Eddo
03-04-2013, 09:06 PM
Hello, I planted my first banana tree and it is not doing well, despite much attention...Like a noobie, I bought it from a home nursery in downtown L.A. at about 6ft tall, in a 15 gallon pot, and had no leaves...I brought it home and planted it next my old loquat tree at the bottom of a hillside, which is mostly packed decomposed granite, ph is around 6.5, in zone 9...I mixed in perlite, pumice, lava rock, orchid bark and whatever I thought would help drainage, and a lil 10-10-10 fert mix...Its been almost 2 months and nothing happened, except stalk got yellow, flaky and brown spotted...I thought maybe it was being overwatered (for no leaves), or buried too deep, or not draining enough (wet dirt for days). I raised the bulb a lil about 2 weeks ago, but that didnt seem to do anything...Its still ugly...Advice on bringing it back to life and flourishing? Any and all would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. Today I pulled it out of the dirt and potted it in a 24" (60qt?) giant round pot full of low peat cactus mix and lotsa pumice, then watered it with a mixture of miracle gro great start...The bulb looked good, but kinda slimy, and stalk was still solid...Will potting help? My next step would be to dig up the old location and backfill a large area with good draining soil...
P.S. Today I pulled it out of the dirt and potted it in a 24" (60qt?) giant round pot full of low peat cactus mix and lotsa pumice, then watered it with a mixture of miracle gro great start...The bulb looked good, but kinda slimy, and stalk was still solid...Will potting help? My next step would be to dig up the old location and backfill a large area with good draining soil...