tomgreen

I planted my Musa Basjoo in May. Every new leaf that emerges looks good and then quickly dries up. I have tried to overwater, I have tried to underwater, no matter what it keeps growing in the same manner. I have attached two pics, please help me figure out what is wrong. Thank you fellow Bananites!! The pics are under my profile, thanks!

Bob

What is your soil like? Did you heavily amend before planting? When,with what and how much? What kind of sun exposure is it getting? The answers to these questions will be a good starting point to clue local growers to help.

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tomgreen

I amended 50/50 with miracle grow planting soil. It is southern exposure and was fertilized with a citrus fertilizer recommended by my nursery. The master gardener was pretty familiar with Musa Basjoo. The fertilizer changed nothing, it looks the same as it did before the fertilizer. It doesn't seem to be watering as I have watered everyday and then every few days and it made no difference.

Richard

Tom, thanks for posting the pictures. I would think the rock on the ground and stucco wall in a south facing location would create a lot of reflective heat. Your temperatures (at Anderson Park, Reno) were over 100 F every day from July 17 through August 2. The plant looks cooked.

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Bob

Tom , I hope Damaclese sees this and will help. He is in your area and will know the climate and requirements better. I believe you are in a very hot area and that might be the first clue. Let's start with your "overwatering". Is it possible that the water is running off and not getting to the roots as well as it could be? I use the most inexpensive landscape edging and make a ring around the plant in about a 3' circle, this will direct the majority of water to the root zone. I then place the hose on the ground nside the ring and walk away...... ususally with a cold can of my favorite beverage. Depending on the size of the plant and in your case the heat of a south facing microclimate against a wall you may need more water than you think. By chance did you use the water retaining miracle grow mix? I have heavy clay and use a lot of peat moss and homemade compost. It takes me 3 cans to water my garden(about 1 1/2 hours) fortunately ....or unfortunately I've only had to water 3 times this year due to excessive rains. Bananas in hot zone will suck up the water at an incredible volume. The trick is to give them enough without rotting the corm. Once again I hope Paul sees this and can offer local help.

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rv

I agree that the plant looks cooked but you may want to test the soil for alkali.
Reno may have high alkalinity or a careless construction worker could have buried a bunch of concrete slag in the area you planted your bananas.

Just a thought.

Ray

island cassie

Hey Tom - I don't know Nevada but perhaps the problem is dry air. Have you thought of upping the humidity by dripping water down sacking or something similar - an easy and cheap thing to try.

bencelest

My first thought upon seeing the picture is to check the pH and adding a lot of compost to the soil. The additives that you made is probably not enough I'd say at least 5 gallons. It is almost like normal in my opinion. but it needs a lot of compost to make it more green. And then heat and sun exposure is also a concern. So a little shade (maybe lots) might do the trick. I think Pauly has the same problem with his bananas. Yours look a teeny bit better than his and he is not complaining.

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tomgreen

Thank you for all the comments. It does seem as though it is in a very hot spot, I planted it there for that reason hoping that the microclimate would help during the winter. As for humidity, do banana's need humidity? Reno has some of the lowest humidity in the nation, is that going to be an issue? Bob, thanks for your comment on the ring around the plant, that might be something I need to do. Is it ok to spray water on the leaves, I read in this forum that it can actually burn the leaves in hot weather?

sandy0225

Start giving it more water and put something between it and the sun for a little while, to give it a little shade/break from the heat. Maybe that's a place you could set a large trash can or something similar next to it for week or so to give it some shade.
Use some water soluble fertilizer immediately after watering. Apply it after you soak the plant really well. The newest leaves look light yellowish green which is usually a ph or a fertilizer issue. It's either low in nitrogen or high in ph. You could fix both by mixing up 1/4 cup of white vinegar, and 2 T of miracle grow 20-20-20 in a 1 gallon milk jug, and fill the rest of the jug with tap water and fertilize with this once a week.

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Rhett

Tom,

Did you ever figure out what the problem was with your bananas? I noted several excellent suggestions but didn't seen any follow-up. Just curious.

tomgreen

Rhett,

Thank you for your follow up. It ended up being the heat. The second we got out of the 90's and 100's, it greened right up! It seems to really be struggling by the stucco and in the rocks. The suggetions for getting shade up might be something I will need to do next summer. Thanks!

Rhett

I suspect many plants would have some trouble in high heat and low humidity that you experience in Nevada. Looking at the photo I saw the white rocks and wondered if they were limestone? I would think over time the pH would continue to climb possibly exceeding an optimal range for the plant.

Well I hope it stays cooler. I'm looking forward to cooler weather and lower humidity from time to time.

Taylor

Eric

Thanx Bob !! I was wondering how many cans of beer were required to water a garden. Let's see, 1 can for each nanner multiplied by how many nanners !?

Definitely agree with the limestone & buried concrete issues. The types of rock will, in time, affect the pH of the soil. BTW, use the Ring method, myself, works great!

tomgreen

Rhett,

Good eye again!! The rock is actually just river rock, not limestone. As it cools off daily, the plant looks better. I can't believe it, one week of 80's and the tree looks perfect. Do you think that as the banana gets larger the high heat will affect it less???

tomgreen

Eric,

If you look under my pics for the profile you will see the banana. Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to post the pics in the actual message board.

Rhett

Tom,

It is hard for me to comment about any relationship between high heat and the size of the plant. A larger plant would likely survive but I suspect you'll still get some leaf burn. I suspect in your area it is not just the heat but the extremely low humidity. We get pretty hot down here in Louisiana but the humidity is always relatively high. Even when it breaks 100, as it did back in June, my naners did fine as long as I watered them. I would speculate your plants can't translocate enough water to the leaf tips & edges so you get some die back from the tips.

Some mulch around the base would help keep the ground cooler and you might consider a misting device when the heat really spikes up. The water police may give you a little trouble.

Good luck and keep us posted on how they do next summer when it warms up again. You might be able to pen an article on how to grow bananas in the desert. Rhett

tomgreen

Rhett,

Some good advice, I think I will definitely mulch the ground next year. I can't believe you get over a 100 with high humidity, that must be rough...

Rhett

Tom,

Fortunately 100 degrees or better is uncommon. Most summer days are in the low to mid 90's with humidity over 70 %. The humidity is usually higher in the morning and lowers a bit in the afternoon.

I been out west in some the "oven" like heat and that is a little tough to get used to.