New banana plant owner
 

Hi all, I am very excited about my new plant and am nervous about my limited growing experience. I live in Wisconsin and have my plant in a 10" pot with well-draining soil. I've had it for 3 days and the leaves are shriveling so I'm not sure if I should cut those off right away or not. I tried growing a banana plant last winter also and had no luck. I may have over-watered. But any advise would be appreciated and I hope everything goes good. Thanks for reading, Mike

Re: New banana plant owner
 

Welcome! Relax, you have lots of friends here. We have members in Wisconsin, Northern IL all around you. So, now you need worry no more. Help is here 24/7. Have fun and enjoy your new banana!

If it is sitting in the sun or on a window sill, you may want o move it. It needs to avoid cold drafts from window sills and there may be too much sun. It the pot drained? If not, repot it in a draining pot. Also, check it closely for mites. They will catch you by surprise. They are very small, so look very closely.

It will benefit from bright, but indirect light for a few weeks.

Re: New banana plant owner
 

Welcome to the org bavet. Since you've only had it 3 days it could be transplant shock. First thing that comes to mind though is over watering, if your soil is soaking wet you need to let it dry out in the top couple inches of the pot before you water again. Most people kill plants by trying to baby them. Maybe this is what happened last year? Try this and supplying as much light as you can. That would be a good start.

Re: New banana plant owner
 

Thanks, I feel more at ease already! Now should I cut off the wilting leaves right away or does it even matter? The instructions I got with it contradict what I found floating on the web. I thought Miracle-Grow would burn the roots so I have it in a seed-starter mix that drains well. It's a pretty loose mixture and I hope it has enough weight to hold the plant as it gets bigger. Thanks again everyone, I'm keeping notes!

Re: New banana plant owner
 

If they are still green leave them on. If they are yellow, or anything but green, then snip them. Just remember, no direct sunlight until it starts looking stronger. Indirect or filtered light is ok.

Re: New banana plant owner
 

The seed starting mix used straight holds a deceptive amount of water so, use your finger to test it. Also commercial seed start mix has no nutrients as excessive fertilizer is said to retard germination. although I generally do only organic gardening I've found regular(NOT organic I killed a prized banana with it.)miracle grow potting mix amended with( whatever I have around) sand and orchid bark etc for drainage works well for smaller potted bananas. Good luck.

Re: New banana plant owner
 

Welcome to the board Mike!:0517: Well, as you can see there are many folks here who will be most happy to help out. Have fun:ha:

Re: New banana plant owner
 

Welcome Mike,,,Very Very Very little water through the winter. Thats how I murdered one last winter. I felt sorry for it and it kept pleeding for me to give it just one more drink ..again no cold drafts, and I personally don't fert in the winter. Good luck and ask away with all the questions you might have. One thing that really helped me was searching the ORG in past posts. Someone could write a book with all the knowledge in the old posts..Hmmmmmmm

Re: New banana plant owner
 

Keeping the soil drier on the surface also helps to avoid fungus gnats. If I have something kept inside, I will cover the soil surface with a thin layer of clean, river sand or vermiculite. This fools the gnats and they can't get to the moisture. (Sand works best.)