kareemtolba

Hi everyone, I am new to gardening and loved the idea of growing my own bananas. I got two plants from a local nursery here in Dubai and my local gardener (who is basically a human watering system) planted them for me. They had brownish dark layers on them, I read somewhere that it's best to remove those brown parts, so I did. Then gradually but very fast leafs starting shooting upwards and should start opening up this week. But... those brownish patches on the main steam still appear. I got special organic fertilizers for the bananas and just added them 3 days ago, but I don't know if I am doing something that is causing the brownness or is it an infected tree in the first place or what exactly, can someone advise me please. I would like to send you picture of what I mean but I don't know if the forum supports that.

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Kareem

Kat2

You can post pictures here. It's a bit complicated but works for all members. Several "how to" threads are located here: Site Help & Feedback - Bananas.org (Don't be afraid to ask if you're having issues; you will not be the 1st or the last. We are very patient in assisting because we love pictures!)

If you edit your profile to show that and your zone it will help others assist you along the way; we won't remember this post later. If your plants are inside, I can't help; if outside, this newbie probably still can't be of service but others can.

I notice this is your 1st "entry" so, just for grins, you might want to post an intro here: Member Introductions - Bananas.org We like to welcome new members.

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JP

What she said!
Without pics, there's too many possibilities.
Post pics and give us as much details about temps, soil, watering, ferts...
FYI, bananas are plants, not trees.

Richard

That is natural for some varieties of bananas.

Do you know if the type of bananas you planted are supposed to produce edible fruit? Many types do not.

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kareemtolba

Thanks Richard for responding. Well the nursery told me it does offer fruit, I don't know what species it is. I took some pictures, I will upload them in my gallery.

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Kareem

kareemtolba

Just saw the reply of JP and Kat, thank you both. 8 will upload now and will post on the new memeber part.

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Kareem

kareemtolba

Hi again, I updated by profile and posted on the new members board.

I have also uploaded some picture, below are the links.

Banana Gallery - Brownish main stem

Banana Gallery - Brownish main stem

Banana Gallery - Brownish main stem

Banana Gallery - Brownish main stem

When they were planted, no special fertilizer was added. Then I read online and I learned that I need a special NPK mix, so I went out and got some custom made fertilizer from a local Organic factory. I then dug about an inch deep around the plant and mixed that fertilizer with the soil plus some Vermi then flattened it back and watered normally. At some point also I found spots on my Fig tree, so I read its Fig rust or something called leaf miners; I got Neem oil and sprayed the whole garden including the banana and now no more fig rust.

I have let my gardener go as he did not spot or help on any of this, so i decided to read up and become an expert gardener myself

Did I do something wrong?

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Kareem

Tytaylor77

The brown is completely normal. It is where the old leaves/pstem were cut. Where the outer leaves were located it just drys up and seals itself off. No action needed everything looks normal to me.

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edwmax

Those brown spots are normal as the older bottom leaves die. This is how the pstem builds its self up as the plant grows taller. Please post an over-all pic of the plant. Your gardener didn't do anything wrong.

Welcome to the forum.

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JP

How long have you had them? They take time to adjust to their new environment so it's normal that they don't look that great the first weeks. Post pics of your fig tree with a close up of the leaves.

kareemtolba

Thank you all.

It's a relief to know that its all normal.

@Edwmax, the gardener was an extra cost really as I am loving this and he does just basic watering and sprinkling some chemical fertilizers. So I thought I can take this over. Besides, I think we should have placed some organic fertilizer in the holes he dug for the Banana plants before placing them in, no?

@JP, I've had them for 3 weeks now. For the Fig situation I followed the instructions, which was to remove all infected leaves and then spray Neem. No I have no more infected leaves. What I had is exactly when you would find if you googled "Fig Rust" and clicked images. Now it's gone, thanks to Neem! I found it also on another tree and some flower bushes, I will take a picture of that in the morning and post it.

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Kareem

edwmax

Some instructions say to use fertilizer in the bottom of the plant hole, most do not. ... I do not, since bananas are heavy feeders most of their nutrients will come from the top of the ground with each watering ( solid or liquid type fertilizer). With fertilizer in the hole, the roots could be burned if they come in contact with the fertilizer concentrate.

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JP

You just found yourself a new passion! You're one of us now!!!

kareemtolba

Hello Everyone,

I don't think my Bananas are going well, I made a video on YouTube for your to see what I see. https://youtu.be/fUvbRqnY6CY

Let me know what you think 😔

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Kareem

JP

Tell me about the soil. Does it retains a lot of moisture?

Juicy Bananas

It's slowly adapting to its new home. As long as the new leaf comes out okay the plant should be fine.

edwmax

As already asked what is the soil like. I see a mix was put in to the hole, but the soil around the hole may not allow water to drain out causing water to pool at the bottom. ... I think the soil in your location is very sandy, is that correct? If so, then the water may be draining away too fast and you need mulch on top of the planting bed to hold the moisture. From a couple of your pictures and the leaf droop shown, it looks like the plant may need water. It is hard to tell if too much or not enough water.

How much water and how often is the plant being watered? Bananas do not like to be standing in water, but likes to soil to be moist. The roots need air! Also, frequent watering a little bit at the time is not good. This seals the top of the soil and prevents air from getting to the roots. Get a moisture probe/meter to determin when to water.

What is your daily temperatures? Bananas grow best between 15 C to 32 C (60 F to 90 F) Also, was the plant shaded at the nursery? The plant should adapt to full sun, but a few varieties like partial shade special during high temperatures. The nursery should be able to advise you on this.

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kareemtolba

Thank you guys for the replies.

Okay first the Soil:
When I first planted this, I had a gardener who did it for me. And while I was not happy with the progress of the plant, I decided to look into the soil. So I dug a deep and wide hole around the plant. While I was digging I must have picked out 20 rocks/stones of all sizes and I noticed that the soil it stands in was that construction type soil. I stopped digging when I felt the sand I reaches was soft (kind of the sand you find when you dig on the beach for a while). So after taking all that soil away, I mixed:
1. Good quality potting soil
2. Some Vermi Compost
3. Some Plant Compost
4. A custom made fertilizer done for me by an agriculture engineer in a local factory here.

Then I took all that and with the help of my new gardener I filled the holes with this mix. The gardener did not compress the soil with his foot as I would have done and he insisted that its better this way; I as worried about air pockets but thought I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He now waters the plant every other day, not too much and before each watering he would use trowel or a hand fork to mix the soil going 1-2 inches deep. He thinks it was over watered so that's why he does it every other day and I decided to follow his lead.

The outer layer of the plants is pretty squashy when I press it, but its not the case on the inner layer. As for the leaf growth, when I first planted this two leafs started growing and I could see the growth "clearly" every single morning... but now I can see two leafs that are trying to grow but with zero progress for the past 10 days or so; the tip of both "about to grow leafs" is brown and dead-ish.

As for the weather, its Dubai Winter which means our a low of 16C and a high of 26C and the plant is in the sunny side of the garden.

Hope this gives you a more clear picture

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Kareem

edwmax

What you have done looks good. The new soil should retain moisture without being too wet. But again depends on the soil outside of the hole. I wish you had put water into hole and observed how fast it drained away.

It may be well to do a visual percolation test to the side. Dig a hole size of post hole diggers to the same depth as the plant hole. Then fill with water and time how fast it drains away and repeat several times. If the water keeps draining away in less than hour or so then the hole should be ok; if the water starts standing for several hours there may be a problem. You said the ground was 'construction' material/soil and a very fine sand below. Both can hold water and not drain well; we just don't know.

Watering once a week is better (or twice at most). Adding a thick layer of mulch should help retain moisture; cool the ground below; and reduce the need for more frequent watering. Water only when the ground is dry.

The weather temperatures are within normal growing range of bananas. You should see some growth soon. It might take 6 to 8 weeks if the roots were damaged from the daily watering. Be patient.

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kareemtolba

Thanks Ed, I will do this hole test and let you know how it goes. I just hate to see the tip of the new curled leafs going brown

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Kareem