crawler

Hi people,

I have a serious problem with some of my bananas (Helens hybrid, Sikkimensis).

They spent last winter in containers in my cold attic. And everything was ok, until I planted them in my garden this spring.
Some of them wont start growing.

This is the story:

Some of them had a central leaf that was a little brown, so after a while, i cut the entire plant, to the healthy part. I expected a growht from the centre of the plant (as usual), but nothing happend. After a while, the place of cutting turn brown. So I cut the plant a little lower (again all healthy) but without success. And little by little, from the stem of allmost 2 meters, now I have 0,5 meter.

I have to say, that this is happening with 4 plants. Some other responded well to cutting of the stem and they have now 3 or 4 new leaves.

Please, do you know how to make them grow ?????

Gabe15

When did you plant them?

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Abnshrek

I had some banana's that wouldn't do anything..I contacted the member I got them from & He suggested I apply some fish emulsion. I've followed the directions on the bottle and apply it every 3 weeks. The plant is on its 4th leaf and is getting very healthy looking versus the pale light green it used to be. :^)

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

chasbear

I think Abnshrek is on the right track, they need a shot of nitrogen. At least that's what I find with my plants that act like they're not going to come out of coma or something... usually happens to mine after I've transplanted a sucker, and I wish I had a good answer to avoiding that long scary period of inactivity then slooowwww backsliding like you're experiencing.

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crawler

I've planted them at the end of april.

So you think the shot of food will start them. I have some Nitrozyme, so I will try.
If somebody have some different idea, you are welcome to help.

jeffreyp

sometimes banana plants can be persnickety if they aren't in the best soil or site. I have one place in my yard where the soil must be too alkaline or acidic (or some other malady) where anything planted there remains stunted. You could try the fish emulsion or other fertilizer method...Another option...dig them up and plant them in an area of your yard with improved soil in partial to full sun.

crawler

The site for bananas is well filled with compost, and regular feeding is done with NPK 15-15-15
I have over 25 bananas, and 20 is growing just fine, but this few are problematic.

I have good news !!

Yesterday, I stuffed the root area with Nitrozyme, and I sliced the top of the plant, and today the central leaf uprised for 2 cm.

I hope this will work.

palmtree

Maybe its not getting enough sun or warmth. What type of weather do you get and how often do you water them.

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Location: New York City, zone 7b

bananarama2

Hey Bryan, when you say cold attic for storage, how cold do you think it might get up there? Most modern homes have ventilation through the attic to evacuate moisture and stop heat from escaping from the house into the attic, so it's possible that the bananas are experiencing freezing temperatures. You may have effectively 'freeze preserved" your bananas, based on your comments of cutting down to green material, yet not seeing active growth. A cool basement or crawl space will generally not go below about 50 or 55 degrees F, and might be a safer alternative. Needless to say, I hope you are able to "revitalize" most of them. Good luck!

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If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

crawler

There is no freeze in my attic.

It did not work with Nitrozyme. There was a growth, some 5 cm, but it rotted away.
Today I will cut the top again, and try with some Urea.