I have 3 questions. Below is a picture of what I have been told is musa velutina. On one plant, the leaves dry as they go bad, but on the other they appear somewhat soft & turn black. I saw some bugs near the base of the second picture, but I superficially treated it & do not see any more. I am afraid to change the soil until the summer heat dies down, but could a bug in the roots cause this?

Healthy velutina

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Problem velutina

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Problem velutina overall (leaves are burned a bit)

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Another question is how to grow a strong banana. I want to grow bananas like the veluntina, with a strong base. Is this a matter of plant maturity, plant variety, lopping off the top, growing it in the ground or what. A commercial grower grew this one, so I suspect he had some fertilization trick.

My last question is how to trim a banana. I am not fond of burned leaves or sloppy trimming on plants. Does anyone know of a way to trim banana plants - like someone who was putting them on display would do? Is there a way to make a clean cut on the old leaves so it looks more tidy?

Thanks for any help, & sorry for the long post.