Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Hello everyone,
I'm so thrilled to have a huge flower on the Ice Cream! This is my first flower and developing fruit. But I can't seem to figure this leaf problem out. The oldest leaves start yellowing then browning along the leaf edges, becoming crispy and dark brown. This works all the way up the leaf to the midrib, where the midrib itself starts to die. Might be Phosphorous or Potassium deficiency, but I have no clue. I've upped the Miracle Grow to full strength once a week and I'm going to add Sul-Po-Mag once it arrives from Amazon. So far the newest leaves look much greener and happier, but the older leaves continue to die :/ I'm worried this deficiency will harm the developing fruit Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks!

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Congrats.. Leaves look fine up top for as hot as its been.. :^)

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Thanks Abnshrek! So this is pretty normal then?

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

I hope so. I'm having a similar problem with a couple of dwarf cavendish plants (one has set fruit already, the other flowering.) I get myself all paranoid that they have sigatoka! I hope it's just the heat or some sort of deficiency...

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

When it's really hot here the leaves only normally fold and the edges burn on some of my varieties, like Raja Puri. It doesn't happen much on my Namwah/Ice Cream, and it gets hotter than 100 degrees nearly everyday here in August. Could it be because you have humidity and I don't?

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Ok let me rephrase what I said earlier.. and be more specific.. The banana in question is in a pot not in the ground. If someone's is in the ground doing the same thing I would think its a mineral deficiency of sorts, or K, water. I don't have any in the ground that have leaf problems as depicted here. Mine that are in ground are in full sun w/ no relief in our heat. I do have a couple in pots that do show signs of distress from the heat, but weather here these days is shaping up for optimal growth.. :^)

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Dying leaves while flowering could be Panama Disease, but it's not that likely.

When the plant makes fruit, the fruit become the sink for the nutrients and carbohydrates produced by the plant. The plant will naturally pull nutrients from old leaves as it makes and fills out the bunch. It is not uncommon to have 13-14 functional leaves at flowering and only 6 or 7 by harvest.

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

That could definitely be the culprit. It could also be in part because it's in a 30 gallon pot, and try as I might, I know a plant that big has to be dying to get out of it and stretch its roots into the ground.

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Thanks Nicolas! This is really helpful and good to know. It's funny you say that because I counted 6 totally healthy leaves and 3 or 4 more still functional ones. The newest leaves are really looking nice following two fertilizer applications, but the older leaves are pretty rough looking. Because of the timing of the flower and that its in a pot, I'm mixed in my expectations for fruit set and quality, but I definitely want to try to help support the plant and developing fruit as best as I can. I wanted to make sure the plant was healthy to support the fruit haha I have no clue what normal looks like for fruiting :ha: Thanks again

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Thanks Abnshrek, this is really helpful. So this could likely be due to heat stress because of such a large plant in a relatively small pot? With the temps this summer I could definitely see that. Because its still in the pot (I was "this" close to planting it in the ground, but didn't because it didn't look like it would flower this year), I've been worried about the plant getting the right nutrition, especially now that its flowered and started developing fruit. Is this cooler 70's and 80's weather better for growth? (That would be awesome because I was afraid that the best days for fruit set were over :ha:)

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Leaves are produced faster in these temps vs 90's or better.. You have pretty plant what she fruit @ 11.5' or so? The good thing is she's still mobile (3 person move?) just hope you don't get no super wind storms. Just keep the leaves and bloom from frost or worse. It's a lot easier to have a mobile plant to protect it from the elements than one stuck in the ground.. This is my heifer.. I'm transferring a pup out this week that will be a fun task in itself.. :^)

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

I have had similar symptoms that slowly got worse. My soil was slowly depleted and it took me almost a year to get used to fertilizing as much as bananas need, I kept mistaking overfertilizing or disease with not enough fertilizer. There are some good threads about fertilizer needs that I learned a lot from. I used some sulpomag a few weeks ago and it has helped a lot, much greener and faster growth. I have one sacrificial pup that I have hammered with different fertilizers now and then to test a diagnosis. It likes extra N every time, I still have much to learn about fertilizing but I think you should follow directions carefully with the sulpomag in that small container it won't take much. It might be good to fertilize lightly with almost every watering. The wiser growers here can help more than me these are just my amateur thoughts.
Good luck

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Thanks! Yours look great as well! Unbelievably, it flowered at 9.5 feet of pseudostem. With leaves it's about 13 feet tall. Do you think there's any chance this fruit will turn out good if the plant is overwintered indoors?

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Thanks hanabananaman! This is really helpful! Like you, I've been experimenting with different fertilizers at different strengths and intervals to find the best fertilizing regimen. I've found commercial publications can be helpful when it comes to identifying nutritional deficiencies, but are difficult when it comes to the huge differences in application methods and amounts for field and container plants. I'm glad to hear that the sulpomag had a good positive effect on your plants--I'm hoping it does the same with mine :ha:

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

That's 13' that you don't want to freeze and you have a good chance.. :^)

Re: Dying leaves while flowering please help!
 

Those leaves could be the result of under-watering, or over-hesting, or a combination.

BUT. . .

Flowering is the end of the life cycle. It is the final act for the plant, and then it dies. Some die quicker, and some slower.[ It will not have any more new leaves and will not grow any additional roots - it is fading out - its task completed.

Different varieties are different. Misi Luki will have green leaves 6 months after harvest (a year after flowering). Other varieties, such as Cavendsh might be lucky to have any leaves left by the time the fruit ripens, esp in a cooler climate or over the winter.

So. . .

Leaf loss might be normal, and might not. You have to get a feel for your particular variety.