A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum giant dwarf banana plant

Hi, I need info on how to separate a banana plant. It's in a large pot & a new shoot came up several months ago, on one side. It looks like it's attached to the main plant. The main plant appears to have slowed or stopped growing while the shoot is getting bigger. Is it possible to cut the new shoot off & start it in it's own pot without damaging the original plant?
The main plant is almost 2 years old, about 2-3ft tall, indoors with temps 70+.
It's never had fruit, just big leaves. Never been fertilized since we're not sure what a "balanced" fertilizer is for this plant.
It produces a new leaf about once a week & we trim off the lower older browning leaves as the plant grows. And lastly, can this plant be planted outdoors if it becomes too large for inside? We live in zone 8 (the pacific northwest) on the central Oregon coast.
Help!!

yes, you can cut off the shoot and pot it on its own. the banana offshoots are called pups. the usual advice regarding pups is to let them get at least a foot tall, the taller the higher the chance of survival. Try this site:
http://www.bananas.org/f2/time-separate-pups-spring-1814.html
two short tutorial clips on page 3

a balanced fertilizer is a fertilizer with three equal numbers (like 20-20-20). The numbers mean the amount of N-P-K in the fertilizer. N, nitrogen is for foliage, while P (phosphorus) and K (potassium) is for root and/or flower development. There are many types of bananas, the Basjoo is very hard down to -30*C with sufficent protection. Do you know the scientific name of your banada? It's Musa _________.

Bananas stop actively growing once the temperatures drop below 68*F or so. The roots have to be 'warm' and the plant mature enough for bananas to form. A leaf a week sounds quite good and vigorous!

Hi,
Thank you for the info!That link is very helpful and shows good detail. The tag on the plant says it's a Musa Acuminata "novak" A super dwarf banana. the tag doesn't say anything about planting it outside. We do sometimes get cold winters here. We had a week or so where the temps were in the upper 20's at night & 30's by day. And we're still getting frosty mornings altho the day temps are in the 50's & today is supposed to be 62. Could it be acclimated to the outdoors?
The plant has never been out. It's in a large pot inside but I think it is outgrowing the pot, especially with the new shoot, which is about 18" high. I'll have to go get some balanced fertilizer, as all I have is some Peters multi purpose.
Do you think this plant would be ok outside? The tag also says it MAY bear fruit altho it's unlikely, unless the temps are right. Will it ever bear fruit?