Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Some of the stalks on my bananas are not as thick as in years past, this has caused them to fall over, even with minimal wind. What caused this condition? Lack of fertilizer? Too many other trees nearby? Water?
Thanks,

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Shade could definitely be an issue, most plants that dont do well in shade will stretch for the light, what has changed since the past that might make them grow this way, have some nearby trees matured?

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

My yard is what one may refer to as "density planting" :ha:. I crammed a bunch of different plants in there. I'm not sure shading is the primary issue, I get intense full sun all the time. The closest tallish tree is an apricot, but I prune it down pretty heavily. No shade is cast on the banana plant by anything. I'm inclined to think that it's a lack of nutrients, due to too many plants competing for them. I water the whole yard pretty good, and I know that bananas are thirsty by nature, so they get lots of water.
Thanks,

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Fertilize. Bananas are heavy, heavy feeders.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Is it OK to just sprinkle on the ground and water it in, or do I need to work it into the soil? I'm looking for the easy way out.:ha:

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Haha, my yard is so crammed full of plants its gonna blow up one day lol, I just use an evil Miracle grow sprayer for ease, it would be near impossible to fertilize each one individually, but Miracle Grow is missing Calcium, and Magnesium so that might be an issue later if you use it a lot, and the miracle grow makes everything acidified over time. If they are getting sun then yep, probably nutrition.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Easy way out... Why don't you piss on your nanners? That should be easy enough!

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

I must have really dumb luck because I know my native FL "soil" isn't very fertile but my bananas are doing quite well topdressed with 4" of county compost (leaves and wood broken down) and a very occasional shot of Miracid (because I bought a bunch really cheap so I sometimes dose all my plants). If I possessed a handy hose, I'd pee on them but I don't so I don't. (I do hope to add some animal manure at some point--just haven't found a local source yet.)

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

If you're going to add manure, make sure it's well composted. You don't want to burn your roots.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Depends on the manure. Chicken must be very well aged; bunny and goat droppings are good to go fresh. Horse and cow should wait for a bit. Here in FL it doesn't take very long for kitchen scraps/yard waste to break down.

OT but funny now--not then. Years ago I had a very nice compost bin going against the fence on my property line; the EX wouldn't let me compost because we had rats in the city. The next lot was about 1 foot lower than mine--keep that in mind.

I dutifully fed my bin for 5 years and never got anything for my efforts. One day I was speaking with my "other side of the fence" neighbor about good dirt. "I have no worries about that. There's been a steady supply of the nicest black soil collecting under the fence for the past few years. My hydrangeas couldn't be happier."

Thud.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

Yes, pour it on and water it in.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

That might be the case with other plants but I have used chicken droppings straight out of my chicken coop on my banana mats for years. And the banana plants do not mind fresh horse manure either.
Compost and mulch is always good, "Fruit Fuel" is dynamite as well.
It is hard to over fertilize.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

If you fertilize too much, calcium deficiency will develop. I think this is what happened to some of my banana plants this year. Calcium deficiency will also cause the cigar leaf to bend and deform.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

That's good to know.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

You haven't had a problem using fresh chicken chicken droppings? Never tried it because I didn't want to burn them but if you've had luck I just may.

Re: Banana trunk is too skinny.
 

There ain't no such thing as a free !