London, United Kingdom

Hello

Wondering if you can give me some advice.

Don't know the type of banana plant i have but the leaves are quite large, sometimes up to 3 feet or so long.

This will be the 3rd year i have had it outside (from a cutting) and now it's in a fairly large pot and it's been doing well but for the first time in years here in England (London) we had 7 days running at below zero degrees and so the plant has browned off on the outside but i think it is still very much alive though dormant on the inside.

It's about 6 feet tall with two main trunks.

When there is no danger of frost, am i able to cut across the main trunks taking off maybe 3 feet just so that when it starts growing again it has a less spindly top heavy look?

Also it produces many shoots at the base which i have removed in the past and they have rooted well becoming healthy banana plants that i have given away. Rather than it multiplying like that, is there a way to have that energy wanting to go back into the main plant? or should i simply keep removing them from time to time?

By the way, thus far, i only get to the plant flowering and then showing the tiny spike type ball that i think would be the fruit itself but once it gets to that stage they fall off. Can i encourage it in some way to fruit?

Many thanks in advance,

• 17 Feb, 2009