Banana in trouble!
 

Hey everyone, looking for some help.
So I have what has been up to this point a very vigorous strong healthy dwarf orinoco that stands at 5'2" at the top of the pstem. Suddenly looking at the plant this am it is in serious rapid decline, and I don't know why.

Additional info: It's been 100F here all week, which is pretty normal for here in the summer months, and this dwarf has seen and fluffed it off before. What I did differently this time is I gave it a 2nd gallon of water in the aft as the heat has been steady all week. There was/is no standing water, so I can't imagine it's overwatering.

What is causing the lower leaves to droop and collapse so rapidly?
Also, is there any chance to save it?

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Re: Banana in trouble!
 

Looks a little stressed from low humidity, sunburn, and the recent heat waves, but other than than that, your plant is totally fine. You're in a hotter area than I am, so I'd blame those recent heat waves for most of the stress. When it gets really hot and you have low humidity, the leaves will fold up, but once night hits, they tend to get turgid again and look totally normal.

How do you combat this? Grow a bunch of bananas next to each other. They create a micro-climate and increase the humidity. I have a banana plant growing by itself, and it's almost always sad during the day, notice the droopy leaves. This is from being stressed out by low humidity, high temperatures (mid 90's this week), and high light intensity:


A few hundred feet away, these plants create a highly humid environment, and under the exact same weather, they don't ever wilt (anymore) now that they're bigger. When they were smaller, the leaves did fold up, but as the plants grew a giant canopy, that all changed. The overall micro- environment has become more humid since they're crowded together:

Re: Banana in trouble!
 

Thanks, yeah I have a few pups coming up around it right now. What was concerning me was the discoloration of the leaves, and they've completely collapsed. My leaves normally do as you say shrink during the day, then refill out at night. This time those lower leaves are toast. Hopefully she survives. I got 16 months into this one.

Re: Banana in trouble!
 

the lower leaves seem to have been scorched, which caused them to collapse. What's most important is what's coming out from the growth point:if those new leaves aren't looking good right now, then I'd be worried.

Re: Banana in trouble!
 

Looks like the growth point looks healthy.

Re: Banana in trouble!
 

Looks like the plant is reasonably close to a wall. Radiated heat maybe be a possible cause. Just trim off the affected leave. Keep soil moist.

Re: Banana in trouble!
 

Thanks, haven't cut off the leaves yet. Assumed they might provide some shade to the base. What's weird is we've had many days this hot, and even hotter, that didn't seem to affect it.