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Old 07-13-2006, 10:30 PM   #8 (permalink)
mikevan
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Location: Texas, Zone 8
Zone: 8
Name: Mike V.
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Default Re: Grow Bananas in Zone 9 Types?

Whew, thought it would be something hard. First off - stop watering! When you plant the nanner you want to water *once* - then unless it's dry *more* than 2" deep, do not water! The roots are unable to make use of that moisture and/or reach dryer areas to get air and the plant is basically drowning. Nanners are paradoxical plants - they love moisture, but hate soaking. The peat and manure will keep a lot of moisture by the nanner - so even if it seems dry in the surface, it will be moist by their root systems. I have the same problem with my taro - they're containerized and I have to fight to wait at least 3 days to water them. Why? Because even tho the surface may seem dry - a few inches down it's moist enough to wring water out when you squeeze! I've rotted my share of taro (of all things to rot out!) by watering too much. Nanners are tough - remember the feller who dug his up and stored them bone dry over the winter under his house? So - best thing to do now is curtail the water and hope that the rot hasn't become too bad for the banana to recover. Whenever I get a new nanner in, I usually containerize it first - makes it easier to manage - then water it once and then wait for new growth before I water again. When it's got good bunch of new growth, then I'll take it out of the pot - soil and all - and plop it in a hole in the ground and then only water moderately until it's well established. Even established trees can be overwatered. I hope this helps! I've killed my share of water-loving plants with too much love and it's easy to do and a hard thing not to do...

Be well,
Mike

Quote:
Originally Posted by dabug
The 4 plants came in soil bundels. They were on my front porch for 2 weeks before planting, like the 2 are still. They are planted in an area I cleared for them. Two get direct sunlight from little past dawn until about 1PM then they are shaded. They are planted in a mixture of peet, potting soil and cow munnor and covered with small wood chip mulch, the soil around here is sandy. I water them every day for the first 3 days then once every 4days. One of the 2 planted died within a week, the other is doing fine. The 2 on the porch, were planted in potting soil and yard soil. 1 died in about 3 weeks the other is slowly dieing. The soil was soaked when planted in pots and gets water when the soil feels dry. Any help is needed.
Dabug
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