Hello Banana Community!
In January I became the new owner of a beautiful banana plant. He's absolutely my favorite plant in the entire house. It grew beautifully for about three months, even grew two suckers, but then took a turn for the worse. The new leaves stopped growing and the old ones are looking shabbier and shabbier. In the last two weeks I've noticed a swarm of tiny black bugs flying around the pot.
I have pictures of the bugs and the plant here:
http://kayte401.com/uploads/KaytesBanana.jpg Are these the dreaded spider mites I've seen everyone talking about?
If they are, what do I do?
If they're not, what is hurting my poor plant? And, what do I do?
I really, really love this plant and would be heartbroken if I lost him - please help!
Growing Details:
* The plant lives in Southern California
* Temperatures are warm
* I water deeply once a week outside
* He gets sunlight from a north-facing window the rest of the week