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View Full Version : Banana Pat, "newbie"...,1st Attempt At Musa Basjoo Hopes His New Soil Isn't A Bust😕


Banana PAT
05-23-2020, 08:13 PM
Hi everyone! this is banana PAT, I am a newbie so overlook my inexperience as a banana enthusiast, I just turned 48 & for the past couple of years I been wanting to have a couple of banana plants on my wooden back deck, so I took the plunge and got two musa basjoo plants from FLA as they're my best bet here in Wyanesboro PA....
I made my own soil recipe today & I hope I get better growth and results than I have had in the last two weeks.. as my plants leaves are barely growing and are dropping and are slightly yellow...
Now they were in AWESOME shape when I received them, the nursery I got them from did an amazing job of packaging them, they were very robust and green looking, healthy when I received them...
I made my soil today from one part sand, one part hopefully rich compost/potting soil, and almost one part of BLACK COW which after a little research sold me to buy some at my LOWES today... I am so excited to maybe have lush nice banana plants on my back deck this year.... I am asking for anyone here that reads my post, and has experience growing musa basjoo to let me know if I maybe have a decent soil base to have nice growth and the lush plants I want to have... I think before today my soil wasn't well drained enough and a little too compact & lacking the nutrients the BLACK COW hopefully corrects this... I will be happy to hear any feedback from anyone here with tips and if maybe my soil I transplanted them into today may be decent for my results.. I have been covering my deck with GRANPA OTT purple morning glory blooms for the last couple of years, and they're beautiful in the late summer morning sun to see, but I know BASJOO are entirely something else to grow, I am foriegn too... so anyone that gets a minute please help!!! & HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

TropicalUpNorth
05-24-2020, 02:15 AM
Hi everyone! this is banana PAT, I am a newbie so overlook my inexperience as a banana enthusiast, I just turned 48 & for the past couple of years I been wanting to have a couple of banana plants on my wooden back deck, so I took the plunge and got two musa basjoo plants from FLA as they're my best bet here in Wyanesboro PA....
I made my own soil recipe today & I hope I get better growth and results than I have had in the last two weeks.. as my plants leaves are barely growing and are dropping and are slightly yellow...
Now they were in AWESOME shape when I received them, the nursery I got them from did an amazing job of packaging them, they were very robust and green looking, healthy when I received them...
I made my soil today from one part sand, one part hopefully rich compost/potting soil, and almost one part of BLACK COW which after a little research sold me to buy some at my LOWES today... I am so excited to maybe have lush nice banana plants on my back deck this year.... I am asking for anyone here that reads my post, and has experience growing musa basjoo to let me know if I maybe have a decent soil base to have nice growth and the lush plants I want to have... I think before today my soil wasn't well drained enough and a little too compact & lacking the nutrients the BLACK COW hopefully corrects this... I will be happy to hear any feedback from anyone here with tips and if maybe my soil I transplanted them into today may be decent for my results.. I have been covering my deck with GRANPA OTT purple morning glory blooms for the last couple of years, and they're beautiful in the late summer morning sun to see, but I know BASJOO are entirely something else to grow, I am foriegn too... so anyone that gets a minute please help!!! & HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Let me preface this with the fact that I just got my musas & ensetes last week, and that my only other experience with musa was unintentionally killing them as houseplants decades ago.

That being said, I have some experience with growing ficus, bird of paradise, and a few others as houseplants that usually go outside for the summer. My ficus & I are having our ten year anniversary this September!

First, welcome! And congrats on going bananas! :woohoonaner:

What size containers are you growing your basjoo in?

Are you planning on keeping them through the winter, or planning on them dying? I'm not sure what your winters are like. I know in some non-tropical parts of the US, basjoo can be mulched and survive in-ground. Not so where I live (Minnesota).

I am still figuring out what soil mix to make for my bananas, but I'm leaning toward something with A LOT of perlite, and daily watering. I know my tropical houseplants don't need much water over winter, and die if planted in typical potting soil, so I keep them in a very fast draining mix (screened: [perlite, chicken grit, pine bark fines, NAPA floor dry], with some regular potting soil added last potting-up). This fast draining mix doesn't become hydro-phobic like regular peat-based soils do, if you fail to water them for weeks at a time.

What is this Black Cow? Is it composted manure? I keep reading that bananas love a soil rich in organic matter, but I'm so scared to add any because that goes against everything I've learned about tropicals as container plants in the last 10 years. Then again, a lot of people here plant bananas in ground. So maybe that advice is for them? I'm still leaning...

Btw, a belated happy 48th birthday to you!

And totally unrelated, but since you are putting bananas on your deck, maybe you are hoping to create a relaxing tropical escape? I found LED solar path lights that are "tiki torch" in style. $5 each at Menards, about 18-24"? high. Not sure if you have Menards where you live, but you can order online iirc. I've seen these elsewhere for $20/ea. Anyhow, they totally "made" my tropical patio. Thought I'd share the tip :-)

Welcome again!

cincinnana
05-28-2020, 06:20 PM
Welcome to the Jungle.......:woohoonaner:
Have fun here.:08: