GuardianJDK
09-18-2007, 09:11 PM
Earlier this summer I bought a dwarf cavendish and I liked it so much I could not help but buy another banana when I saw them at Home Depot. The tag said it was a "Red Abyssinian - Maurelii". It was about 4-5 inches tall when I bought it so I repotted in a spare pot we had laying around in the shed and sat it outside with the cavendish. It started growing very very fast, it was getting a full new leaf every 2-3 days. It grew larger than the cavendish in just a few weeks! After a few more weeks I noticed something else starting to grow in the same pot, when we bought the cavendish we did some research and learned about pups so I was expecting this. After a few more days there was a 2nd sprout, then a 3rd showed up. This was well over a month ago and the pups are growing very fast, they are getting close to the same height as the main plant. A few weeks after the pups showed up the main plant started to look like it was drying up around the edges of the leaves but it was still trying to grow new leaves but overall growth slowed to almost a complete halt. I could not find any insects on the plant and it was getting plenty of water so I was starting to think the pups were taking too much water because they look fine. I have been wanting to try to seperate them from the main plant and put them in pots but unfortunately I am out of work on medical leave and I have alot of trouble getting things done so I have to wait untill someone else in the house can help me with it.
We moved the plants inside a few days ago and someone in my house did notice "little green worms and white spots" as they describe it on the Maurelii and on the cavendish so it looks like that is probably the cause of the dried edges, I was able to take a better look at the leaves and it looks like something shaved off a few layers of the underside of the leaf in the spots that look dry. Any suggestions on how to get rid of any pests that wont hurt the plant would be appreciated.
Now after doing some more research it seems the Ensete Maurelii does not grow pups so that has me wondering if this is really a Maurelii like the tag said. I read that stress can sometimes cause the plant to grow pups but they started to grow a month before the insect damage started and the plant was growing fast and looked great so I dont know.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=5710&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5710&ppuser=1096)
Plant is looking a little rough. The pot looks small but the plant was much smaller when I bought it, I had no idea it would grow so fast. I am hoping to get a new pot this weekend for it. The big red leaf just unrolled a few days ago and it already has some damage on the side.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=5711&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5711&ppuser=1096)
Opposite side of the red leaf.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=5712&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5712&ppuser=1096)
Close up.
Is this actually a Maurelii? It doesnt matter to me, I still love the plant and I hope to get it back in good shape soon but it would be nice if I could find more information on what species it is if it is not a Maurelii like the tag said.
We moved the plants inside a few days ago and someone in my house did notice "little green worms and white spots" as they describe it on the Maurelii and on the cavendish so it looks like that is probably the cause of the dried edges, I was able to take a better look at the leaves and it looks like something shaved off a few layers of the underside of the leaf in the spots that look dry. Any suggestions on how to get rid of any pests that wont hurt the plant would be appreciated.
Now after doing some more research it seems the Ensete Maurelii does not grow pups so that has me wondering if this is really a Maurelii like the tag said. I read that stress can sometimes cause the plant to grow pups but they started to grow a month before the insect damage started and the plant was growing fast and looked great so I dont know.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=5710&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5710&ppuser=1096)
Plant is looking a little rough. The pot looks small but the plant was much smaller when I bought it, I had no idea it would grow so fast. I am hoping to get a new pot this weekend for it. The big red leaf just unrolled a few days ago and it already has some damage on the side.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=5711&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5711&ppuser=1096)
Opposite side of the red leaf.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=5712&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5712&ppuser=1096)
Close up.
Is this actually a Maurelii? It doesnt matter to me, I still love the plant and I hope to get it back in good shape soon but it would be nice if I could find more information on what species it is if it is not a Maurelii like the tag said.