Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

I got this plant last September or October and grew it in my house until I moved it out to the green house a few months ago. For the past couple of months the leaves have been turning black and drying up and even new leaves get black areas on them before emerging. A couple of weeks ago a pup emerged and the new leaves on it have the same problem. I pulled the plant from the pot and the roots seem okay, not root-bound or rotted, etc. I lost my first one a year earlier and now wonder if it had the same problem, but I hadn't bothered to photograph it at the time. I don't see any mites but have sprayed it a couple of times with AZ41. Any thoughts?

Click on photo twice for large version.

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

cold be a little wind burn it kind of looks like it but if its black than no but it looks like it jus dryed up on the edges

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

I'm sure it's not just windburn as it was looking like this when it was still in my greenhouse a couple of weeks ago. Also, I don't think just portions of newly emerged leaves would suffer from being dry. I've got about 50 other banana plants and none look like this. Thanks for the ideas, though.

Harvey

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

oh i thought they started looking like that after u took them out of the green house so yeah i guess it wont get wind burn in there

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

i would keep the thing by itself untill i can could find out for certain. have seen a lot of these threads lately. quarantine and watch it..i would destroy it if i felt like it was a threat.thats just me.

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

Is it rootbound? I would start by moving it up a size or two.

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

Harvey, could you post a close up of one leaf?
Do you notice any rings/ spots? I have this problem with the D.Niño . It went away for a whilae and returned when I started using tap water again.
I assume it's sodium toxicity on my end , but could be a sensitivity to one or more of many minerals. It very closely resembles a fungus, on my plants at least, but never appears when I use rain water.
I've promised pups to several people but am holding off until I find a definate answer to this.

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

I think black tip is sometimes a sign of fertilizer burn or too much build up of salt. Do you do deep waterings? Flush out the salts/ferts with deep watering every month.

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

Ronald, I've been thinking of the quarantine idea for a while but the plant was in close quarters with several other banana plants in my greenhouse and none of them show these symptoms.

Jarred, it's not rootbound. I addressed that in my original post (fourth sentence), but you probably missed that due to sleep deprivation! lol Some roots had come to the pot edges but plenty of soil fell from the roots when I pulled it up.

Pete, I brought it inside so I could take some close-up shots, see below. I don't see any rings like you're experiencing.

Dar, you might be onto something there. I don't think the water usually runs from the pot when I water it but it usually doesn't from other potted plants either. I could have given it more fertilizer in hopes it would be flowering soon. I might just pot it in new soil tomorrow with more perlite so that it drains easier.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Harvey


Now for more photos. Please remember if you click on the photo once it will take you to my gallery. If you click on the photo again after getting into the gallery, you'll see a larger version of the particular photo.

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

I had similar problems, when I used too much fertilizer, in that case, the only solution is to replace the soil.

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

Looks like salt buildup/ cold to me!

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

I think I'll report it with new soil. I could plant it in the ground but for fear that this may be a disease, I think I'll repot it with new soil. It's odd that this hasn't happened to any of my other plants which experience the same temps and generally fertilized the same. Maybe this variety is more sensitive to salts or maybe I was trying to push it a bit more.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!!

Re: Logee Ladyfinger leaves turning black
 

Maybe you were just pushing it too early, when potted, you have to remember, that fertilizers stay in teh soil, thus, when the plant has smaller upkeep, it may result in overfertilizing and once the plant starts to feed rapidly, it might have terribly effects on it.