Bananas.org - View Single Post - New Here-Help Appreciated

sirdoofus · 09-09-2019, 10:18 AM

I am by no means an expert either, but that looks like Ensete ventricosum to me, I could be wrong.

Most of my experience is with houseplants in general, so the following is based on that and not necessarily specific to bananas with which I too am a newbie......

As far as its condition: you say you have watered it twice a week. Have you verified it needs to be watered before watering it? I think the most common reason house plants in general die is due to over watering.

The other thing that comes to mind is humidity. My only, very limited, experience with bananas in the house is with seedlings and I keep them inside an indoor greenhouse basically in order to keep the humidity up.

Fertilizing: most plants purchased new from garden stores have come directly from the nursery with all the fertilizer they will need for awhile. I usually hold off for several months at least before adding more lest I burn the plant.

If it were me, based on what I have seen recommended on the forum previously and I had no other specific advice from the experts, I would consider pulling the plant out of the pot and looking at the roots to see if they are waterlogged and starting to rot. Healthy roots should be nice and white. Advice from there likely depends on what you find.

I would also consider re-potting it anyway in a mixture that contains 50% perlite (recommended to me by other forum members, which I now use - I make my own with 25% commercial seed starting mix, 25% coir, and 50% perlite - seems to work but there are a million recipes on this forum) in case the problem is over fertilization.

Anyway, let us know what you find when you examine the roots.

I am sure one of the more experienced members will come across your post soon and weigh in.

09-09-2019, 10:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
sirdoofus Location: Central Vancouver Island, BC Canada Find me on the map! Zone: AgCan 7b, USDA 6b Name: Mike Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 1,085 BananaBucks : 25,348 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,215 Times Was Thanked 1,254 Times in 628 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 98 Times	Re: New Here-Help Appreciated I am by no means an expert either, but that looks like Ensete ventricosum to me, I could be wrong. Most of my experience is with houseplants in general, so the following is based on that and not necessarily specific to bananas with which I too am a newbie...... As far as its condition: you say you have watered it twice a week. Have you verified it needs to be watered before watering it? I think the most common reason house plants in general die is due to over watering. The other thing that comes to mind is humidity. My only, very limited, experience with bananas in the house is with seedlings and I keep them inside an indoor greenhouse basically in order to keep the humidity up. Fertilizing: most plants purchased new from garden stores have come directly from the nursery with all the fertilizer they will need for awhile. I usually hold off for several months at least before adding more lest I burn the plant. If it were me, based on what I have seen recommended on the forum previously and I had no other specific advice from the experts, I would consider pulling the plant out of the pot and looking at the roots to see if they are waterlogged and starting to rot. Healthy roots should be nice and white. Advice from there likely depends on what you find. I would also consider re-potting it anyway in a mixture that contains 50% perlite (recommended to me by other forum members, which I now use - I make my own with 25% commercial seed starting mix, 25% coir, and 50% perlite - seems to work but there are a million recipes on this forum) in case the problem is over fertilization. Anyway, let us know what you find when you examine the roots. I am sure one of the more experienced members will come across your post soon and weigh in. __________________ Who keeps calling me nuts??