mdouglas

Hello,

The attached pictures are from a banana I received back in February. It was the largest pup on a mama plant that was flowering and had fruit at the time. So right now it's roughly 9 months old.

Any idea what kind it is?

Here is the Imgur link.

The mama plant was about 7 feet tall. This little one is probably not even two feet tall yet. Will it grow another three to four feet in the next nine months? It will be a bit cold here for the next three months or so (we're in Northwest Florida) but hopefully won't freeze.

It got shredded pretty bad by Hurricane Irma, but is still putting out new leaves.

It's growing in very sandy soil and gets sun almost all day. Any advice on what I should do in the spring to make sure this little one gets big and flowers by the end of summer?

Thanks!

Akula

I don't know what kind of banana tree you have but it seems to me that the growth rate is not very good. If the mama was 7' at flowering I think its reasonable the plant should have achieved 4-5' of pstem growth in nine months under average conditions in Jacksonville, Florida. Since we had a ton of rain this year in Florida its not for lack of water so I'm thinking its due to lack of sunlight and lack of organic matter in the soil. Leaf color looks pretty good so fertilizer/nutrients are probably adequate although they may not be optimal and something to look into but not the main issue.

I see what looks like a lot of bird droppings on the leaves which indicates the plant is under some type of canopy where the birds are hanging out which implies lack of sunlight. Looks kind of shady in the yard too. Visible soil is white which indicates lack of organic matter and lack of mulch (grass clippings, oak leaves, etc.) which helps to retain soil moisture.

I suggest looking in your yard to find a spot that gets the most direct sun the most of hours of the day. Protection from the north wind would be optimal but not the most important. Dig a hole about 3'x'3'x3' (removing any pine roots and such) in the sunniest spot and backfill with 1/3 to 1/2 of your normal soil plus some type of organic matter maybe oak leaves/grass clippings if you have them or cow manure compost from lowes (three 40lb bags) if you don't have anything suitable. Let that spot sit until March (if you used oak leaves and grass clippings so they break down) and then transfer your plant to the prepared spot in March. I recommend transferring after winter although its pretty small you might dig it up and put in a pot and keep indoors for the winter so you would have a better starting point in the Spring.

The above suggestions are summarized from what I received from a nursery in Crawfordville, Florida in Wakulla County for my banana trees. You can check out the photos in my gallery for the results.

Good luck!

mdouglas

This is mostly true. You're quite the detective!

The soil is almost completely sand. I thought perhaps fertilizing would compensate for the lack of actual "dirt", but perhaps not. I could mulch and compost it more, if that would help.

As for the canopy, it's close to a very tall, mostly bare pine tree. So it does get full sunlight almost all day until late afternoon, but the birds do sit above it and make a mess. I do have a spot that is more out in the open, perhaps I'll try moving it. I suppose the root ball is pretty small (and the sand makes it easy to dig stuff up).

Thanks for the helpful suggestions!

Akula

You are welcome!

I wouldn't worry about the root ball and digging it up. There are members of this site who live up North and dig up their plants every fall and store them in their basement during the winter and get flowers and fruit the following year. I'm talking about 6' to 12' plants! Those guys are hardcore banana enthusiasts!

Organic matter in the soil is really critical. Helps to keep the fertilizer and moisture in the area of the roots. Mulching on top of the soil is a massive help in minimizing water evaporation from the soil. Combined (organic matter in the soil plus mulching) cuts watering needs in half and probably reduces fertilizer volumes too.