cut off the branch that is getting too long? Thanks.
Dig straight downwards about 8 inches out from the pup, all the way around. This way you're sure to catch some rhizome in with it when you remove it.
Re: Propagating banana pups The banana offset or pup, needs to remain in place until it has formed roots of it's own before it can be severed from the parent plant. Feel free to cut any unwanted leaves within reason. By the way, Bananas are not trees, they're essencially listed as herbs that form psuedostems not trunks. Cheers, LPN.
There are as many as four different kinds of suckers, but the commonest are "sword Suckers" bearing narrow sword like leaves. Sword suckers are the prime sources for new plants. In order to obtain a sucker, CAREFULLY dig down around the sucker selected for separation. Make sure the sucker ALREADY has good, healthy roots. Clear the soil back as close as possible to the main rhizome and, using a clean sharp knife or shovel, cut the sucker free of the main rhizome. Try not to break of pull off any roots on the detached sucker. A sucker 1-ft. tall with a leaf or two is ideal. Clean the cut surface and dust with a powdered fungicide or a bit of rooting hormone with fungicide already in it. You may rest the plant in shade for as long as a day or more to allow the cut surface to dry and heal before replanting. The success rate of this procedure is very high. - Millet
