Ensete don't send suckers (pups) so vertical slits or cuts won't help you at all.

Cheers, Barrie.

Actually this method DOES work. I think you are confused Barrie because they do not sucker naturally but can indeed be forced to sucker if you damage the meristem as described above. The native East Africans have been doing it for thousands of years as they use the corm and flower stem to make a staple flour.

New to the forum, but I've been lurking here a while and enjoy all of the useful comments and knowledge. I have a Maurelii that is about 11' and still growing like crazy. Afraid I will lose it this winter, but bringing it in is going to be too much of a task for me. Should I cut down to the ground and mulch over come the first frost, or trim and cage this thing? Not sure that I would like the look of the plant with no leaves near the bottom. What have others done in my area/zone?

Thanks Gabe15, I've learned something new before noon! I can call it a good day :)

Cheers, Barrie.

The plantlets grow out of the cut surface, not out of the side. I prefer to reserve the term "sucker" for plants that grow out of the side. Botanically, a sucker is a subordinate shoot growing from a bud. I am not sure if there is a "bud." These plantlets apparently grow from callous tissue. So, depending on semantics, maybe it doesn't "sucker."

Gabe,

I am VERY interested in this trick. Can you post detailed instructions on exactly what to do?

Thanks!

Basically what you want to do is damage the plant (the corm and meristem really) pretty good. A simple and effective method is to cut a mature (but not flowering) plant down and quarter the corm. Plant each section and they should each create some pups for you.

I'm glad I found this question. I planted two of these in a raised bed last year. One came up fine this spring. The other just sat there looking mushy. I think I finally pulled the top mush off.

Anyway, it got little bumps all across the top, and each of these bumps put out a tiny stem and leaves. There must be a dozen or so. This morning I finally went out and sliced one tiny plant off of it.

Has anyone ever done this? Will this tiny thing make a full size banana plant? Will it even root? And what will happen to the original plant if I leave it alone with all these separate little stems/plants on it?

Guess I'll find out, but was just wondering if it has happened to anyone else. Kind of exciting.

let me get this straight I cut my maurelli somewhere and it produces plantlets????

this does not make sense. I dont believe this.
Show me a picture

I read about this via, I think, a link on this site, but now I can't find it. It does seem to work. You cut the plant down in July, the cut surface forms a callous, later the plant produces offsets. Hopefully somebody else can direct us to the link.

Here's the web page I was thinking of...

https://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/publications/plantsman/0606/Ensete.pdf

oooh I wanna try it but I'm too chicken lol. I only have one marelli and its finally @6 ft tall. Someone else try it first :P. I do seem to remember reading something about that though.
!~SJN