Brown Spotted Leaves - HELP

misslyn · 07-01-2012, 01:23 PM

I'm a newbie to banana trees and the two I planted seem to be getting worse. I've uploaded 2 photos under the description "Brown Banana Leaves?".

The trees get water every morning early and I have a spike fertilizer in the ground. One member suggested I throw away the spike but I haven't done that yet.

Any suggestions and to what this is? I don't see bugs on the plants and the soil is pretty sandy.

andy17 · 07-09-2012, 03:37 PM

Hi misslyn,
From the pictures it's kind of hard to tell full condition of the plant, but my initial guess would be a cultural problem. Even though bananas love fertilizer/nutrients, their roots will also burn if too much fertilizer is given before they can establish and acclimate. I did this with one of mine growing in a pot. The leaf edges turned a very similar crispy brown color. I immediately backed off the fertilizer and watered it thoroughly to help dilute the nutrients in the potting soil , and that definitely helped it. Also, unless temperatures are really high, water every day could be too much, especially if they're in the ground and just starting to grow. Did the leaves turn yellow first or exhibit any kind of wilting before turning brown? I hope this helps!

misslyn · 07-09-2012, 04:20 PM

Thanks. I had to run out of town for the last 2 weeks due to family emergency but I was over watering plants. Person watching house said she see's new leaves coming up top now that we're not watering so much. I'll be back in a few weeks and will check if there's yellowing still and if so, remove the food spike

andy17 · 07-09-2012, 07:46 PM

I'm so sorry to hear; hope they are doing better! I'm glad to hear your plants are doing better, sometimes bananas can go through a funky transition time until they reacclimate. Wilting and yellowing can sometimes be a sign of disease, but this is really rare if you don't live in the tropical zone and obtained your plant from a greenhouse or nursery. Best wishes to you and your family

07-01-2012, 01:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
misslyn Find me on the map! Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 4 BananaBucks : 4,030 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Brown Spotted Leaves - HELP I'm a newbie to banana trees and the two I planted seem to be getting worse. I've uploaded 2 photos under the description "Brown Banana Leaves?". The trees get water every morning early and I have a spike fertilizer in the ground. One member suggested I throw away the spike but I haven't done that yet. Any suggestions and to what this is? I don't see bugs on the plants and the soil is pretty sandy.

07-09-2012, 03:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
andy17 Location: Northern Alabama Zone: 8a Name: Andy Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 308 BananaBucks : 107,068 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 269 Times Was Thanked 171 Times in 115 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 20 Times	Re: Brown Spotted Leaves - HELP Hi misslyn, From the pictures it's kind of hard to tell full condition of the plant, but my initial guess would be a cultural problem. Even though bananas love fertilizer/nutrients, their roots will also burn if too much fertilizer is given before they can establish and acclimate. I did this with one of mine growing in a pot. The leaf edges turned a very similar crispy brown color. I immediately backed off the fertilizer and watered it thoroughly to help dilute the nutrients in the potting soil , and that definitely helped it. Also, unless temperatures are really high, water every day could be too much, especially if they're in the ground and just starting to grow. Did the leaves turn yellow first or exhibit any kind of wilting before turning brown? I hope this helps! __________________ "Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." --Francis Bacon

07-09-2012, 04:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
misslyn Find me on the map! Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 4 BananaBucks : 4,030 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: Brown Spotted Leaves - HELP Thanks. I had to run out of town for the last 2 weeks due to family emergency but I was over watering plants. Person watching house said she see's new leaves coming up top now that we're not watering so much. I'll be back in a few weeks and will check if there's yellowing still and if so, remove the food spike

07-09-2012, 07:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
andy17 Location: Northern Alabama Zone: 8a Name: Andy Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 308 BananaBucks : 107,068 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 269 Times Was Thanked 171 Times in 115 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 20 Times	Re: Brown Spotted Leaves - HELP I'm so sorry to hear; hope they are doing better! I'm glad to hear your plants are doing better, sometimes bananas can go through a funky transition time until they reacclimate. Wilting and yellowing can sometimes be a sign of disease, but this is really rare if you don't live in the tropical zone and obtained your plant from a greenhouse or nursery. Best wishes to you and your family __________________ "Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." --Francis Bacon

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