Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

I'm not sure what's going on here. My Misi Luki and Blue Java have exploded with growth over the summer, but my Pisang Ceylon has barely budged. Other than the lack of growth it seems to be pretty healthy. It was also growing fine in the pot before I planted it in the ground.



Underside of the newest leaf:



Oh, and it's planted in a mix almost identical to my Misi Luki. I believe it was 2 parts composted potting mix and 1 part native garden soil (which is rich but really heavy clay).

The Misi Luki. It's not even funny how fat this thing has gotten:



The only other real difference is that I found partially decomposed woodchips in the first few inches of soil of the Pisang Ceylon. Could the bacteria that's breaking them down be robbing nutrients from the plant? Any help is appreciated.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

It looks dry, start sprinkler system and make sure it's receiving adequate water.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

I mixed some fertilizer into the soil today, and it seemed to be quite moist. The soil here is rich, heavy clay and retains a lot of water.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

It needs tough love. Tell it to quit pisang its time away. :)


I had a DC that wasn't growing for the longest time. It lacked a watering basin, so I made one, and that allowed me to give it much more water, and it took off. But you've got irrigation and damp soil already, as you mentioned above.

Maybe cool soil from the shade? (but if so, I would still expect some growth)

Maybe it died back in the middle when you transplanted it?

I'd probably get frustrated with it and start hacking it back to verify the core was still alive. It might have a dead black center. I've had banana plants that didn't grow for months, and when I eventually starting whacking them back, I found that their centers were black. After cutting them back until I got to all green, they started re-growing almost immediately.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

The original pup died off, and I cut it and pierced the growing point with a sharp object. It then started growing back. I'm pretty sure this current pup is the result of this new growth, which is what was going on when it was in the pot. It could be due to the shade, our nighttime temperatures here hover in the high 50s even in the summer. I'll check out the soil temperature and compare it to that of my other plants. Some hot mulch might be just what I need.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

This can be happening. Actually pure wood has a C/N ratio of about 50. Bacteria that are breaking down wood require nitrogen for their growth, and usually they take it from the circulating water of the soil, thus making the soil even more depleted of nitrogen. Usually, if you want to use wood as fertilizer you've got to compost it beforehand; composting lowers the C/N ratio to 25 wich is perfect to the plants, and that ratio doesn't lowers the level of nitrogen in the soil, so the nitrogen you apply to your plants goes to the plants, and does not to the feeding of the bacteria wich beak down the wood in your soil.

So, apply heavy nitrogen fertilization to you plant.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

Thanks. The petioles do sort of appear like they are nitrogen deficient. We have fish emulsion, and I'll apply a large amount of that. I have already applied a decent amount of bonemeal to combat any calcium deficiency the plant may experience in the future.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

I would add water and fertilizer.

Different areas in a yard can be very different, sometimes. I have 2 areas in my yard that you cannot over-water and the rest holds water like a reservoir, only 10 feet away.

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

I will throw some water and fish emulsion on it.

Oh and by the way, the Misi Luki and Ice Cream are the ones I got from you, Jon. They are doing excellent. I can't believe how fat they have gotten!

Re: Pisang Ceylon Problems
 

I gave it a decent amount of water and fish emulsion today. Hopefully that will help it perk up.