How to Trim a Nonblooming Banana Tree

Home gardeners in warmer climates often plant banana trees for their exotic beauty. Like the closely related bird-of-paradise, they flower in home gardens under proper conditions. The shoots or pseudostems of the banana tree come up from rhizomes in the ground. These shoots mature into leaf-covered structures that produce flowers about one year later. Trimming a banana tree will keep it healthy and encourage blooming and fruit production.

Sharp, heavy-duty knife
Gardening gloves
Metal digging bar

Instructions

- 1
  Select the shoots or pseudostems to cut back. The above-ground and underground parts of the banana plant together are called a mat. Allowing several stems to grow from a mat at one time reduces the likelihood of blooming. The University of Florida recommends leaving one full-size or flowering stalk, one half-size stalk and one shoot less than a foot high per banana plant.
- 2
  Cut off all but one full-size stalk. Wearing protective gloves, cut the stalks off at the base of the plant using a sharp knife. Each pseudostem will flower and produce fruit only once. Therefore, also cut off any mature stems that have already bloomed and produced bananas. Chop up the stalks, and use the pieces to mulch around the banana tree.
- 3
  Cut off the selected smaller stalks and new shoots with the knife. Cut as close to the rhizome as possible. Leave only one medium-size shoot and one small shoot.
- 4
  Dig out the base of the smaller stalks and shoots underground using the metal bar. If you do not destroy the buds, they will grow back.
- 5
  Cut off dead leaves as they appear on the main stalk to keep the banana tree healthy.

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