pineislander, These are in all-day sun so light is not an issue and I only let sword suckers grow. I haven't been as diligent with pruning off suckers as I was a couple years ago but all pseudostems seem to send off flowers at a similar height. Depth of planting and rising of the mat could have something to do with it. I'm on a small lot with a steep slope to a drainage canal at the back of my property so they're planted towards the top of the slope which also makes it very hard to brace them if they're tipping towards the canal. In terms of pruning maidens, do you mean lopping them off at a certain height so they can't reach their final height before flowering?
I've found another spot that's on flat ground and started a pup so at least that will be a location that I can easily brace.
SouthBayHapaJoe, I'm a few miles from the coast so the sea breeze does really reduce the summer downpours that they get 5 miles further inland. I've been extremely happy with the production considering I really only feed them yard waste or their own suckers. There was a video by Matt Reese who mentioned that the Namwa is able to produce heavily on only mulch and I can attest to that.