Dennylouhalfyard@yahoo.ca

Can I get some advice? I am in the Vancouver BC area and we have a banana plant in a pot. I believe it's a venticosum damaclese. We got it at the Home Depot and of course, they couldn't really tell us how to care for it. So, we're just flying by the seat of our pants!

We recently repotted it and placed by our back patio door which faces south, and gets a lot of natural sunlight. I would like to plant it outside in the spring, but my husband really likes it indoors.

The problem is that the stems are very green and healthy looking, but the leaves have all turned brown and crispy. We don't over water and the pot has ample drainage. We'd really like to save the plant but haven't a clue how to do it! Help! See link to the photo of my plant.

Banana Gallery - Need help!

Bob

Sure sounds like spider mites which most of us have to some degree in winter indoors. Are there any tiny webs you can see, maybe some "dust" on the leaves? This would indicate it.

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Dennylouhalfyard@yahoo.ca

Yeah! There's what looks like very fine cob webs. What do you recommend to get rid of them? Can I cut the leaves off?

Bob

If they're totally brown cut them off and get them out of the house! Give the remaining plant a good spray of water to hose them off and get some insecticidal soap to treat the new growth. You can never really get rid of them completly but they're easy to manage once you've got them under control. Higher humidity also helps reduce them.

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LilRaverBoi

EEK....those look terrible! Yeah, if it's spider mites, you need to cut off the dead leaves then spray everything else down with insecticidal soap. I've had pretty good luck with Sandy's advice: water, suave coconut shampoo and vegetable oil all in a spray-bottle. Just coat everything really well and repeat within a few days. Also, isolate that plant from others if they aren't affected. You should check them all to see if they need treatment as well. You can see the little bastards if you look really carefully....they're tiny little things either white or red.

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Anaxagoras

I'm almost sure that there is infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense.

jack hagenaars

If you had it outside recently then it got cold damage..which is fine....you can cut off all the leaves and store it in the garage and only water it once a month until the spring...or if you want it to grow new leaves...bring it in the house in a bright location and it will send new growth,but it will be leggy growth because of the lack of light at this time of year...if you chose to store it....bring it outside in the spring when it starts to warm up and it will send new leaves....if it is spider mites..I just wash my leaves top and bottom with soapy water once a week...I also have mine under grow lights in the basement and it does well...I just hung a 4ft long inflorecent light with grow bulbs in it in my office and get to enjoy it all winter before they get to play outside in the summer....good luck

sandy0225

looks like it got frosted to me before you purchased it. There is also a strong probability that it could have spider mites. Cut off all the affected leaves and parts of leaves, do a preventative spray, and keep it in a nice warm bright place. Don't expect any new growth for 2-3 weeks after being frosted, even in an ideal place. So don't freak out and post again in a week that it's not growing yet...lol...

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Sandy Burrell



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