Does anyone have any info/experience on staking bananas with fruit. I lost the last bunch because they got too heavy and the tree broke in half. I have another with new fruit and I want to give it support as it is starting to lean. I wedged a 2x4 against it for now but it won't stay.
Jan...
Staking Bananas
No one has had to stake a nanner?
I don't grow them so can't really answer your question, but I've got to think if a 2x4 won't do the job you may be out of luck!
Is your banana out in the open or against a fence or something? I was just thinking instead of propping it up maybe you could tie a rope around it and secure it to the fence or a pole. My giant banana's have never bloomed so I really wouldn't know. The only one that has bloomed for me is a drawf one and it bloomed the first year.
Jeri
Get 3 2x4's make a tri pod around the trunk,tie with jute rope
Should I just put the 2x4's right up against it like a splint?
Jan...
Well I guess you could do it that way,but I was thinking like a tri pod on a telescope.
Gotcha.
I usually just take two 2x4s and tie them together into an 'x', and put the arching part of the banana right on top of the 'x'. Sometimes I need a third 2x4 for support, but not always. Doesn't look great, but that banana is dying anyway, so all will be removed soon.
Thanks, I can't imagine how they must have to stake the trees in the commercial groves.!
When I had a 'banana grove' I planted them under a large trellis-sort-of thing (sorry, no photos) and they generally grew up between the boards. Then they never fell over when they had bananas. But at Quail Gardens, where they have a lot of fruit trees, include bananas, they do the two-board 'x' thing as I was describing. In more tropical situation, it seems most bananas lean on each other, and seem to be able to support themselves better... not sure why.
Palm Bob- does the tree that the bananas come from die after producing fruit? My dtr swears that I told her that but I don't recall and then you made that comment- perhaps I am remembering something from a previous life, or else it's just my alzheimers! LOL.
Yes... it's monocarpic (dies after flowering)... but most bananas are prolific suckers, so there are usually a lot of suckers by the time this happens... though if you want good fruit, it is best to snap off most of the suckers, or more energy will go into them than making the fruit (just be sure to leave a few so you will have some bananas left when the big one dies).
Thanks Bob- and oh yes, lots of suckers.
Jan,
I use bamboo to stake up the bananas - you just need one pole. I have read that's also what they use in commercial groves. If you have some around, its hepful if it has a branch coming out at the end where you are going to stake the fruit. I don't know if this make sense. Where the fruit comes out of the stalk, place the crotch of the bamboo stem and branch. I also take an old banana leaf and wrap it around the bamboo crotch, so the fruit do not grow into any pointy ends. If you just stake up the fruit, that should be enough to keep it from pulling the whole banana stalk over. I hope this explanation made sense. Its early and my brain is still waking up!
Heather
If you don't have any bamboo poles with a branch coming out, then you could use two poles and create an upside V, just at the point where the fruit comes out of the stalk. I suppose its similar to the 2x4s, but it might be easier to wedge bamboo poles into the ground.You would probably have to tie around the two poles and the fruit, so it would require a ladder, whereas with the one pole with the branch, you can just wedge it underneath the fruit while standing on the ground. If you don't have bamboo at all, there is bound to be someone you know with some old stalks that need to be cut down anyway. :)
Heather