Bananas.org - View Single Post - Cut down or wait it out: salt water damage from Ian

twotallgirls · 10-04-2022, 04:38 PM

So I thought I'd pose this question to group... while I've grown many bananas for years and put up with different growing conditions and storm recovery, this is a first for me with salt water.

Hurricane Ian surge covered our yard with 3 feet of salt water for about 12 or so hours before receding. I cut down 75% of bananas but a few seemed ready ready to bloom... Most don't have any viable leaves. Cut the stalk down or wait and see?. Any leaves left on my plants are getting yellower and yellower. A few have bunches but I harvested rather than try and fix the snapped stalks (which really weren't recoverable). I had a Gold Finger that needed another 6 weeks but couldn't hoist / stake it up myself as way too heavy....

What has been others experience with salt water and what worked to get to recovery best? Just wait it out, water extensively, cut them now to save some growing season?

Of my 15 varieties, seems Raja Puri fared the best, Super Dwarf Cav. is a total loss, Saba all snapped, and Brazilian lost all leaves in wind.

10-04-2022, 04:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
twotallgirls Location: Marco Island, FL Find me on the map! Zone: 10A Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 100 BananaBucks : 26,724 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 7 Times Was Thanked 208 Times in 69 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 5 Times	Cut down or wait it out: salt water damage from Ian So I thought I'd pose this question to group... while I've grown many bananas for years and put up with different growing conditions and storm recovery, this is a first for me with salt water. Hurricane Ian surge covered our yard with 3 feet of salt water for about 12 or so hours before receding. I cut down 75% of bananas but a few seemed ready ready to bloom... Most don't have any viable leaves. Cut the stalk down or wait and see?. Any leaves left on my plants are getting yellower and yellower. A few have bunches but I harvested rather than try and fix the snapped stalks (which really weren't recoverable). I had a Gold Finger that needed another 6 weeks but couldn't hoist / stake it up myself as way too heavy.... What has been others experience with salt water and what worked to get to recovery best? Just wait it out, water extensively, cut them now to save some growing season? Of my 15 varieties, seems Raja Puri fared the best, Super Dwarf Cav. is a total loss, Saba all snapped, and Brazilian lost all leaves in wind. __________________ Blue Java, Raja Puri, Goldfinger FHIA-01, Mona Lisa FHIA-02, Sweetheart FHIA-03, Pitogo, Saba, Dwarf Cavendish, Super Dwarf Cav., Namwa, Brazilian, Mysore, Dwarf Red, and a mystery or two