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timmko
01-07-2011, 11:07 AM
My plants were 9ft and larger this fall when I had to cut them down to fit inside. They grew for about a month then they have stalled. I have a humidifer keeping the humidity about 50% and the temp at 72degrees. I have 6t-6 plant bulbs, a 400watt MH and a 200W Compact flourescent bulb running about 10hrs a day plus natural sunlight from a large window. I was watering once a week but cut back to every other week. I also bought a moisture meter and it seems like that is even a bit much as the soil comes up holding a quite a bit of moisture. I had a spider mite issue which I took care of thanks to someone elses recipe on here, of a mixture of 3/4 water, 1/2 cup of alcohol, and 1" or so of cooking oil in a quart bottle. This took care of them right away and they haven't come back. That was only a week ago so this problem with the growing has been for a few months now. As they quit growing I noticed that wherever there used to be a leaf (cut off) the plants were getting "squishy" and I have also read that they produce a kind of "sap" so I didn't worry much at first. After the problem seemed to get worse I stripped the outer layer of the stem down to good solid stem hopin that would get rid of the problem. But 2 weeks later they are getting squishy again in the same areas and I don't know what to do with them. They are very large plants and I hate to lose all of them. They have stopped growing completely and they few leaves left are turning brown also. Last year when they were first year plants and still small I had no problem with them at all and they grew like weeds. Does anyone have any ideas on what I should do. I have some elephant ears that are growing really slow but they are still growing unlike the banana's...???

varig8
01-07-2011, 05:25 PM
Sounds to me like over watering during the winter months. You have to remember that even in the tropics where native bananas grow, during the winter there is very little rain and they do not grow anywhere near the rate during the summer months. If it were me and I had very large banana trees to bring indoors, I think I would have cut them back almost to the ground and dried off the corms for winter storage and then replanted them in spring. At least cut down on the amount you are watering them>>>>allow the soil to completely dry out before watering again.

scottu
01-07-2011, 08:22 PM
Well all I can say as a novice is, that it seems to me that all you are doing is right but, it's only the beginning of January, and you are trying many different things already, I am in Pennsylvania witch is very close to your zone and am indoors growing with similar lighting etc. The only thing that spikes my worries is that mixture you have been using??
This my first year with "THE BANANA". I have been growing other tropicals for awhile and have been lucky with them. But, like you and your trials from your last year my bananas are growing great indoors, I almost hate to say a word because I am afraid to jinx them.
It sounds like a usual first years experience in gardening, you are are almost dared to try again by the gods of the gardens to continue.

May all who "try" to grow here, eat here!

scottu
01-07-2011, 08:24 PM
Well all I can say as a novice is, that it seems to me that all you are doing is right but, it's only the beginning of January, and you are trying many different things already, I am in Pennsylvania witch is very close to your zone and am indoors growing with similar lighting etc. The only thing that spikes my worries is that mixture you have been using??
This my first year with "THE BANANA". I have been growing other tropicals for awhile and have been lucky with them. But, like you and your trials from your last year my bananas are growing great indoors, I almost hate to say a word because I am afraid to jinx them.
It sounds like a usual first years experience in gardening, you are are almost dared to try again by the gods of the gardens to continue.

May all who "try" to grow here, eat here!

varig8
01-07-2011, 08:30 PM
Scottu;
WTF?? You're a Pennsylvanian Witch???
LOL.....(sorry I couldn't help myself!)

scottu
01-07-2011, 08:50 PM
Hey, I go to school for what, 6-7 years and I miss one class, and don't cha know I forget witch one it was when I'm a talkin.

timmko
01-09-2011, 03:16 PM
So besides cutting way back on the watering is there anything else I should do? I don't want a "rot" issue and am worried about the stems being full of squishy areas where the leaves were. That Mixture you asked about I only used it once and just a few weeks ago. The problems with the bananas started way before that.

eric27
01-09-2011, 04:09 PM
Hey Tim,

Well it does sound like overwatering for sure. I have only watered mine oh about once a month at most. They are creeping along, holding 3 to 6 leaves. But they are ok. Really keep them on the dry side. The reason for the leaf problem is at least some of the roots have probably rotted off from being too wet and not growing much this time of the year. With fewer roots to support the plant leaves yellow and drop off. Plus with the humidifer the pots dry out slower. You might want to see if the pot dries out without watering, if not repot it. I just did that with an EE that was in a bad mix and awful pot that just refused to dry out and drain for anything. Repotting it seems to have helped so far.

varig8
01-09-2011, 04:11 PM
Just keep them dryer during the winter, provide them with as much light and warmth as possible and remove any outside petioles that are dying/dead to get rid of any mushy parts. If worse comes to worse and the damage is already past fixing, just cut it back as far as you like. As long as you discontinue over watering until spring, one way or another the corm should be just fine. It will re-sprout into a much larger plant in the spring anyway, and probably with new suckers. Heres' another tip I find that helps with these sort of problems. Get yourself some Superthrive. Wait until you need to water again, then follow the directions on the bottle. Superthrive is NOT a fertilizer, it contains Auxins and hormones, B12, etc. It will work miracles on bringing back plants to healthy conditions as it promotes new root growth and provides them with the ability to feed more rapidly.

The Hollyberry Lady
01-09-2011, 04:18 PM
I've been allowing my huge indoor banana plants to dry in between waterings and I have had no problems with squishiness...in fact pups are developing rapidly.


I have my plants in lots of light and sunshine, plus it's extremely warm in my place, so the pots dry out pretty quickly. I let them stay dry for a day before adding more water, although they are very actively growing.


Good Luck! ;)


: )

Annie6078OH
01-10-2011, 09:22 AM
I will second Varig8's suggestion for using Superthrive ... I swear by that stuff for helping bring plants back after suffering stress of various kinds ... been using it for years now.

Best of luck!
Annie

timmko
01-10-2011, 02:36 PM
I was using the humidifier to keep away the spider mites as recommended on some of the other threads. But now after getting rid of them I will also cut that way back also. Thanks I will try to keep an update.

Patty in Wisc
01-13-2011, 12:28 PM
All my plants (nanas, citrus, guava's, figs, palms etc) are in a unheated sunroom with large southern windows. The temp is 52-62F. I only have flourescents - total 260 watts,
on from about 4till 8. The plants are all green & nanas are not pttuing out any new leaves but that's OK. They are semi dormant. I'll start fert'ing them in March-April. Citrus are diff...the cold spell shocked them into flowering. LOTS of blossoms on them. The figs...another story. They may not be getting enough chill hours. They are dormant & only need little water. Kept on north side of room & covered with sheets. I think I may close kitchen door to it so it gets colder in there. I think it's why I didn't get many figs last yr.... not enough chill hours.
Just remember, low temps = less light, & more growth w/ more heat & light.
With around 150plants it's nice that most go dormant - easier on me LOL.

The few plants I killed were overwatered in winter.

dmas
01-16-2011, 11:23 AM
I had a similar problem with one of mine. Plant was turning to mush where the new leaf was coming out. I figured it was fungal and I think I must have been correct. I sprinkled a bunch of copper sulfate on the affected area and the problem went away. Now I am also careful not to get the leaves wet when I water. My plant is in the basement with cool temps and very low light so it is semi-dormant. I only water once every several weeks or so. You may want to try the copper sulfate...and see if that does the trick.

dmas
01-16-2011, 11:38 AM
I forgot to mention that copper sulfate is somewhat toxic so it should be used with caution...especially indoors.

dave

timmko
01-16-2011, 05:46 PM
2 questions where do you get the copper sulfate..and also for patty how often do you water and do you mist them at all?

timmko
01-17-2011, 03:39 PM
Help....I don't seem to be making any progress. I haven't watered now for about 2-3 weeks trying to let them dry out but I am afraid I will lose them. I have uploaded some pics and would like some emergency care if anyone has it...Thanks bunches.....


http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39846&size=1

(http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39846)http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39845&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39845)

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39844&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39844)

dmas
01-18-2011, 07:18 AM
You can get it at any garden shop. Stuff I got is marketed by Bonide and called Copper. Looks to me like that is what your problem is. If I were you I'd cut all that mush off the stalk and cover the top with the powder...and make sure to keep any plant tissue that is above the soil dry during the winter going forward. Good luck.

scottu
01-18-2011, 10:13 AM
What's the air like in that room? Aside from moisture, do you have any fans running etc..Just a thought.

timmko
01-18-2011, 05:23 PM
should I keep peeling away the outer layers ? That will leave a very thin stem, or do I just cut it down almost to soil level and then add the copper? I found some copper at the local store today. As for a fan, I did have one running and there is a good fan on my heater that runs quite often but I will run it again.

dmas
01-18-2011, 07:20 PM
I'd just cut it down to below muck. Actually if it was me I'd probably pull it from the pot so it is bare root, cut it down, put on the copper, and put it in my basement in a paper bag where it is very cool and dark...then plant it outside in the spring. I've had decent luck overwintering bananas like that. Good thing about a banana is that it should come right back good as new when summer comes. If you get rot like that on a palm and the spear pulls out the plant is toast. Good luck.

timmko
01-18-2011, 07:54 PM
I cut them down to almost ground level and pulled them out of the pots. Some of the soil was compacted and very wet. I added a bag of perlite per plant and mixed the soil well. THe very wet soil I will leave sit to dry. Using what I had I replanted 3 of the corms and the 4th (wettest) I had to leave sit until some of the dirt dries up a bit. Will the 3 I planted be ok if the soil is still damp? I also put a layer of copper on the cut off tops to prevent fungus. Any other suggestions? All I can do is hope they make it!

Kostas
01-19-2011, 03:24 AM
Did you wash away the wet muck from the roots before replanting? That is very important when you want to reestablish plants with rotting roots/corm. I would do that and then let them dry bareroot for a day in a dry place and then plant in NEW very well drained soil(such as cactus soil) or even plain perlite till it grows some healthy roots. That way,they have much better chances ;)

Lancelot
07-05-2011, 09:32 PM
I keep most of my bananas, palms, and a fig tree down in my basement with some flourescents on timers for 10 hrs of light. Water only when the ground is dry a couple inches. The temps down there are about 50 - 55. Most of them grow very little, except the Basjoo which still puts out a new leaf about once a month. The big change is moving them back to the outdoors in the spring. I have a back porch with fiberglass panels, which warms up the room quite a bit when the sun shines. When the weather outside warms up enough, I start taking them out for brief, then longer times to get them used to natural light. I may loose some of the winter foliage, but the new leaves grow quickly and the plants take off and soon look quite nice. This is my third summer for bananas, and I've successfully overwintered now twice. I keep adding to my collection, and I may have to come up with other ways to overwinter. I have not tried cutting them down and storing like cannas yet. I feel as long as I can keep them alive as is, that is what I should continue to do. I do keep a few bananas indoors year round, and some plants I will keep up in the warmer areas all winter. I don't have enough southern exposure windows for all to share.

brandylorton
05-24-2012, 12:35 PM
That is just a common problem there. The space related problem also happens with the indoor growing and particularly with bigger plants like banana it is a common problem.