pb742006

Hi everyone,

I got my first banana pup this week and I potted it up today so I can keep it indoors until May.

I have it in a 8 gallon pot with a mixture of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 MG potting soil, and 1/3 composted manure and humus. I went with that mix based on some of the comments here.

2 questions.

1.) I watered the heck out of it and the water is just sitting at the top of the pot. Based on the mix I thought it would flow straight to the bottom. It's in a terra cotta pot with the one central hole. SHould I drill more holes ?

2.) the pup is greenish yellow turning maroon as you go down the stem. Should I cover all the purple or leave some exposed.


Thanks in advance everyone !!

buzzwinder

Welcome, Not an expert by any means but I would put more holes in the bottom and lighten up the mix a bit, nanners hate soggy roots, there are plenty of people here that have allot more experience than I, this is the beginning of my second year with Bananas and plants in general.

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Bill

CookieCows

I'm probably the biggest novice here but what I do is mix the same as you but I water the dirt in the bucket I mixed it in first, adding a little at a time until the soil is crumbly, can hold a ball ... but still firm and not soggy... reminds me of when I make turkey stuffing. LOL Then I put in the pot, and bang the pot on the table a little to settle the dirt and pat it down some and then put the plant in.

Oh.... just re-read your soil mix.. I put sand in my mixture also

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rocco

You need to get the nanna out of the terracota, and get a plastic pot instead, then drill hole at the bottom if it doesn't come with enough holes.

Terra pots over time, start looking nasty on the outside from all the water. I am a newbie myself and my 2 musa basjoos seem to be doing ok

Before ( end of last month Feb )



Now ( Sat 15th Mar )

taroking

I know it sounds like a lot of work but... You really should pot it into a smaller pot, say the size of the rootball plus one to two inches all the way around. This should stop the excess water problem that you have. Once the plant has filled the new soil to the bottom of the pot, transplant to a larger size. This way, the plant doesn't sit in soggy soil while trying to root. only water when the soil appears slightly dry on top. This sometimes takes a couple of weeks after you have severed it from the mother.
T.K.

mskitty38583

thank you rocco! i was just fixing to say the same thing.terracota pots will absorb any salts that are in your water. the next time you water your plant you will be releasing the salt content into you nana. and the pots look nasty after a while anyway. the terrcota will also absorb water and your nana will not get what it needs. i get my pots at walmart that are the heavy duty plastic( and yes they are made from recycled materials. LOL!!!) and the largest one that i bought was a 15 gallon one for like 7.97 or somewhere around there. that is just my 2 cents worth. im not an expert, someone else might have a different way of doing things

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WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION
"kokomo" beach boys:

CookieCows

Mine are plastic Walmart pots too. I found out yesterday that Family Dollar has even cheaper plastic pots now!

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