GuardianJDK

Earlier this summer I bought a dwarf cavendish and I liked it so much I could not help but buy another banana when I saw them at Home Depot. The tag said it was a "Red Abyssinian - Maurelii". It was about 4-5 inches tall when I bought it so I repotted in a spare pot we had laying around in the shed and sat it outside with the cavendish. It started growing very very fast, it was getting a full new leaf every 2-3 days. It grew larger than the cavendish in just a few weeks! After a few more weeks I noticed something else starting to grow in the same pot, when we bought the cavendish we did some research and learned about pups so I was expecting this. After a few more days there was a 2nd sprout, then a 3rd showed up. This was well over a month ago and the pups are growing very fast, they are getting close to the same height as the main plant. A few weeks after the pups showed up the main plant started to look like it was drying up around the edges of the leaves but it was still trying to grow new leaves but overall growth slowed to almost a complete halt. I could not find any insects on the plant and it was getting plenty of water so I was starting to think the pups were taking too much water because they look fine. I have been wanting to try to seperate them from the main plant and put them in pots but unfortunately I am out of work on medical leave and I have alot of trouble getting things done so I have to wait untill someone else in the house can help me with it.

We moved the plants inside a few days ago and someone in my house did notice "little green worms and white spots" as they describe it on the Maurelii and on the cavendish so it looks like that is probably the cause of the dried edges, I was able to take a better look at the leaves and it looks like something shaved off a few layers of the underside of the leaf in the spots that look dry. Any suggestions on how to get rid of any pests that wont hurt the plant would be appreciated.

Now after doing some more research it seems the Ensete Maurelii does not grow pups so that has me wondering if this is really a Maurelii like the tag said. I read that stress can sometimes cause the plant to grow pups but they started to grow a month before the insect damage started and the plant was growing fast and looked great so I dont know.


Plant is looking a little rough. The pot looks small but the plant was much smaller when I bought it, I had no idea it would grow so fast. I am hoping to get a new pot this weekend for it. The big red leaf just unrolled a few days ago and it already has some damage on the side.


Opposite side of the red leaf.


Close up.


Is this actually a Maurelii? It doesnt matter to me, I still love the plant and I hope to get it back in good shape soon but it would be nice if I could find more information on what species it is if it is not a Maurelii like the tag said.

BGreen

Nope, thats not a maurelii. Not sure what it is, so hopefully someone else can help out. This is my Ensete maurelii in the spring.

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Take care,

BGreen

buzzwinder

Not sure with an ID on your plant, as I'm new to Bananas myself, but it looks like you might want get it outside for sunshine and water every day, Bananas are big drinkers and feeders check out my photo gallery for my Dwarf Cavendish pictures, went from eight inch pot to twelve inch pot to big ol'e Bucket since late April this year, pulled the tray out from under the pots each time and let water run through, set on patio (sun-from sunup till about 3pm this summer, and every day water and every third day water with fish emulsion from Wally World( Walmart ). I also bought two Zebrinas and two Gran Nain Banana plants from Home Depot in August and followed the same regime with them and they're doing great. I'm in zone 5 and Fall is upon us. Dealt with frost last Fri. Sat nites and now it's back in the Eighties and Nineties during the day, (covered with a tarp for frosty two nights) Hope I was of some help with this, But yes, Bananas are the only plant I know of that will show appreciable growth in one day, Amazes Me, Gotta Luv"em

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Bill for my friend

Carolina

zebrina

GuardianJDK

We had them outside with some of my other plants but they were brought in a few days ago when we had a frost warning, the temp has been working its way to the low 60s at night here and Im still learning about what temps are safe for them. I wanted to try to take them outside during the day and bring them back in at night so they could still get natural sunlight but now that we know they have a insect issue Im not so sure about that, and it I would also need to get help to move them around twice a day thanks to my medical issues. I would imagine they would get plenty of light from the window and we were able to pick up some nice lamps so they might be OK indoors untill it warms up again. I hope anyway, I have grown quite attached to both of them and want to make sure they survive the winter.

GuardianJDK

Wow I just looked up pictures of Zebrina and it does look extremely similar to what I have. The red undersides and the blotches on the leaves and red stem look just like the one I have.

That was solved awful fast!

Thanks you two for mentioning Zebrina!

Now to get the insect issue fixed and prepare for winter!

D_&_T

for insects try mixing little dish soap in a spray bottle full of water, several people use that here to help control bugs. just mist it in couple days should see difference
made big difference on my wifes mimi roses, went from no leaves to blooming

Dan & Tara

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GuardianJDK

Thats sounds easy enough for me to be able to do on my own, Ill have to give it a shot tomorrow.

Thanks for the posts everyone!

nucci60

yeah, maureliis grow fat bases. my maurelii looks like Danny Devito.

Gabe15

To me it actually does not look like standard zebrina should, yours has lots of wax and a slightly different color pattern on top. It could be another variety or subspecies of M. acuminata or could even be an edible type, I have seen a few edibles that look very similar to zebrina. It also could very likely be a hybrid with zebrina, there are lots of ornamental hybrids that look very similar to this.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Carolina

Trust Gabe. If he says it's too waxy, then it's too waxy.

Now I'm questioning my zebrina as well. I can't remember if it was labeled or if I just thought it was zebrina. Think I'll send up a pic this weekend.

GuardianJDK

Im actually trying to find the marker that was in the pot when I bought it but no such luck yet. Hopefully it has some sort of information like a website address or some other contact information that I can maybe send a letter to and ask what it could possibly be. I just remember the marker said it was a Maurelii and that was wrong.

It could be in the shed so Ill have to take a look for it this weekend when I try to split the plant up. Oddly enough I just noticed a 4th pup growing on it this morning. I think I got some genetic freak rabbit/banana hybrid of some sort.

cactus6103

My banana plant looks just like your photo and most people here said it looks like Zebrina. As for the bugs, use the soap and water treatment. It works wonders and will not hurt your plants. I spray all my plants all season long and have great results doing so. Great for the grass also! Red

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