jenniferannwalsh

Hi fellow banana plant lovers,

This is my first banana plant and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
The latest leaf to emerge is 80% brown and dead looking.
On Christmas the largest new leaf fell over before emerging and took down the second largest one with it (you can see one of the stumps in one of the pics).
There's also another leaf with spots on it. Please help. I love this plant (his name is Bruce Banner).
Uploading some pics and will be scouring these forums. So glad I stumbled across this site. Thanks for any help.

Jen



nvcWf8VtDCcQLKiycTOPMDQQQ7eRfKU_QF4s9nx4q6x39pA82HW6jdanqQ_T0CZk GfUcJU_JqBZygiasJfaGWKvysKwPo0CEgq3xk8hXtj0T0jxGnoRJ0-fsXsm4w8NbOUc-RF72yj4VSy8OJnpq_9MhNfEwll8iLH3n_j7MURT52k1MsonMpRDqa9TLYY7R6xH8 fY5nh1-6o34hWkBp4VmD5obnrGkPNg/p.jpeg?fv_content=true&size_mode=5[/IMG]

cincinnana

Welcome to the Jungle....
The drop box did not load .......

__________________

jenniferannwalsh

Thank you for the welcome!

Hmm. Apparently I am not skilled in the ways of this editor. The pictures show for me but huge. Perhaps their hugeness is the issue, or maybe it's Dropbox, trying smaller ones hosted on my server.

jenniferannwalsh

Yeah! That worked.

This one shows one of the stumps and the leaf before it opened.

jenniferannwalsh

Current theory after reading through some of the posts here is that:

1. Bruce's pot is probably too small. See pic below. Currently in a 13" x 11" planter. Thinking I will upgrade him to a 27" x 27"

2. Awhile back, there was a mushroom incident in Bruce's pot. I had one of those kits nearby and then had a slice of rock sitting on top of the soil. I guess the spores migrated over and the flat rock created a moist area underneath it and mushrooms popped out. After that I removed the stone but also started watering less. I wonder if this less water period caused the leaf to dry out and the other two branches to fall over (they bent right over, I was too heartbroken to take a pic). So maybe this dry spell caused it. That was I think in the early fall so a few months before the branches fell. I'm now back to regular watering every 7'ish days when top 2" gets dry.

3. I don't think Bruce has bugs or scale or anything like that but maybe a nutrient deficiency? Next up is to learn best potting soil and food.

edwmax

This does not appear to be a banana plant.

__________________

jenniferannwalsh

Oh no! How embarrassing. I thought it was Musa Basjoo but perhaps not. I don't have whatever info he came with, I've had him for 2-3 years. Do you think it might be Strelitzia instead?

edwmax

Looks like in may be a False Bird of Paradise (heliconia rostrata). A clearer and sharper picture of the whole plant would help. .... Bananas will have a number of leaf sheaths (petiole) growing tightly together forming a single trunk or pseudostem. Then at the crown leaves spread out on single sheaths.

__________________

jenniferannwalsh

Ah, I see. Yes the spreading on this one is near the bottom of the plant vs. the top. Here's some (hopefully) better pics:

Full plant:


Trunk zoom:

edwmax

I still think it may be a false bird. As to the leaf problem, I see the leaf appears to be directly under a skylight and the top photo shows the same leaf is near a metal drop light; so it possible the problem is caused by hot radiant heat from the sun or the light; or both. Try moving the plant to another location and watch for improvement in new leaves.

__________________

cincinnana

Awesome space to grow plants....

__________________

all43

A very nice looking plant,I have two types bird of paradise of which only my reginae has ever had flowers,ATM I have Juncea seeds in but no signs of life yet.

I do find them a lot more tolerant than banana plant Jennifer so enjoy your plant.

edwmax

Off topic & irrevalant post and reported to the Admins.

__________________

jenniferannwalsh

Thanks for all the help banana peeps!!! Guess I will be learning about Strelitzia and/or Heliconia.