Millenial Gardener recommended that, too.

Chop them down

You’re very welcome chippy

Thanks cheryle ann - I just moved to north Atlanta and will be starting to post some new update videos soon. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks. You can do it!

HIs videos convinced me to get a machete and now I use it almost everywhere, it really is an essential tool for yard work.

Yep, you need to avoid that. When they fruit, the trunk will be weak and can snap

he pruned the plant. It's a miricle! 🙏

Hey the Hive, thanks for the input here. The idea for pruning is to allow for healthy upward focused growth. I agree if there is risk of the ones you leave becoming injured, you want to leave extra, but when you have healthy, fast growth with a leaf a week, its good to remove the bottom ones

Only the dry leaves should be cut to avoid hunting and shock.. FROM The Transfarmer Philippines

Pruning the leaves accelerates the tree growth. When you prune leaves that accelerates new leaf growth which in turn increases the rate of upward growth. I would say cutting back to 3 leaves is probably a little aggressive. I prune to 5 leaves on larger trees and 3 on the smaller sword suckers. I prune out the water suckers entirely. I started doing something I saw in another video which was, take some large shears and cut up the leaves when you prune them and then spread them around the trunk.

@@erice3933Some of this might have merit, however leaves do not rob the banana plant of energy. They infact are literally the part of the plant that absorbs energy and produces the sugars needed for cellular division and growth. Most bananas don’t really hold more than 5 functioning leaves. There is most definitely a time to remove them, not sure how much they are slowing growth. My issue is that in principle the idea that removing leaves causes faster growth doesn’t really make sense. The energy required to make a 50lb rack of bananas is a fixed quantity. It’s not really something you are going to speed up by pruning. You can defeat the laws of thermodynamics with pruning. Perhaps it’s possible to get a rack a little faster but the plant didn’t get the same energy.

Just uploaded new video!

It will grow back. The leaves come from the root ball and up through the center. I use 10-10-10 basic fertilizer twice a month

You can cut it if you want, just don’t peel it and make sure to use scissors. I just leave mine on there untouched

I typically prune once a month and cut off a couple leaves at a time. No need to do it any more often than that. I allow more leaves to stay on once it gets close to flowing

Hey Michael - thanks for watching. You have a great zone for growing bananas. If soil is mostly sand, I'd recommend doing a blended approach. I'd still use black cow manure to get healthy nitrogen and fertilizer, but instead of using bagged soil, I would mix in soil / sand that you dig up from the ground. So do a 50/50 mix of current sand/soil and cow manure. That will allow the bananas to adjust to the natural soil once they outgrow the original hole that you dig. Just make sure to dig the hole fairly large, about 3x width and depth at minimum of the root ball that you are planting.

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog thank you! I appreciate it all the info . I did everything everything told me . So far they seem okay, but the leaves are starting to droop . Do you think it’s because they are in shock or something else ??

@@ElMikey225th That would be my guess. When i first plant mine outside in the sun, the leaves take a beating and droop because they aren't used to the heat. Make sure to keep watering and in 2 weeks they should be growing at full speed and look great. The leaves on there now will probably always droop, but new healthy ones will take their place, then you can cut those off

The biggest thing you want to look for is browning of the trunk and leaves. That will let you know there is potentially something wrong. Drooping is perfectly fine

Yes! This allows for healthy, upward growth

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog Thank you 🙏🏼

If you want it to fruit, you’ll need a large pot + a dwarf banana. You could use a giant trash can (35 gallon +) and something like a double mahoi and probably get it to fruit. My last video I just posted on winterizing shows a veinte cohol in a trash can. But it’s quickly out growing the can

It would be best to slowly transition them. Leave them in pots and give them about 6 hours of sunlight for a week. Then they will be good to plant! Make sure to give plenty of water

Hi Marvin - I tried to water at least every other day and fertilize every two weeks. Bananas love water and fertilizer.

What hardiness zone do you Live in?

I do. Until they get close to fruiting. Then I let a few more stay on at the end

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog ok thank you very much

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog So after it starts fruiting more leaves is better?

If you’re in a colder zone, cutting to ground is fine and then put lots of leaves or mulch over to keep them warm. If the trunks still have color in them, you can just wrap them in leaves or blankets when it freezes to try to keep them alive

You definitely can. I've found they take forever to break down and make the area look messy. Fertilizer makes sure you are getting all the nutrients needed in a fast time. Leaves work really well for overwintering and keeping the root base warm though. You can always do a combo, using them will only help!

This could be low fertilization or cold weather that caused this

Unfortunately not that I know of, it usually ends in them dying. Its a good idea to support the trunks once they fruit to avoid this

I water every 2-3 days unless it rains. Fertilize every 2 weeks with a generous amount of general 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer. I have a video on my channel about fertilizing banana plants

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog ,Thank You!

If they are separate pups, its a good thing to remove them. You can replant them elsewhere or just get rid of them

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog i don't think its seperate pups it might be pups that is part of rootstock of mother plant i think its ones that don't fruit but not entirely sure

Bananas only produce 1 time before dying. You need to let an offshoot (pup) from the tree grow to replace the main stalk to get fruit the next year

Yes allowing multiple pups to grow will slow the growth of the main plant and limit its fruiting ability. Once the plant is 50% of fruiting height, let just a single pup grow and it will take over as the new main trunk once the other fruits. Don’t let more than one grow though. You can remove the others and plant them elsewhere though

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog ok cool thanks for the advice

Not if you're feeding it regularly. Banana trees love potassium rich fertilizer. You can have multiple pups mature and produce without relocating them, if you feed them. Using trimmed leaves as mulch is a good way to keep the trees happy. Large growers are always mulching leaves and spent stalks to feed their trees. Most people just pop them in the ground and leave them alone and wonder why they never produce. I'm always seeing dense stands of yellowish trees that have been allowed to keep growing and are not being fed or trimmed. Use fruit spikes for long term feeding or water soluble food like Wellspring Banana fertilizer, every 1 or 2 weeks, to produce a massive amount of bananas. Then remove that stalk and let the next generation produce. Rinse and repeat. You may want to control the number of pups but remember a mature stalk only produces once. Those pups are necessary to keep producing fruit.

@@erice3933 Great advice, thanks for the detailed explanation Eric. I agree, fertilizing properly is key to getting a good crop of fruit.

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog I should have added though that it's a good idea to prune out the broader leafed water suckers and focus more on the narrowed leafed sword suckers as they have stronger root structures and produce fruit more reliably. Banana trees are a labor of love and require as much attention and feeding as a toddler lol

Yes I understand it seems counterintuitive, but we want to push growth in height. They only need a couple leaves to get enough sun for healthy growth. Most banana plants will fruit around 12-15 feet. Can happen around 8-14 months after planting depending on weather. Will take a couple of months to ripen as well.

Hi Lady Skywalker - unfortunately that is not something you can control. They type of banana tree will determine the height. You can get dwarf versions that grow and fruit closer to 8 feet tall.

Hey Jessica - best thing to do is put it outside. Given lots of sun and fresh water will allow it to thrive and fight off any disease or bugs. Growing indoor is difficult

Love it. Yep, return to soil as mulch

Hi Chuck - sorry for late reply. Had a change of jobs and had to move last year during Covid. I am just using my iPhone X and editing on my macbook. Unfortunately I moved before getting to the winter for the bananas and cannot answer that. But stay tuned because I am planting bananas at my new home in north Atlanta and will definitely try to keep them alive over the winter!

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog Hey good to hear from you, late or not it doesn't matter. Wow, do I have something to tell you however! I winterized a couple of mine in November here in zone 7A. I cut them back to about 3 and 1/2 ft and then I wrapped them in bubble wrap and used some burlap on the outside. I draped some lightweight buckets over the end of them and piled the cutback banana leaves around the stalks and whatever else I can find. We had some crushing cold and freezing conditions over the winter. But on a Sunny afternoon in the first week of April I went outside to take a peek and to my surprise they had grown all winter. I could see green as I got into the bubble wrap. Thank God I went out when I did because the warming sun was starting to cause melt problems inside the bubble wrap. I quickly pulled all the wrappings off and trimmed up some of the ugly and now I am looking at banana plants that are 8 ft tall already. Got so many pups that I've got to start transplanting soon. One thing I learned flying heavy Jets all my life is, sometimes you have to get outside the book and take a chance and this particular chance really paid off. Wish I could get you some pictures to show you. Good luck in Atlanta and would you believe how ironic, I will be landing there tomorrow evening for a short stay. GOD bless and stay in touch 🛫🛬📖🙏 🍌

@@chuckcampbell3927 This is great chuck! Let's stay in touch as we winterize this upcoming winter and hopefully we can get some bananas!

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog Thanks for the reply and yes, we'll stay in touch. I'm so thankful for how things turned out. I must admit I didn't have a lot of faith and them actually growing during the winter. They are so healthy and so many pups. Must get ready to transplant and thin them out and move some to other locations. Don't forget, we have to make sure that we get the appropriate amount of at least 5 lb of fertilizer at least once a month. Will stay in touch GOD bless 🛫🛬📖

I use a 10-10-10 blend. Also have a video specifically for this!

Hi Christine, it should be fine as long as it wasn't very close to fruiting. The leaves will continue to come out through the top. Just be careful when it fruits one day because the trunk will be more prone to break in the area your grandson broke the leaves off.

Once it flowers, its best to only prune leaves that are brown. Because the more leaves, the quicker the fruit ripens

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog thank you so much for your advice! Hopefully will have a beautiful bunch of bananas in 90 days?

@@christinemyers6176 You should! Maybe closer to 60 if you have good weather. Where are you located? In Atlanta, where I live, it is getting mid 60's at night so my bananas are starting to slow down in growth

You want to cut about 3” away from the trunk

Hi Tresno - in Savannah, GA there was not a threat of frost to kill the bananas. Unfortunately I had a job change last year and had to move before winter, thereby not getting to have a winter with the bananas. I am now in North Atlanta and will post updates as I plant new banana trees and try to keep them alive over the winter

@@georgiafarmingwithfluevog i from yogyakarta indonesia thx

I would think pruners would be pretty messy for these types of branches.

@@forestpark73 nope.. also my mistake but I meant sequitur and pruning shears cutting tools. You can even use scissors if you don't have those. The machete used here is too big and unwieldy.

@@TylerDurden404 Yea, that's a fair point.

Absolutely, but would it be as fun?

I have a belt clip machete holder. Definitely worth a purchase

Totally agree. First video ever haha. Will make a new version in the new year when I plant my new pups I have in pots

I use a machete

New updates posted, good to see you are still around Blaynes

The only time you need to leave additional leaves is when it is about to fruit. Pruning the lower leaves help promote faster, upward growth. This tip was taken from commercial farmers in the tropics who constantly prune to allow airflow and keep everything healthy

They just love the banana leaves for some reason

You are right David - thanks for pointing that out. Tree is the wrong word. They essentially grow fruit like another leaf and then die off. A pup needs to take their place in order to fruit the next year.

This helps promote healthy upward growth. As long as you leave ~3-4 healthy green leaves at top, there is no harm to photosynthesis and growth.

How many years does it take to get fruit and what would be the best way to take care of a tree to have more fruit? Do not cut any green leaves?

@@codykingsworld First things first... bananas don't grow on trees. A banana "tree" is not really a tree. Bananas plants are giant herbs and the bananas are technically berries. So, let's call it a plant instead of a tree. Plants need their leaves to draw energy from sunshine and turn it into starches, which will be the fruit later. Never, ever prune the green leaves, only the yellow and dry ones. The more sun they capture, the larger and sweeter your banana bunch will be. In the tropics banana trees can produce in 9 months. In the subtropics it can take up to 18 months because the banana trees go dormant when the temperature goes below 75 or so degrees. This is the whole problem with "youtube university". There is a lot of bad information here. The goal for a banana plant is NOT to make it grow as quickly as possible. In fact, you want it to absorb as much sunshine it can to give you a great bunch of bananas. Bananas plants already have a set amount of leaves they will produce and the bunch is formed deep within the plant way before it even shows up outside, so it is VERY important that they get as much sunshine early on as possible. Do not trim green leaves from it or you will shrink the size of the bunches on the plants.

@@MasterKenfucius thanks for the reply. I have one indoors. Started last spring and I brought it in for the winter. I live out in West Virginia so its going to be a challenge but so far it looks great. Trying to figure out if I needed to do anything to it when I take it back outside in the spring.

@@codykingsworld West Virginia? Wow! I've driven through your neck of the woods a couple of times. You're a brave man trying to raise a banana tree out there! Are you going to plant it back in the ground or in a pot? I don't know what to tell you as I am in Florida and we don't really worry much about them as the worse it can happen here is for them to get a few burnt leaves due to the rare frost we get. Whatever you do, you should let that Banana tree get as much sunshine as possible and lots of nutrients available as it needs to grow quickly. I would pump that sucker full of fertilizer so it can just go nuts in the short period of time it has before it has to go back inside.

@@MasterKenfucius im probably going to keep it in a bigger pot. If I can get some more plants I might put one the ground to see what happens. But the place I get them from have been so busy its hard to get any live plants now. I watched a video of a guy in north carolina who cuts his down every fall and piles all the leaves on top and he says that keeps it warm enough for the winter so I might try that. What would you recommend feeding it? I've been putting coffee grounds on it.

They do not need that much room. You can space 3 feet apart and get great growth

If they are still growing and putting out leaves, then they will fruit eventually. If they have stopped putting out leaves or bananas aren’t ripening, I would cut them down and let a new pup grow to replace them