Trent

I have had my little banana plant for 1 month now. The first new leaf it sent up was uniformly green after exposure to the light. The second leaf was more pale, even yellow near the base, and it has tiny dark green spots scattered irregularly along the veins.


I've been seeing a very similar pattern in one of my cycas revoluta also. All my cycads get the same treatment, I don't understand the one tiny plant with the pale leaves.

There is an online plant nutrient deficiency diagnosis site at http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/nutdef/decision.htm
which is nice. According to them, The most likely problem is low iron, with low sulfur or low manganese being second choices.

The plant is a little over 1 foot high, has 5 leaves now, and is in an 8" pot with a high organic soil & good drainage (unchanged from how I bought it.)

I've been fertilizing the banana with some Miracid 30-10-10, liquid kelp extract, humates, and some fish emulsion. Similar to my cycads.

The liquid kelp extract has a remarkable list of trace elements. My own tests have shown improved growth for plants given this extract. I'd be surprised if minerals were lacking.

Has anyone seen this kind of coloration and what did you do about it?

Thanks.

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Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.

Gabe15

If the old leaves are still green and healthy looking, it could be a metal deficiency such as iron perhaps, because it cannot be translocated within the plant, if it is not available from the soil then it will show up in the new growth. Also, more important than the amount of a nutrient in the soil is its availability which can be due to an off balanced pH. pH should be around 6.5 for maximum nutrient absorption, you may have lots of iron in the soil, but if the pH is too high not as much can be absorbed. You may not have any type of nutrient deficiency in the soil, so try to check the pH before adding anything more.

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