Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

I'm hoping someone can answer this question or give me some guidance...
I decided to overwinter my MB indoors this year. It was planted in the yard and I noticed 2 pups breaking ground. This changed my plans of mulching and hoping for the best.

I don't have a garage or crawlspace for cold storage. Just the mainfloor of a townhouse that is about 66F over winter in order to keep the other floors a comfortable 69F.

Anyway, I potted the MB up, have him under a growlight for 10 hours a day since our weather is so gray and dreary, even the southern exposure windows aren't getting much sun. The leaves didn't droop like my failed experiment last year and in fact I've got a new leaf in just under a week.

I sprayed the whole plant with a fungicide and have treated it for bugs. I haven't seen rot or bugs at all, indoors or when it was out. Humidity is around 45% indoors in the bathroom/growhouse where it's residing.

However, I noticed that the two pups that are still attached to the root ball aren't doing anything. One of them has withered and turned black, so I assume he's a goner, but the other one is still green, but with tinges of brown on it and isn't growing. It's still just a stub, about a half inch out of the ground. I haven't been watering the plant very much, only when the whole thing starts looking peaked.

I'd accept losing both pups if it meant the mother plant surviving (cold hearted huh?) but is there some way of ensuring the pups survival or prompting the pup to grow? Am I correct in assuming that the plant is readjusting to its potting, growing roots etc, and will concentrate its efforts on pups once the roots have stabilized?

As an aside, the leaf that just opened grew at a rate of about 2-3 inches a day. It's going to be inside for 5 months or so. This could be a problem! :2141:

Last years experiment ended in death and destruction all around. First the pups rotted, then the rest of the p-stem. Not sure if it was from overwatering, lack of light, drastic shock to repotting or combination of the 3.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

Honestly, don't worry about the pups....at all. Just make sure the big plant is healthy and happy. If the main plant is happy, more pups will come. We're horticulturists, not babysitters, right?

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

I like to remove pups when I transplant. What kind of soil are you using?

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

Be sure not to overwater.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

I've been growing bananas for less than a month, but based on my experience with musa basjoo, the most important thing for them is to get as much sunlight as possible since that is what provides food for the plant, otherwise they'll just get tall and weakened with low levels of light.

I'm in upstate NY where temperatures have been ranging from the 30s to 50s. I keep 1 plant outside in full sun, and the other inside my greenhouse also with full sun and they both appear to be doing great. This banana is actually more cold hardy than I thought since it can handle a light frost while vegetaion in the garden is already drying up. I don't think plan lights will be able to keep bananas healthy unless they are 8000lumens or more of full spectrum light.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

Give this a try: Pot Culture.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

Not true, I grew banana plants in my basement up in Connecticut years ago with a couple fluorescent shop lights...they adjust to the lower lumens.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

Hi deruo, I can see how you would be worried after last years death and destruction.

The thing that's helped me the most is to check the soil moisture often and check different depths. When it is time to water, I water thoroughly so that there is not any dry pockets in the pot. I also lift up the pot, if it's a lot heavier then usual but several inches on the top are dry, I then check the holes on the bottom of the pot to make sure they are not plugged. Water trapped in bottom is bad news.

My outdoor/inground bananas have been potted up for a month and I've noticed on two basjoo's the pups are growing a lot more then the mother while on the third, the banana is growing but not the pups. The third did have two small pups that perished like yours.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

Here is my take on this for what it is worth. Currently I have about 25-30 Basjoo's in my growroom (a converted garage). I use four foot florescent fixtures with "daylight" tubes. What you need to overwinter is the blue spectrum of the light which is for growth, red is for fruiting. The blue spectrum begins about 4000-4100 Kelvin. The daylight tubes (bulbs) are between 5500 and 6500 depending on the manufacturer and the type of bulb. All of this information is listed on the packaging. Look for kelvin usually printed as K (6500K) and then lumens is the amount of light produced. I don't recall what these bulbs range between. The different manufactures call these bulbs different things; full spectrum, daylight deluxe, daylight, etc. Look for the kelvin temperature. Now once you have the correct bulb you have to give the plant enough exposure to manufacture energy. The light they are receiving is reduced compared to what they were getting. My lights are set to come on and run for 16 hours with 8 hours of darkness. Dont worry florescent bulbs don't draw much electric about 40 watts each. It is important that they get all of their darkness. There are important functions that occur during down time. I have heard people state between 12 and 16 hours, and 16 works for me. This is the third season and lighting isn't a problem for me. If anyone wants more info about what I have been doing to overwinter just send me a PM, I don't mind sharing what I have learned.

Michael

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

It actually sounds like you are having good progress so far on your overwintering. It's very normal for bananas not to grow at all for about a month or so after transplant, so just don't try to be "too nice" to it and fertilize it and water it too much to push growth. It would appear that your plant is just rooting into the pot at this time.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

I think with adequate sunlight in my greenhouse, the other big factor in banana growth is keeping it nice and warm. My 10 inch tall bare root musa basjoo that I planted a month ago is now well over 2feet tall and growing pretty fast especially considering it is close to November when things should be slowing down. With the way things are looking, these banana plants might start shading everything else out.

Here it was 1 month ago in it's 1-2gallon pot


Here it is today, getting ready to take over the greenhouse, just transferred into a 5 gallon pot.

Re: Repotted/potted Musa Bajoo pups not doing very well
 

Thanks for your responses everyone!

Richard asked so I'll state that I'm using a potting soil that is heavily amended with vermiculite, but also has other stuff in it (that I can't readily recall) that helps it drain. Considering the ground it was planted in is very claylike (even after all the stuff I put in there), this must be a nice break for the plant.

Given that I live in downtown Toronto with no garage, a postage-stamp sized yard, and no possibility of a greenhouse, my options for heat/cold/light are somewhat limited. Nothing I can do about any of it but adding light. So I've got the basjoo and my shiroshima bamboo in the bathtub with grow lights strung above. (Luckily, I have 2 bathrooms)

The grow lights it's under give off about 3500 lumens and is 6500k. The plant seems to like it as it's put out another cigar leaf since my post last week. The two pups are about the same condition as last time and I noticed the start of another pup at the very base of the plant. I did have the light on for 12 hours but have boosted that up to 16 thanks to this thread.

Better yet, there are two lights and together they both only pull 40-42 watts. My electricity bill is thankful.

Even my shiroshima bamboo that did nothing all summer outside is making great gains, comparatively speaking.

It's interesting comparing this banana plant to the one that has never been outside. They are the same age and the one that was outside is at least twice or perhaps three times the size and much healthier looking. One of these days I'll have to take a photo. I'm thinking of repotting the "always been indoors" basjoo in a different medium as it seems to hold it's moisture longer than would seem healthy for the plant.

I'll probably end up getting another grow light as well. They're fairly cheap to buy at some of the cannabis-related stores here. The staff naturally, thought I was growing cannabis... we had a laugh when I said it was banana.