Kayte401

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

chong

Welcome Kayte!

I moved your first post to this thread where you will get more members to welcome you on board, and get the attention some of the experts and respond to your questions.

Happy banana growing!

Chong

Michael_Andrew

Well those black bugs are not spider mites. Here is a link to pictures of mites:spider mites - Google Image Search

They may be fungus gnats:fungus gnat - Google Image Search

Welcome to the org.

chong

I just looked at your photos. They look like fruit flies, only a little bigger. I sometimes get those bugs, and they appear to be coming from the potting soil (bagged, though not from the name brands).

Michael Andrew could be right about the fungus gnat.

buzzwinder

Welcome to the Org Kayte401, not sure what kind of flying critter you have there, but if your in Southern California why not put your plant outside, mother nature has a way of evening the playing field with bugs compared to inside the house, they are not the dreaded spidermite however, may be a fungus gnat or fly of some sort. more knowledgable members will chime in when they see your post, best wishes.

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Bill for my friend

lorax

Those are fungus gnats. You need to completely change your soils, and giving your banana a bath in insecticidal soap is not a bad idea.

Michael_Andrew

Beth what about watering/treating soil with bt?

lorax

You can do it, but it doesn't guarantee egg death, so you'll just end up having to re-treat for endless cycles. The only really surefire way I've found to get rid of those little buggers is to completely change the soil for fresh, and if it's a plastic pot, replace with a terracotta one.

They're often an ingredient in soil bought at big-box stores, which is why I'd normally reccomend sterilizing the soil and pot in the oven before doing any changes.

buzzwinder

Just curious Beth, when you say a bath in insecticidal soap, do you mean like a quick soak or just a spray of leaves, stem and roots? never had to do this but may one day. Just want to be clear on actions to take!! Thanks

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Bill for my friend

lorax

I mean a good soaking spray.

Caloosamusa

Do you have standing water in the bottom of the pot Kayte401?

He? Bananas are "perfect" plants.

Kayte401

Thank you so much for the welcomes and responses @Michael_Andrew, @chong, @buzzwinder and @lorax! I really appreciate the quick advice. I was in emergency mode for my poor plant and feel much better now with some knowledge.

I took @lorax's advice and emptied the pot, gave Mr. Banana a bath and re-potted with new soil. I'll also try @buzzwinder's suggestion and leave it outside for awhile. Mother Nature is great, isn't she?

@Caloosamusa - super astute question. When I emptied the pot I did notice that the soil at the bottom was SUPER wet. When I washed the pot the water didn't completely drain through the one hole either. I think I might need to drill a few more holes for better drainage.

(and yes, "he" - for some reason my plants have all turned into the agri-equivalent of men calling their boats, cars and other motored vehicles "she")

lorax

Kayte, you definitely need to do the drainage thing. I didn't mention it earlier, but fungus gnats only breed when the soil's swampy. The biggest step in being pest free is prevention!

Kayte401

@lorax thanks, that is a great thing to know. I'll get to drilling!

I also saw several sites online say to put 2in of sand on the top layer of your pot to make it dry and uninviting for the gnats.

lorax

I've never tried that, but then again, my soils have amazing drainage.

Tog Tan

I will throw in the last few lines here...

This is what I figure, initially the plant was growing well until the roots got a little too soggy. This will cause the leaves to droop due to stress. Recently I did a bad job on one of my Helen's Hybrid sdlg with a compact media and it went dorky like your case. Being in an enclosed environment, it's heaven for a lot of critters to hang around.

Once you have all the things sorted out and its outdoors, the airflow should take care of the rest.

All the best!

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Tog Tan has sadly suddenly passed away 6/16/09. We will miss you Tog Tan.

Kayte401

Thanks @Tog Tan! I think that's a pretty good assessment. When I emptied the pot it was way too wet in there. I will improve drainage, water less and as we all know, sunshine is the best medicine!

Michael_Andrew

FYI Kayte. Tog said that a dc had green pstem and sdc has pink/reddish. I checked mine and thats what I found on mine so you may have a dc there.

proletariatcsp

Hi, nice little musa! Outside is probably best because bananas thrive in full sun, and most tolerate periodic shade throughout the day, i.e., 30% max. A south facing window is optimal if you will continue growing indoors to avoid pests, but outdoors you will need to use insecticidal soap.

There are a few soaps that do not have harmful chemicals like neem, but I don't recommend anything particularly because I use only dish soap, which by itself is not very effective. I agree with the others, however. Your problem was likely due to soggy roots, and the gnats simply enhanced your problems.

Be careful what type of sand you use, I have heard others suggest sand too but unless the sand is dry and deep it will only deter the flies, not irradicate their infestation. Most sand contains way too much salt, and even playground sand may contain enough to harm the plant, so, you will need to leech it very well.

As an alternative to the sand, I would place a piece of window/door screen in your pot. Terra-cotta is a good choice, but the clay will absorb water and you will have to water more frequently. Put the screen in the bottom, and fill about 2-3" (depending on the size of your pot) with pebbles mixed with some soil and the kind of moss used for Orchids, like 50/50. Than fill the rest of your pot will soil and plant the banana so that the upper roots are about 1/2" below the soil. (You may need to put it slightly lower since the soil will compact when you water it in. The screen will keep the pebbles from falling out and the moss will hold enough water so the roots dont get too dry.

If you replant to a new pot, nurseries recommend the new pot is no more than 2" wider than the root-ball. I have repotted many plants from 1gal. into 5 or 7 gal, and they were quickly overwhelmed by mildew, mushrooms, pests, you name it---I've probably grown it by accident.

Good luck.

Chris in FL.

Kayte401

Thanks for all the info @proletariatcsp - a lot of things I hadn't considered. I did fill the pot about 1/3 full of orchid mix before filling with regular soil in hopes to improve drainage - the other tips are great info as well!

Will keep everyone posted on how he does outside.