JFK

Hi, First post here except for an introduction. Being that this is my first shot at growing bananas and I live in Santa Cruz, CA, I picked basjoos as a sure thing the first season. I bought three; two little guys about 12" and one bigger one about 24". The two little ones are in the ground and the bigger one is a large clay pot. The two little ones are in amended soil and doing fine, putting out about 1 leaf per week and maintaining vigor. The larger one was in a one gallon pot when I got it and looked good. I moved it to the large pot (16") and used really good organic soil with perlite added for improved drainage. However the larger plant in the pot is developing some blotchy spots. Not burnt crispy spots, but soft varigated spots.

I live a block from the beach and the plant gets wet from fog almost everynight....So this could increase the chance of fungus, but do you think it could be that the underdeveloped roots are too wet. Like I said, I put a bunch of perlite in the soil, so there is NO WAY that it's saturated, but I have noticed that it stays wet for a quite a few days before the top inch dries out. It is still growing as I noticed a new leaf coming up today, I'd just like to correct the problem so all new growth is healthy.

Any input that's specific to this problem is appreciated as are any standard practices for successful transplanting.

Sorry for the essay.

mattyb802

hi jfk i think it could be the wet from the fog on the leaves,because i think i have the same problem with my basjoo!!its my first time growing bananas also and ive had a exremely wet summer!and my basjoo has many speckles on the leaves theres a picture of my basjoo on a thread i posted heres the link what are the brown spots? maybe some of the replies i got may help!!!

JFK

Right....it definitley could be the fog, but I have two other plants within 15 feet that aren't reacting the same way. The only difference between the healthy plants and the not-so-healthy one is the the fact that the healthy ones are in the ground and they are smaller. Strange. Maybe a weak plant because my neighborhood is full of banana trees....literally every other house has em'

I read your post before I posted, but my leaf problem looks different and isn't as severe as the pics in your profile. Banana's in Ireland....good luck man!

mattyb802

ye my sikkimensis isnt showing any sign of spots ,so maybe my basjoo is just week ,ye its actually not hard to grow bananas here there are several in my area even 1s that have flowered!!!!wel i am in zone 9 its not that cold get no frost maybe once or twice during the winter its fairly mild!!al year round!the ones in my area arnt even protected in the winter and they keep their stem!!most people think its freezing cold here but there wrong!!wel sorry couldnt help hope your basjoo gets better!!mine is and all i done was take it inside for a couple days!!

Tropicallvr

I had a similar thing with my basjoo's in a really foggy area on the north coast, but the sikkimensis looked fine right next to them.
The same pups looked fine when I brought them inland where it was hotter.
You should be able to get some fruiting bananas to work where you are. Musa 'Belle' worked great for me in the same really foggy area of Northern Humboldt. It was on a penisula next to the bay, and really foggy.

JFK

I think it must be the fog. The last couple of nights have been clear and the problem has stopped getting worse. Like I said the other two are fine, so maybe an individual plant that's more prone to fog damage? The fog should get less prevalent on the coast as inland temps drop a little (seems strange, but it's the really hot inland heat that draws the heaviest fog to the coast). Humboldt is probably even more foggy than santa cruz, so good to hear that the sikkimensis worked up their.

I'll definitley add some fruiting varieties in the future. Walking to get some dinner last night I passed two stands of fruiting banana's that are within a block from my house and have similar exposure....

On another note; how big should the basjoos be to safely make a winter outside. Santa Cruz winters start in november. If they are about a foot tall now and growing rapidly, they should be fine for this winter, right?

Thanks for all the help.

raggedyredhead

I always wait for the top three inches of soil to dry before watering. Information that came with mine said to do this. Good chance you're over watering and those spots are signs of rot. If the plant's roots are not filling the pot, it is not using the amount of water you are giving. I also use perlite
but, that doesn't guarantee that the soil will be dry at the bottom of the pot.
Hope your plant gets better.
Raggedy

JFK

Yeah, I think it was a combo of the fog and some overwatering. It's been nice and hot the last few days with mostly clear nights and the problem has totally stopped. The leaves that were damaged are still damaged, but aren't getting any worse. A big new leaf unrolled yesterday and it was totally green/heathy. Ultimatley I think it did have to do with being too damp like you said. Fog at night wasn't letting the soil dry out, so I was getting symtoms of overwatering The ones in the ground are still doing really well.

Richard

Many answers to leaf problems can be found here:

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/nelsons/...management.pdf

which Lagniappe originally provided here.

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Lagniappe

Actually only after Bananaman88 provided here :
leaf damage - Page 2 - Bananas.org


Real good stuff !
I downloaded it to my desktop.
Thanks Brent !

raggedyredhead

Glad all is well. I'm like a mother hen when it comes to my plants. Already
thinking about where to put mine when the cold weather sets in.
Good Luck! Raggedy

JFK

Mine are staying out for the winter......just trying to get them as big and established as possible. Everyone in my neighborhood leaves them out and they seem to do fine. Some stay fully intact all year around despite occasional freezes. I'm in a lot warmer zone though so proabably apples and oranges as far as climate is concerned. Thanks for the help everyone.....that link that you guys posted is pretty key!