NanaNut2

Hi all,
I'm a newbie to the forum and have questions about my new Zebrina. I purchased it yesterday, I live near Seattle so this is an indoor plant only. I am a bit worried about its appearance. Its about 2.5 feet tall. It looks a bit sad, the two main pseudostems are thin and only supporting two thin leaves each (one of the two is just emerging on one stem). The leaves look healthy enough, but the stems are mottled and speckled burgandy, brown and cream, mostly cream. There are two new suckers. My concern is the brown part of the mottling. When I got it, most of the leaves had been cut off and the sheaths (?) were dried out. I removed all but one of the old sheaths on each stem which look to have had the same kind of mottling, and found the odd markings on the main stem. I thought Zebrina's stems were completely Burgandy. The brown spots seem firm and smooth but should I worry about rot, or is this just variegation, or bruising, or cold damage? Since it will be an indoor plant, should I prune it back for winter? I usually keep my other banana, a super dwarf Cavendish going year round for foliage.

Thanks for any insights that you can give.
NanaNut2

__________________
NanaNut2

southlatropical

A picture would be very helpful.

__________________

NanaNut2

I knew someone would ask for Photos, I just uploaded them to the following URLs.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7576
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7575
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7574
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7573

__________________
NanaNut2

Taylor

Hey there,

It just looks weak. My Zebrina did this last winter. Give it as much sun as possible, don't overwater! I wouldn't even fertilize unless you see the need to.

The Stem hasn't gotten enough light, thats why it is a light color versus dark green. The "odd marks" are normal, at least on mine. I'll try to find a pic or 2 of mine even though I don't think I have a good one...

NanaNut2

Thank you Taylor! All of my light is 'imported', I've got it in the best position under my grow lights, hope that and some rest is all it needs. I did water it last night, it made a very healthy 'slurp' sound, but I'll be extra careful not to overwater.

And thanks for putting the actual photos in!
NanaNut2

__________________
NanaNut2

austinl01

Zebrinas are a little difficult to grow sometimes (at least for me). They seem to suffer from rot problems. One winter mine rotted in the garage, and they were even bareroot. I never got anymore. I hope you have great luck with yours. I don't want to discourage you from growing them though.

__________________
Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

AnnaJW

Hi there - as Taylor said, the odd marks look normal. I'd take a picture of mine for reference, but mine are outside and they don't like the cold, so they are very brown right now. I think yours will perk up nicely in a few weeks!

__________________
-Anna Banana -

Living my life in MMORPG's