Red Banana leaves turning brown
 

Hi! I have a red banana in a pot. I live in Seattle area. New leaves are coming in beautifully, but then they start to turn brown, from the edges inward. Could this be sunburn? It's been about 80-85 here for about 3weeks. The plant is on an upper deck where it gets full sun. I keep the soil moist. I will post a picture when I figure out how to do so! Thanks anyone for your suggestions. We love our banana and plan on overwintering it inside.

Re: Red Banana leaves turning brown
 

Sounds like over-watering. It's easy to do in pots. Transplant it and you can see if there are any signs of rot. It's hard to know for sure without pictures, but it's not sunburn.

Re: Red Banana leaves turning brown
 

I have the same problem in Sacramento, CA. Could you tell me the best medium (and proportions) for planting my "ice Cream" in a 25 gallon pot?

Re: Red Banana leaves turning brown
 

I would guess overwatering too. Bananas don't like to stay wet all the time, it causes them to rot. Let the soil dry out a bit before watering each time. During the summer, you may still have to water daily/twice a day even when conditions are hot/sunny and the plant is in a pot.

With that said, 80's are hardly high enough temps to cause any issues for a banana as they are tropical. Mine always get sunburnt when I first move them out for the summer. The leaves on there came out during the winter indoors and aren't accustomed to full sun. Once they put out new leaves, all of the new growth is fine.

So yeah, hold back on your watering a bit, let them dry out both on the surface of the soil and slightly below before watering.

Re: Red Banana leaves turning brown
 

Thank you for your responses. I will let it dry out and see how it goes!

Re: Red Banana leaves turning brown
 

I have a red banana plant that has the same problem. I water mine once a week to a week and a half. The soil looks and feels dry when I water. It sits in a full sun location inside. During summer months it's outside and does good outside. Very frustrating!

Re: Red Banana leaves turning brown
 

Mine always get sunburnt when I first move them out for the summer. The leaves on there came out during the winter indoors and aren't accustomed to full sun.