timmko

My plants were 9ft and larger this fall when I had to cut them down to fit inside. They grew for about a month then they have stalled. I have a humidifer keeping the humidity about 50% and the temp at 72degrees. I have 6t-6 plant bulbs, a 400watt MH and a 200W Compact flourescent bulb running about 10hrs a day plus natural sunlight from a large window. I was watering once a week but cut back to every other week. I also bought a moisture meter and it seems like that is even a bit much as the soil comes up holding a quite a bit of moisture. I had a spider mite issue which I took care of thanks to someone elses recipe on here, of a mixture of 3/4 water, 1/2 cup of alcohol, and 1" or so of cooking oil in a quart bottle. This took care of them right away and they haven't come back. That was only a week ago so this problem with the growing has been for a few months now. As they quit growing I noticed that wherever there used to be a leaf (cut off) the plants were getting "squishy" and I have also read that they produce a kind of "sap" so I didn't worry much at first. After the problem seemed to get worse I stripped the outer layer of the stem down to good solid stem hopin that would get rid of the problem. But 2 weeks later they are getting squishy again in the same areas and I don't know what to do with them. They are very large plants and I hate to lose all of them. They have stopped growing completely and they few leaves left are turning brown also. Last year when they were first year plants and still small I had no problem with them at all and they grew like weeds. Does anyone have any ideas on what I should do. I have some elephant ears that are growing really slow but they are still growing unlike the banana's...???

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varig8

Sounds to me like over watering during the winter months. You have to remember that even in the tropics where native bananas grow, during the winter there is very little rain and they do not grow anywhere near the rate during the summer months. If it were me and I had very large banana trees to bring indoors, I think I would have cut them back almost to the ground and dried off the corms for winter storage and then replanted them in spring. At least cut down on the amount you are watering them>>>>allow the soil to completely dry out before watering again.

scottu

Well all I can say as a novice is, that it seems to me that all you are doing is right but, it's only the beginning of January, and you are trying many different things already, I am in Pennsylvania witch is very close to your zone and am indoors growing with similar lighting etc. The only thing that spikes my worries is that mixture you have been using??
This my first year with "THE BANANA". I have been growing other tropicals for awhile and have been lucky with them. But, like you and your trials from your last year my bananas are growing great indoors, I almost hate to say a word because I am afraid to jinx them.
It sounds like a usual first years experience in gardening, you are are almost dared to try again by the gods of the gardens to continue.

May all who "try" to grow here, eat here!

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Viva La Banana

scottu

Well all I can say as a novice is, that it seems to me that all you are doing is right but, it's only the beginning of January, and you are trying many different things already, I am in Pennsylvania witch is very close to your zone and am indoors growing with similar lighting etc. The only thing that spikes my worries is that mixture you have been using??
This my first year with "THE BANANA". I have been growing other tropicals for awhile and have been lucky with them. But, like you and your trials from your last year my bananas are growing great indoors, I almost hate to say a word because I am afraid to jinx them.
It sounds like a usual first years experience in gardening, you are are almost dared to try again by the gods of the gardens to continue.

May all who "try" to grow here, eat here!

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Viva La Banana

varig8

Scottu;
WTF?? You're a Pennsylvanian Witch???
LOL.....(sorry I couldn't help myself!)

scottu

Hey, I go to school for what, 6-7 years and I miss one class, and don't cha know I forget witch one it was when I'm a talkin.

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Viva La Banana

timmko

So besides cutting way back on the watering is there anything else I should do? I don't want a "rot" issue and am worried about the stems being full of squishy areas where the leaves were. That Mixture you asked about I only used it once and just a few weeks ago. The problems with the bananas started way before that.

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eric27

Hey Tim,

Well it does sound like overwatering for sure. I have only watered mine oh about once a month at most. They are creeping along, holding 3 to 6 leaves. But they are ok. Really keep them on the dry side. The reason for the leaf problem is at least some of the roots have probably rotted off from being too wet and not growing much this time of the year. With fewer roots to support the plant leaves yellow and drop off. Plus with the humidifer the pots dry out slower. You might want to see if the pot dries out without watering, if not repot it. I just did that with an EE that was in a bad mix and awful pot that just refused to dry out and drain for anything. Repotting it seems to have helped so far.

varig8

Just keep them dryer during the winter, provide them with as much light and warmth as possible and remove any outside petioles that are dying/dead to get rid of any mushy parts. If worse comes to worse and the damage is already past fixing, just cut it back as far as you like. As long as you discontinue over watering until spring, one way or another the corm should be just fine. It will re-sprout into a much larger plant in the spring anyway, and probably with new suckers. Heres' another tip I find that helps with these sort of problems. Get yourself some Superthrive. Wait until you need to water again, then follow the directions on the bottle. Superthrive is NOT a fertilizer, it contains Auxins and hormones, B12, etc. It will work miracles on bringing back plants to healthy conditions as it promotes new root growth and provides them with the ability to feed more rapidly.

The Hollyberry Lady

Annie6078OH

I will second Varig8's suggestion for using Superthrive ... I swear by that stuff for helping bring plants back after suffering stress of various kinds ... been using it for years now.

Best of luck!
Annie

timmko

I was using the humidifier to keep away the spider mites as recommended on some of the other threads. But now after getting rid of them I will also cut that way back also. Thanks I will try to keep an update.

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Patty in Wisc

All my plants (nanas, citrus, guava's, figs, palms etc) are in a unheated sunroom with large southern windows. The temp is 52-62F. I only have flourescents - total 260 watts,
on from about 4till 8. The plants are all green & nanas are not pttuing out any new leaves but that's OK. They are semi dormant. I'll start fert'ing them in March-April. Citrus are diff...the cold spell shocked them into flowering. LOTS of blossoms on them. The figs...another story. They may not be getting enough chill hours. They are dormant & only need little water. Kept on north side of room & covered with sheets. I think I may close kitchen door to it so it gets colder in there. I think it's why I didn't get many figs last yr.... not enough chill hours.
Just remember, low temps = less light, & more growth w/ more heat & light.
With around 150plants it's nice that most go dormant - easier on me LOL.

The few plants I killed were overwatered in winter.

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Got a lite?
Patty




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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

dmas

I had a similar problem with one of mine. Plant was turning to mush where the new leaf was coming out. I figured it was fungal and I think I must have been correct. I sprinkled a bunch of copper sulfate on the affected area and the problem went away. Now I am also careful not to get the leaves wet when I water. My plant is in the basement with cool temps and very low light so it is semi-dormant. I only water once every several weeks or so. You may want to try the copper sulfate...and see if that does the trick.

dmas

I forgot to mention that copper sulfate is somewhat toxic so it should be used with caution...especially indoors.

dave

timmko

2 questions where do you get the copper sulfate..and also for patty how often do you water and do you mist them at all?

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timmko

Help....I don't seem to be making any progress. I haven't watered now for about 2-3 weeks trying to let them dry out but I am afraid I will lose them. I have uploaded some pics and would like some emergency care if anyone has it...Thanks bunches.....

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dmas

You can get it at any garden shop. Stuff I got is marketed by Bonide and called Copper. Looks to me like that is what your problem is. If I were you I'd cut all that mush off the stalk and cover the top with the powder...and make sure to keep any plant tissue that is above the soil dry during the winter going forward. Good luck.

scottu

What's the air like in that room? Aside from moisture, do you have any fans running etc..Just a thought.

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Viva La Banana

timmko

should I keep peeling away the outer layers ? That will leave a very thin stem, or do I just cut it down almost to soil level and then add the copper? I found some copper at the local store today. As for a fan, I did have one running and there is a good fan on my heater that runs quite often but I will run it again.

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