shanghaiwind

Hi,
I am new to the group.
I grew banana plant indoor in Maryland, twice already in last three years. It starts out healthy, I bought in 1 gal pot, grew beautiful leaves about 2.5 feet tall and had 2-3 pups. Then the truck got skinnier, mature leave dried up to deep brown, no more new leaves came out. I throw the first one out thought was dead. This time, it does it again. I discovered today that banana do go dormant. What should I do if it indeed is going to dormant? Should I continue water? Should I move it to dark area?
It is now in bright room with lots of nature light but not much direct Sunlight (about 1-2 hour each day).
Thanks for your help,

shanghaiwind

kubali

Welcome aboard ,
pull up a chair and have some fun learning.

Longwoods Tropicals

Welcome to Bananas.org.

I can't speak with any authority as to whether the DCs are going dormant or not but they do need lots of bright sun and heat to thrive and they dislike dry indoor environments. It is easy to over water bananas indoors, so let the top couple of inches in the pot dry out before watering.

Good luck

Richard

Needs much more light than you are providing. I would use "daylight" fluorescents, either compact or tubular. The best choice is T5HO 6500K bulbs.

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shanghaiwind

Thank you all of you warm welcome. I am still try to figure out this website and forgive me not reply sooner.

I am confused. I read that banana goes to dormant, if that is the case, you move the plant to garage in the shade, do not water it until spring. Is it true?

From some of you saying, I need more sunlight, even adding T5HO 6500K bulbs. If that is the case, I have southeast facing bay window that gives all day sunlight. The banana plant was there, but I notice it drys out quickly and leave tips started burning. that is why I moved to Northwest side where there is not much direct sun but bright room with lots of windows. It was doing fine, and I change to a bigger pot couple months ago. Now the stem is getting skinner and leaves are drying out one by one, no more new growth in the center.

My house also has AC/heating Unit. The heat is set low during the day and night time warmer. Could that be the problem?

I know the banana plant doesn't like wet feet, so I don't water much. whenever I tough the soil, if it is dry, I will water, about 1-2 times a week, never sock it.


thanks,

Richard

Your plant, if grown in the tropics will be green year-round. Alternately, if grown outdoors year-round in Baltimore MD it will die (dead, not dormant) in the winter. Dormancy can be forced by storing the bulb and stalk in a temperate area. You have found some of the many threads on this subject.

Your window provides direct sunlight only half day at most, and only on one side of the plant. A fruiting banana, in fact most fruiting plants have much higher energy input requirements than many ornamental plants. Further, domestic glass for housing reflects back at least 30% of the key blue spectrum that plants thrive on. In summary, if you wish to overwinter the plant alive (not dormant) in your bay window, you need to supplement with an overhead fixture. Here's one I recommend, of which you'll probably find many suppliers: Sun Blaze T5 VHO 48 - 4 Ft 8 Lamp Fixture

Your pot might be too small. I recommend a 15 gallon pot so that the plant does not lose moisture so quickly.

Check the water level as a cook might check a cake in the oven: Insert a toothpick, a chopstick, or your finger in the holes at the bottom of the pot. It is erroneous to check the surface because the roots are mainly in the bottom 1/2 of the pot. Consider these five levels of soil moisture: SOAKED, WET, MOIST, LESS THAN MOIST, DRY. The banana plant prefers moist. Of course after you water the soil will be soaked for a short time, and then as it drains it becomes wet, and finally you hope that the steady state for several days is "moist".

Banana plants are heavy feeders. Do not use fertilizers containing chlorine or sodium. The ideal N:P:K ratios for the plant are 2:1:3; e.g., 10-5-15, 16-8-24, etc.

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shanghaiwind

Wow, that is great information. I think my plant is not MOIST enough. I have moved it to more Sunny bay window and I will check into the supplimental lighting.

Thanks so much Richard for your help.

shanghaiwind

Could I use MiricalGro in watering on banana plant?

Richard

MiracleGro comes in several different formulas. The ideal N:P:K ratios for the plant are 2:1:3; e.g., 10-5-15, 16-8-24, etc.

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shanghaiwind

I see, I will check my box tonight. thank you.