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Question about pups

18 years ago

I have been reading a lot on banana trees, how to care for them, pups, flowering and such. I have found that many people mention two different types of pups, "sword suckers" and "water suckers" (hope thats right). I was just wondering how you would tell the difference between these to types. Is one good/bad? Should any be removed. I have a dwarf cavendish plant. Any advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (2)

vibez
18 years ago
I'm new to all the banana stuff also curious about what the difference is.
Nikitas_10a, Corfu
18 years ago
I'll give you a definition given by an Agnote of the Northern Territory of Australia:

Suckers are offshoots from the corm or parent plant and make excellent planting material provided they are large and vigorous enough, and retain the narrow sword leaf until they are 35-40 cm high. They should not be taken from an immature plant prior to bunching.
Suckers from immature plants or stools are usually soft and watery and thin at the base. They are likely to result in poor establishment unless weather conditions are very favourable. Broad leaf suckers with spindly stems and small bases are often referred to as water-suckers and should be discarded. Care must be taken when separating the sucker from the corm to avoid damage to the butt as suckers so damaged make poor planting material.

Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Territory of Australia
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