microfarmer

I guess this is as good a place to put this as any...

I have problems with my beautiful Ensete Superbum. I got this as a small seedling last summer, planted it in new bagged soil, and as it grew, it showed this problem later on last year. I cut some leaves off last year to see if there was something in the plants vascular system. The cuts were clean with no dead/black areas/tubes inside the plant. At the end of the year, I took the plant into my unheated garage for the winter. As the winter drew on, the plant declined and the leaves died back one by one. At this point I wrote it off.

It looked like it died completely during the winter, and I thought the leaf problem was the cause. When I went to put the plants out this spring, I just ignored the Ensete and left it in my garage. I did not water it at all from October to May. My Mom was visiting and saw 2 small leaves that had come up. I pulled it out, and watered it, and it grew a few more leaves, and now is exhibiting the same funky edging of what looks like black death around the leaf perimiter and projecting inward toward the midrib following the veins. I have stopped watering in case it is water related. It seems to slow it down some, but then it also slows down the leaf/plant growth too.



Can someone tell me what is going on, and the best way to treat it? I don't even want to get it close to my other bananas for fear they'll catch it. This is the only banana that is showing this problem.

I recieved 2 plants from the same person, both grown from seed, and the other (Cheesmanii) is not showing any signs of this and is healthy. Thanks in advance for the help. Any and all help is mucho bueno. Please help me save my Ensete Superbum!

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Bananaman88

Does the pseudostem seem firm and stable? A couple of years back I overwintered an E. ventricosum in the ground. It seemed to come through the winter fine but part way through the year I noticed it was starting to decline. I don't recall seeing the blackish marks like your leaves have, but when I examined the base of the pstem (especially the part just below the soil line) I noticed it was starting to rot. I never was able to save it. I wish you better luck with yours. How well-draining is your soil media?

Tropicallvr

Maybe changing the soil and putting it outside in the fresh air would help. It kinda looks like some sort of leaf mold.

proletariatcsp

I overwintered my large peace lilly in the garage and the leaf tips turned black just like that. This came right after some mushrooms had grown in the same pot, so I wonder if it was a leaf mold. The black eventually spread into the whole leaf and killed the plant.

Not sure if that is actually mold, but I have heard of certain deficiencies and chlorosis causing leaf rot.

The roots of my lilly were also rotting, but than my plant was way worse than your looks. I would cut the black off the leaves or the whole leaves, and repot with new soil, inspect the roots while your at it too.

Your water may be contributing, try to fill a bucket and let it sit in the sun for 2 days, water the nanner with the sun 'warm' water afterwards. Hot water maybe not a good idea, I know my water buckets get very hot in the afternoon. I wish you the best with it!

bigdog

I've seen that before on Ensetes. I think that it is a type of fungus, possibly from the potting soil you used. I would take it out of that soil and completely defoliate it (as painful as that may be). Mix up a fungicide solution and soak the entire plant and corm (the fungus is probably living in the corm) in it for a while (how long depends on what type of fungicide). Get a new, sterile pot and some new, sterile potting mix and pot it up. I would have some extra fungicide mixed up in a spray bottle to spray it once a week for a few weeks after that, just to make sure you got it all. Also, I notice some organic matter collecting on the leaves and in the pot. Not good! That may not be the cause, but it certainly isn't helping.

Hope that cures it! It's a nice-looking little Ensete superbum otherwise.

microfarmer

P-stem is fine, and except for the creeping blackness, the plant is otherwise healthy. Soil drains very well, but holds moisture for a while

I have it out side this year and last, and I thought it looked more fungus like. Our humidity is 30% or less (mostly less), with no spraying of the plant, so I thought it was too warm and dry for molds or fungi

That is what happened last year. The black just kept spreading and I cut the leaves off to keep it from spreading and to look for problems inside the plant. I saw none. The soil I'm using is Kellog's patio mix with worm castings, bat guano and other organic ingredients. I can imagine if the mix didn't get hot enough, it could harbor a fungus.

It was very large last year. Is there a fungicide you would recommend? I have Daconil concentrate (clorothalonil 29.6%) but it doesn't give instructions for soaking, just as a spray. The organic matter is recent and dropped off the crepe myrtle since I pulled it out of the garage. It was in the back yard last year, but out fromt now.

So hacking the top and roots, and soaking the rest is the plan. What got me was that I used a fresh soil to plant it. It was very depressing.

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bigdog

I don't really have a fungicide that I'd recommend, although I have used copper fungicide with success for most things. I'm sure yours will work OK also, and I'd just mix it at the recommended rate for spraying (maybe a tad stronger). Just soak it for like 15 minutes or so, not too long. I forgot you said you had the same problem last year. So the fungus probably overwintered dormant in the corm, and the soil made no difference.

Dean W.

I have an Eneste that's worse than that. Everything I have done toit didn't seem to help. I think I'm going to try the fungicide too. Thanks Frank.

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microfarmer

Mine was worse than that last year too. It was very depressing. I figured it wasn't the plant, but the environment that caused it. It arrived nice and healthy and not long out of the seed, and looked good for 6-7 weeks or so.

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Dean W.

Same here, I thought it was me not providing the right enviroment. It's an Ensete perreri so I don't want it to die. I tried watering less, more, no fertilizer, and etc.

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microfarmer

I did the same thing. Less water slowed down the growth as did the fert cut back. Moved it to shadier digs and still no change. I'll be doctoring it later today...

I'll post more pics, if I can fix my camera. I dropped it yesterday and all the little tiny POS tabs that hold the battery door closed broke off the body of the camera (not from the door, which would be easily replaceable...). A sure case of planned obsolescense. Those tabs are so small, and what with the spring pressure from the battery contacts, it should have been designed much better than that. I've been happy with it up til now...

Ok, rant over...

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Dean W.

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Dean W.

Here's my Ensete. It looks terrible, but there is still some green on the stem.

It needs some help badly.

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microfarmer

I wish you luck with that! Makes mine look like a it's just a little underwatered...

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Dean W.

I'll replant and spray it later today.

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jmilligan1976

I had a Superbum do the exact same thing to me when I lived in zone 9 - Sacramento, CA. See the picture below of how well it grew from seed in less than 9 months.....

And this is what it did the next year after wintering in the ground.....

It eventually choked while exhibiting the same "black death" on the leaf margins and dug it up to investigate and this is what I saw......



I hope this helps somehow...Jason

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mskitty38583

hey thats cool! and look it grew a doggie too! just joking hes a cutie! awesome nana tree.

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microfarmer

Thanks Jason. I didn't see the black in the stem when i hacked it last year, like yours has, so I'm hoping it's savable.

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Dean W.

That was a great looking banana. Jason, so it never grew back, huh?

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jmilligan1976

It wasn't given the chance...but I don't think it would have as the corm was full of nasty bugs and rotten areas.

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