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Olafhenny · 08-20-2013, 05:20 PM

I believe, that it is definitely the heat. The tropics never get as hot as the subtropics. Even
here in the “frigid” Canada (HZ6, but arid and hot in summer) it gets hotter than the tropics.
There it is just sometimes uncomfortably humid.

I have posted the following in another thread in this forum yesterday:

QUOTE
Because Ornatas are quite small I have wintered a couple of them near a window indoors,
where they did quite well.

One of them had spent the last summer in my “tropical planter and was completely
overwhelmed by New Zealand Purple Castor Beans and Canna Australia. Out of sight, out of
mind it rotted away in the shade. After I brought it in the mother would not recover, but
sprouted two pups. They grew nicely, but when moved outside into full daylight they
deteriorated for a while, until they had grown accustomed to the bright light, and started
sprouting again,. – for a while. Then I believe the full sun shining on the pot “cooked” the
corm as the temperatures rose and it crumbled again, until I moved it into partial shade.
Now it is perking up once more.

The other one, with the pot shaded all the time and the leaves in sunshine, has meanwhile
grown into a beautiful plant. It is now taller than any of the ornatas I have seen abloom in
Vietnam, where I got mine from and it still is not showing any flag leaf. I am hoping, that it
will have a flower, before I have to bring it inside. UNQUOTE

If I had planted that Ornata in the ground, I probably would have been spared this
problem, but since it will be small enough to bring back in, I left it in the pot. If this
experience has any relevance to your situation, the problem might well lie in the heat
that the corms have been exposed to, rather than the ambient temperature of the air.
If the bananas are right now in bare soil, it may well help, to mulch heavily with leaves
and similar around them. If you then apply some water repeatedly on that mulch, it will
cool down the corms significantly in your arid environment

Good luck,
Olaf

08-20-2013, 05:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 245,918 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Re: banana plants all dying I believe, that it is definitely the heat. The tropics never get as hot as the subtropics. Even here in the “frigid” Canada (HZ6, but arid and hot in summer) it gets hotter than the tropics. There it is just sometimes uncomfortably humid. I have posted the following in another thread in this forum yesterday: QUOTE Because Ornatas are quite small I have wintered a couple of them near a window indoors, where they did quite well. One of them had spent the last summer in my “tropical planter and was completely overwhelmed by New Zealand Purple Castor Beans and Canna Australia. Out of sight, out of mind it rotted away in the shade. After I brought it in the mother would not recover, but sprouted two pups. They grew nicely, but when moved outside into full daylight they deteriorated for a while, until they had grown accustomed to the bright light, and started sprouting again,. – for a while. Then I believe the full sun shining on the pot “cooked” the corm as the temperatures rose and it crumbled again, until I moved it into partial shade. Now it is perking up once more. The other one, with the pot shaded all the time and the leaves in sunshine, has meanwhile grown into a beautiful plant. It is now taller than any of the ornatas I have seen abloom in Vietnam, where I got mine from and it still is not showing any flag leaf. I am hoping, that it will have a flower, before I have to bring it inside. UNQUOTE If I had planted that Ornata in the ground, I probably would have been spared this problem, but since it will be small enough to bring back in, I left it in the pot. If this experience has any relevance to your situation, the problem might well lie in the heat that the corms have been exposed to, rather than the ambient temperature of the air. If the bananas are right now in bare soil, it may well help, to mulch heavily with leaves and similar around them. If you then apply some water repeatedly on that mulch, it will cool down the corms significantly in your arid environment Good luck, Olaf __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them.