How Sun and Drought tolerant are Musa Ornatas?

BananaGrower1 · 06-28-2013, 11:21 PM

Today I received my first musa ornata. I live in the desert and am deciding on which area of my yard would be best for it. Can anyone give me an idea as to how sun and drought tolerant this variety of banana is? Thanks in advance for the help.

jet123 · 07-08-2013, 01:25 PM

Bananas need a lot of water to keep healthy and growing. I notice that you are in Arizona so they would probably do best in an area that is shaded during the day as it gets extremely hot. In full sun the plant would probably die of sunburn. Water it well because the sand does not hold water that well. You could probably put it in a large pot on your shaded porch and move it inside during the wintertime. Does that help any?

BananaGrower1 · 07-10-2013, 04:37 PM

Ok. So the musa ornata has completely rotted. The pseudo stem fell over a few days ago and nothing is left but a ball of roots. I am going to continue to water the roots, but I don't have any large expectations for it. The good people at W3Plants, however, were nice enough to send me a new one for free to replace the one that has diminished.

When I received the first musa ornata, it was a little wilted from the trip. It had a very solid, established root ball which was inside a starter pot (approximately 1 quart in size). I planted the musa ornata in a pot near to my other established banana plants. I kept it in partial shade, plenty of water, near to a water source to provide humidity as well as sprinklers that have and continue to provide water and moisture to the other 3 varieties of bananas in the area. And while my other bananas have been growing rather strong for the past few months, this musa ornata continued to wilt and eventually rot.

Can anyone provide any specific info about what I might be able to do differently this time around to help this plant grow and thrive?

As always, any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

sunfish · 07-10-2013, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BananaGrower1

Ok. So the musa ornata has completely rotted. The pseudo stem fell over a few days ago and nothing is left but a ball of roots. I am going to continue to water the roots, but I don't have any large expectations for it. The good people at W3Plants, however, were nice enough to send me a new one for free to replace the one that has diminished.

When I received the first musa ornata, it was a little wilted from the trip. It had a very solid, established root ball which was inside a starter pot (approximately 1 quart in size). I planted the musa ornata in a pot near to my other established banana plants. I kept it in partial shade, plenty of water, near to a water source to provide humidity as well as sprinklers that have and continue to provide water and moisture to the other 3 varieties of bananas in the area. And while my other bananas have been growing rather strong for the past few months, this musa ornata continued to wilt and eventually rot.

Can anyone provide any specific info about what I might be able to do differently this time around to help this plant grow and thrive?

As always, any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Don't over water your new plant

Basjoofriend · 07-30-2013, 02:37 AM

Hi,

the Musa ornata does best at the half shaded location and needs much water, it does best at my pond, it grew 2 metres tall. Other specimen on my lawn at my 3 coconut palms grew only to 50 cm tall, it is too sunny and the soil is red clay.

Best wishes
Joachim

06-28-2013, 11:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
BananaGrower1 Location: Phoenix, AZ Zone: 9 Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 70 BananaBucks : 42,700 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 85 Times Was Thanked 30 Times in 19 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	How Sun and Drought tolerant are Musa Ornatas? Today I received my first musa ornata. I live in the desert and am deciding on which area of my yard would be best for it. Can anyone give me an idea as to how sun and drought tolerant this variety of banana is? Thanks in advance for the help.

07-08-2013, 01:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
jet123 Location: Oregon Zone: 8-9 Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 31 BananaBucks : 6,573 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 3 Times Was Thanked 18 Times in 15 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: How Sun and Drought tolerant are Musa Ornatas? Bananas need a lot of water to keep healthy and growing. I notice that you are in Arizona so they would probably do best in an area that is shaded during the day as it gets extremely hot. In full sun the plant would probably die of sunburn. Water it well because the sand does not hold water that well. You could probably put it in a large pot on your shaded porch and move it inside during the wintertime. Does that help any?

07-10-2013, 04:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
BananaGrower1 Location: Phoenix, AZ Zone: 9 Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 70 BananaBucks : 42,700 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 85 Times Was Thanked 30 Times in 19 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: How Sun and Drought tolerant are Musa Ornatas? Ok. So the musa ornata has completely rotted. The pseudo stem fell over a few days ago and nothing is left but a ball of roots. I am going to continue to water the roots, but I don't have any large expectations for it. The good people at W3Plants, however, were nice enough to send me a new one for free to replace the one that has diminished. When I received the first musa ornata, it was a little wilted from the trip. It had a very solid, established root ball which was inside a starter pot (approximately 1 quart in size). I planted the musa ornata in a pot near to my other established banana plants. I kept it in partial shade, plenty of water, near to a water source to provide humidity as well as sprinklers that have and continue to provide water and moisture to the other 3 varieties of bananas in the area. And while my other bananas have been growing rather strong for the past few months, this musa ornata continued to wilt and eventually rot. Can anyone provide any specific info about what I might be able to do differently this time around to help this plant grow and thrive? As always, any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

07-30-2013, 02:37 AM	#5 (permalink)
Basjoofriend Member Basjoofriend's Photo Gallery Location: Lucianópolis-BRAZIL Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: 01 Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 926 BananaBucks : 187,264 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 138 Times Was Thanked 266 Times in 123 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: How Sun and Drought tolerant are Musa Ornatas? Hi, the Musa ornata does best at the half shaded location and needs much water, it does best at my pond, it grew 2 metres tall. Other specimen on my lawn at my 3 coconut palms grew only to 50 cm tall, it is too sunny and the soil is red clay. Best wishes Joachim

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