Post #99768 by bananabobs on Sun, Jul 4, 2004 12:26 PM

Yes banana stalks die when they fruit, it is called monocarpic

\Mon`o*car"pic, fruit: Bearing fruit but once, and dying after fructification, as beans, maize, mustard, etc.

The stalks come from a tuber (looks like a huge sweet potato) as each stalk fruits, a dozen or so new stalks sprout, it can be evasive like bamboo if you are not careful. I have dozens of varities, all different fruit and growth patterns. I grow bananas and rare palms, bamboo and other tropical plants, it keeps me from beer bars and away from loose women, I can bore you with botanical names for hours, drives my wife nuts!