Newer leaves turning lighter
 

After my musa basjoos have been growing all season, they now seem to be turning lighter and lighter. Is this basically a response to the cooler weather?
I liked it better when they consistently made dark leaves so perhaps I need to add a few handfuls of ironite. They are still growing, but look like they are declining in health maybe because 1ft deeper was too deep.

This shows how the newer leaves seem to be progressively getting lighter and it might be from the 40degree nights we've had lately.
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Here's how they were 1 month ago when new leaves darkened up quickly.
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Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Your photos, especially the first one, look a lot like my dwarf Cavendish, which were burning in the sun in the cigar phase, having some yellow striping, and generally getting more yellow. Dr. Scot Nelson, who made the "Growing Bananas" DVD, diagnosed the problem as calcium deficiency. See the following thread:

http://www.bananas.org/f2/bent-leaves-5410-2.html

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Thanks for posting your pictures stevelau1911. My Musa Basjoo's leaves are doing the exact same thing as yours! and I also thought it might be due to the colder temperatures. The last couple of leaves are having a hard time unfurling properly too. My other Basjoo is not having any issues at all, it's on the other side of the yard with deep green leaves so I've wondered what's wrong with this one yellowing!

Thanks Mark for the helpful link. At this time of year now I'm not sure if I should add any calcium or lime to the soil or leave it until next year...what are your thoughts? or ask the question in the Bent leaves link?

Thanks,
Heidi

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Heidi,

This pure speculation on my part, because I just don't have the experience to really know, but I can't see any harm in adding calcium to the soil (and via foliar application) now, just prior to cold weather. Unlike nitrogen-based fertilizers which could break down and become toxic (e.g., produce ammonia) during the winter if not absorbed by the plant because it isn't growing in the cold, the calcium will remain calcium and shouldn't be toxic.

Note that if your soil is around neutral pH or on the alkaline side, you'd want to add gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) rather than agricultural lime, which would make your soil more alkaline.

Good luck.

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

I'm not sure what kind of soil I have so will have to get out to buy a soil tester. Thanks again Mark, awesome advice!

Heidi

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Your not alone! I have the same problem on a few of my bananas! Im going to add some calcium and I hope that it works! When do the results usually begin to show?

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Steve do you fertilize your plants? If you planted them a foot deeper you may be deeper than the topsoil with all the nutrients. So they may not be getting everything they need. Mine are still putting out green leaves in the colder weather and in in zone 6 also...

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

I added pelleted fertilizer, myccorhizal fungi, manure, grass clippings and compost in the hole it was planted with the corm probably even a bit more than 1ft deep so I guess they might be a bit stressed for getting air down that deep. I have also added miracle gro once in a while, but they still seem to be getting lighter.

If I do add calcium sulfate dihydrate, I hope it can make it all the way down to the root zone after a few waterings. I also doubt it is getting lighter new leaves from too much water because it is planted on a hill that drains very well.

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

I really don't know how long it takes to see results from adding calcium -- at least a week because I haven't seen any obvious results yet and I applied a foliar spray and gypsum almost a week ago.

Even if the roots are deep, the calcium from the gypsum or agricultural lime should eventually get down there. A foliar spray should act faster. I used a calcium chloride spray sold for tomato blossom end rot (also caused by calcium deficiency).

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

A couple days ago I put about 5lbs of gypsum on each of these banana plants, and let the rain hopefully seep it down to the root zone to hopefully green them up. I'm not too worried since it is already getting cold up here in the north so they are almost done growing, but if they survive this winter, I hope that they come back healthy and green.

Another reason these 2 may be turning lighter is because I may have put too much peat moss down into the holes when I planted them while the other one that didn't use peat moss is not turning lighter. Perhaps once the roots and corms expand far enough, this problem might go away.

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

After 1 week of applying the gypsum, the newly unfolded leaf already looks darker and the unfolding leaf looks completely healthy already so it did work way sooner than I expected.

Now my largest basjoo has 4 pups and even they look like they've darkened up. Anyways thanks for the advice.

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Steve that's great news! I'm sure they'll be nice a green next year too, now that we know how to remedy the situation. I'll have to give that a try too!
We learn some great things all the time on here!

Heidi

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Here's a picture of how it has recovered well after adding the gypsum. I might use the gypsum on other plants too if it does that well in greening up bananas almost immediately. The pictures were taken about 12 days apart.

Before
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After
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Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

HOLY HANNAH does that EVER WORK AWESOME!! :woohoonaner:
That's the kind of green I'd like to see on my one naner. Thanks for the pics!

Heidi

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Steve, the calcium application seems to have worked a lot faster for you than me. It's been nearly a month and my plant that was getting burnt cigar leaves, having yellow leaves, and trouble unfurling the cigar leaves is improving, but it isn't all the way back to normal yet. Even before the gypsum and foliar calcium spray, the yellow leaves on my plant would eventually green up on their own.

But your plant looks great. I hope mine gets back to that look soon.

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

I put down a lot of gypsum and watered it thoroughly to make sure it seeps down into the root zone and it took less than a week to see recovery. By now, it looks like there was never a problem. I think another reason mine greened up fast was because I added it as soon as I noticed the lighter leaves and that something was wrong.

Now the first freeze is only a couple weeks away so I'll have to get some insulation material to wrap them up and hopefully save the trunks so that they can pick up where they left of growing this year.

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

Steve, yes, if you used 5 lb per plant, you definitely used more than I did. Was it granulated or more like powder? I did water mine in, but it was granulated and I used less than a pound per plant.

Re: Newer leaves turning lighter
 

I used the granulated kind and I think I bought the 35lb one from ebay which was a pretty good deal. Many other plants have shown this kind of lightening so I've used it on those too and it seems to solve the problems.

Hopefully when it comes back next year, it won't have this problem and hopefully get above 10ft. This year from leaf tip to ground, they seem to be ending up around 5-6ft which is not bad for starting out from 2 inch basjoo plug plants in the spring. I expect them to come back around May and really take off growing for next year and based on how hardy basjoo is reported to be, with complete protection and already being planted 1ft deeper, I think they should come back very strong.