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mersiepoo

My Crappy banana (with photo!)

mersiepoo
16 years ago

It's a Musa (cavendish) and it looks great during the summer, but this winter it looks like crap! I keep misting it and watering it though, hopefully it'll perk up when I send it outside (and repot it) this summer.

{{gwi:404073}}

Comments (9)

  • watergal
    16 years ago

    It is hard to keep them looking good indoors over the winter. I would take a scissors and cut off all of the totally brown leaves - they are not doing anything for the plant, and they are a good place for pests to live.

    I've not seen that type of brown and yellow edge before on my bananas (but I've only overwintered a few). What are your temps like, and how much are you watering? A wild guess is that it needs to be kept drier.

  • pitangadiego
    16 years ago

    Definitely underwatered. Water may not be getting to the roots effectively but to undersize pot, and probable rootboundness.

  • mersiepoo
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    It seems to be doing a bit better now that I water it everyday, but it grew like a weed this summer and didn't get a chance to repot it till winter hit. Hopefully I can get the pups transplanted out of there too! :)

    Hopefully someday it'll get some 'naners on it. It's like 2 years old now.

  • topher2006
    16 years ago

    What you need to do is flood it with warm water do that for a few days you'll see a dramastic change. Also look for mites .

  • ohgirl
    16 years ago

    Mine look almost the same! But my nanna leaves are bigger!
    I keep the old leaves cut off and trimmed back. Dont forget to rotate them around, or turned around.
    I also keep a humidifier in the basement for them. I keep them in a homemade greenhouse in the basement which i have stapled double plastic to rafters to keep steam and heat in.
    I also spray them with water, olive oil, and dr.bronners peppermint soap to keep spider mites away!
    I also keep 1 in the dining rm,to see differences in overwintering up in the house, compared to the basement.
    1 basjoo is outside protected by mulch and blankets that i caged up. This is my 1st winter with the bananas and i have alot more to learn!

  • tropicallvr
    16 years ago

    I had a banana look similar to that after the cat peed in it. I would definatly repot it, and wash the roots clean. I notice that there are tea bags on the soil surface. I think teas have alot of acid, and that could be part of your problem(besides possible spider mites)

  • hibiscus909
    16 years ago

    I'd wait till the plant is actively growing to take the pups off.

    seahorse

  • dan1465_z7nj
    16 years ago

    LOL Too funny. It looks just like mine did 2 years ago but, mine had Spider Mites too. It had nothing to do with lack of water here at my house. I think it was mostly lack of humidity and decent light. The Mites didn't help.

    Anyhow, to make matters worse I did split it up before it started new growth. They seemed OK for a few weeks. Then, I decided to plant them outside in mid spring while the tempertures were well about freezing but, cool at night. I lost them all.

    Grin and bare it, I don't think theres too much you can do for it in PA this time of year. Just wait longer than I did to put them outside. They will take right off as soon as you get those warm days. They love heat and sun. Theres no easy way to make it happy right now.

    Danny

  • hlily
    15 years ago

    Whenever I have neglected my bananas and have not watered them in a while they get that way. The pot is definitely very small. When it gets warmer you should separate the pups and put them in large pots. In their natural habitat bananas like high humidity, plenty of direct sunlight and moist soil.
    HTH
    Hlily

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