BabyBlue11371

The pup is doing great but momma isn't doing so great..






I keep removing the bad Mushy stuff.. and the base seems like it is still in good shape..
Am I doing right? or should I cut it back beyond the brown mush?

Gina *BabyBlue*

chong

The soil in the pot looks pretty dry. How often do you water your plant?

Richard

The pot is too small to support both plants. The pot must drain so that the soil is never soggy, but as chong points out -- never dry either.

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BabyBlue11371

I check with moisture meter before watering..
it says moist/wet at present..
I haven't watered it in almost 3 weeks..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Richard

Please do not use a moisture meter. Instead, check the holes at the bottom of the pot. If they are soggy, it is not time to water. If they are drying out, it is definitely time to water.

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sandy0225

It may be sucking the nutrients/etc from the mom to the pup. This is just my theory, but I think sometimes they use that stub for a storehouse for nutrients and water and then use those to get a new plant going.
I check my bananas in the winter for moisture by sticking my finger in the soil. If it feels pretty damp an inch down, it's not ready for watering. This is if it's not getting a lot of light. If it's getting a lot of light, it will need more, not as much as summer, but more often. If you're really concerned about that you might lose it, put it on a heat mat in a sunny place and start pushing some growth.
I don't like the moisture meters because it's just another thing you have to carry around when watering. I don't even like dragging the hose, I want "cordless" water! I mean really, you have 10 fingers that do just as good of a job and they're conveniently located wherever you are. I especially don't trust those cheap moisture meters. It's like trusting your plants to something you probably paid less than $9.00 for. Anyway thanks for listening to my rant...I hope your plant does well for you. It really looks like it's trying to live.

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Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

tophersmith

My suggestion is to cut it off 3 inches from the soil line, this should either cause it to eventually regrow from the originla stem or create addtionla pups. This has worked for my Siam Ruby, Raja Puri and Gold Finger.

BabyBlue11371

Thanks for the input!!
I should have said double check with the meter.. I finger check first.. but fingers can only get so far..

I think I will relocate it.. it has low humidity where it is and not as sunny.. also a cooler local from the last two winters..
It's height was preventing it from being put back in the laundry room again..
now that it is smaller again I can relocate it back there and see if that helps..

hopefully it will hang in there till spring and I can separate the pup and get it back to a happy location..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Patty in Wisc

Hi Gina, sorry about your sick nana. Sounds like the soil is way too wet. You say it's moist/wet & you didn't water for 3 weeks. Light & heat will make the soil dry out a little.
I have one in 68-70* room in sunny window & I water every 5 days or so.
Remember my old "stick trick"? I shove a dowel in pot to bottom & pull it out to check --that's my meter. If on dry side I water. If stick is wet below the 2 inches, leave it.
I also have one in my sunroom which doesn't get much direct light & temp is average 48* night - 60* day. I only have to water about once every 3-4 weeks but sparingly. Good luck

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sirmoebly

Stick trick, good thinking but I like bottom pot waters the best, Takes the guess work out of it.... Just keep it full of water.... let the plant take what it needs & if you have a problem, its either heat or light or them darn spider mites...... Humidity is not so much a factor in the winter... I live in Ohio by the great lakes two foot of snow & the only time I spray is for mites and my plants are about 4 to 5 feet tall.. I get a new big leaf a week!!!! Light is the key........And a little warmth.....
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BabyBlue11371

I have to agree on the self watering pots for nanners..
I've kept this one in one up until this year and never had problems like this..
Quite possible over watered..
do the leaves turn yellow like citrus do?
these didn't turn color.. just seemed like they broke.. like could not hold the weight of the leaf.. I cut off half of each leaf left and that seemed to perk it up for a while..
it is moved back in the laundry room where it gets more sun, more heat and more humidity..

Just puzzling to me that the pup is so healthy looking and mom is so sickly..


COME ONNNNN SPRING!!!!!!!

Gina *BabyBlue*

Richard

I think self-watering pots are great for plants like papyrus that don't mind having their roots wet all the time. But for most plants including bananas I think they are a really bad idea.

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sirmoebly

These plants spent there entire life in these pots. They work good for me.. Roots in the water... If I keep them full I get a new leaf a week... Thats good for me because my kids are hard on them.... I have to fill them twice a week..
]Banana Gallery - Bottom waters..[/url]

sandy0225

If your leaves creased where the stem meets the leaf base, then it got too dry. That's what causes them to crease and "fold down". The leaves don't recover on their own when they do that, but one lady here in town and her granddaughters felt sorry for their plant when it did that with three leaves when they forgot to water it and they made little "splints" for the leaves using masking tape and popsickle sticks to straighten them back out and she said those leaves then went ahead and lived all summer. I'd never tried that one!

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Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

sirmoebly

Thats true, but I don't think you really have to do that because if you have a healthy plant they produce so many. My kids are always ripping or hitting them all the time. Sometimes I push them up & if they stay great if not they get cut... Maybee I need bigger whip for my kids.

BabyBlue11371

well.. I have not noticed it getting any worse since I moved it back to the laundry room where it was last winter..
at the very least it has slowed down...

Now to sit and watch it start putting back on leaves....


Gina *BabyBlue*

BabyBlue11371

Thought I'd update... this new leaf started a couple of days ago..
The pup is also putting on a new leaf!!


aside from the location change nothing else was done for it.. so either over watered, too cool or not enough light.. or maybe all of the above??
Thanks to everyone for their input!!!
Gina *BabyBlue*

harveyc

I think you should do like I did with my baby variegated asian banana as discussed in the main forum. Get a cheap aquarium pup and get those roots more air and stand back!

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