joecm3

Hi all,

New to the bananas forum! I just planted a 14" Basjoo banana plant 3 weeks ago from fastgrowingtrees site. Planted on the ground 3 weeks ago but have not been able to get it to grow much taller.

banana 3.jpeg

New leaves are coming out, but at the same time leaves have been starting to brown up and wither (see attached photos). I thought there wasn't enough water.

banana - leaves 0.jpeg


I added some good amount of water but the next day another stem flopped (see the stem on the right, there are some white spots on the stem).

banana - leaves.jpeg


There's a big tree nearby so there's some shade over the banana plant but in the late afternoon it'd get 2-3 good hours of full sun.

It's N CA here temperature goes up to 82-88F in the day and drops to 60F in the early morning around 5am. It's a bit dry around here 36-52% humidity and 10-15mph wind speed.

Because of the drier local weather, I placed weed block immediately around the banana plant over the mulch to help hold the moisture around the topsoil.


Anything I did wrong here? Too little or too much water? Too little sun? Plant disease?

Thanks much for help.

cincinnana

Plants do that when newly transplanted..
Sometimes it is more noticeable than others..

You plant is busy laying the foundation....growing roots.

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sirdoofus

I kinda wonder if the black weed barrier is creating a micro climate that is to hot for it?

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cincinnana

I agree...might be alittle hot under the covers
The leaves of the plant are somewhat stressed and wilted.

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Bob1234567889888

If those leaves were there before you planted it, then they are probably transport shocked. They always do that when you move them to a new home. the new growth looks nice and green so it’s probably transplant damage and for now on it should be fine.

joecm3

Thanks for everyone's ideas I'm totally new to growing a banana plant.

Initially, within 3 days of receiving the plant the original leaves on the plant dried up quickly so I quickly moved the plant to the ground and trimmed off the dried leaves.

These leaves in the photos were still folded when I received the plant they didn't grow or unfold so I added plenty of water after I placed the plant on the ground they started growing up and unfolded fast. I kept adding plenty of water and the topsoil was soaked up multiple times within a week. Two firm stems suddenly started softening and flopped. I stopped adding water the past 4 days as I thought perhaps I overwatered the plant.

The topsoil was still moist as I checked earlier today. I guess the weedblock kept the topsoil moist.

I'm going to wait for a few more days until I feel the top inch of topsoil a little dry before I return to around 3-4 gallons total per week watering schedule.


Let me know if there's anything I should adjust along the way.

joecm3

Also I've set up deep drip 6" below top of the soil.

Is it appropriate to do deep drip at this time or drip on the surface of the topsoil is better now since the banana roots are still shallow?

Thanks.

cincinnana

I use variable emitters and sprays in the landscape and containers.
Are you using emitters or soaker hoses for the irrigation?
Do you know what the flow rate of each drip head?

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joecm3

I'm using 2x 1gph drippers scheduled for 2 days per week one hour for both drippers on the schedule.

I placed each dripper inside a 6" long 3/4" PVC pipe for deep drip setup.

Today I see the center leaf flopped down as well. That leaf wasn't dried out or anything.

I'm not sure if it's part of the stress cycle the banana plant is going thru' if I need to do anything different, or just wait til' the banana plant adjusts better.

cincinnana

great info...

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DoctorSteve

If I may,

New plants, especially purchased from a nursery, frequently have leaves dry and die back like this. It is usually the older leaves. If the new leaf is also browning you may have a problem.

I have a little trick I do to see if new plants/transplants like this are growing or not. I will take a sharpie and make a mark from the newest leaf to the previous on. So a little line goes from one to the other. Check back every few days to see where the line is.

If your drip is only emitting water at 6" below the surface it could pose problems. That may be at the bottom of the soil line of the pot. Which means all the roots above it would be getting little water.

I would top water for a while and maybe transition slowly later.

I am not sure where you live though, it may be humid and rain a ton so that drip may be ok. I live in CA and it is dry and it doesn't rain for like 7 months or more at a time.

Good luck.

joecm3

Thx for the info. It's San Jose, CA here in the Bay Area in N CA so it's pretty dry with no rain for months as well.


The newest leaf didn't brown/dry up much (except only along the tip/edge) it just softened and flipped down. It happened to two other stems as well. I'm not sure what all these meant... ?

I'm not seeing anymore new leaf coming out today, now that the only new leaf flipped and is starting to brown/wither afterward.

Banana-2021-08-19.jpeg


Looks like perhaps I'd do top drip for a while til' roots have gone further down the soil.

How long should I do top drip - before I switch back to deep drip?


Thanks.

DoctorSteve

Ok now I have a good perspective. I am in the far east bay so I know the weather lately. If you bought a banana from a nursery somewhere it was probably in a more humid environment from all the other plants and constant watering, or green house. It was probably under shade cloth as well. I have only seen big ones in full sun.

In any case we have had some really hot days the last few weeks, combined with that black mat and those rock around it probably got very hot and was drying out. It also may have not been getting much water with a deep drip.

It probably should have been hardened off before going in full sun around here in summer. No joke, some of my little pots and seed trays melted in sun in the last couple months.

If it was me, and banana looked like yours in the last picture, I would dig it up, trim all dead leaves off, only the dead parts. I leave all the green and let it dry back naturally so I lessen the chance of rot.

I would then wash the roots and trim off any dead roots so they don't rot and spread, and than plant it in nice draining soil in a pot and keep it inside, or partial shade until it is stronger.

That is just what I would do, and have done many times. Should I do that, uh maybe. Some would just call it a wash and get another one. It's up to you. If it dies, its all part of learning. I used to kill every plant I had.

sirdoofus

Something definitely isn't right there. I might consider placing a thermometer, if you have one, next to the plant to see just how hot it gets in that spot. I think you mentioned in a previous post you placed the weed barrier down to retain moisture, correct? In my experience a goodly layer of mulch will do a bangup job and not get as hot as weed barrier......I suppose if the mulch is black it might get pretty hot too, but....

.....if you have ever accidentally put a section of black weed barrier on the lawn for any length of time on a hot, sunny day......... :/

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joecm3

The weedblock was definitely hot to the touch during hot hours of the day.

I removed the weedblock around the plant and added one inch of mulch. Trimmed off the browned leaves.

I added plenty of water yesterday and today the remaining stem looks more full.

I could definitely tell the soil around was dried up quite a bit yesterday (although there was still some minimum moisture) as it took a little bit of time to soak up the soil again.

Changed to top drip.

I'll see if the plant can recover.


I wonder if 4 gal/wk watering is adequate given the dryer weather here. Would the plant need 6 gal/wk or even 8 gal/wk, or more frequent watering instead (right now it's 2x per week), to keep adequate water on the top few inches of the soil?


A neighbor on the same street has several grown-up banana trees 3-4 ft tall or so planted at least a year back - half of the leaves browned and withered.

cincinnana

Keep the top drip....just let it run longer so the water will soak in.
The roots are shallow for this plant.

Are the emitters a set volume of water or are they variable flow?

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