Aranon,

Checklist:

Soil should be moist, but not soggy. Ideally, you can and should go 3-5 days without watering if possible. More time between watering promotes root growth.

Fertilizer: Stop fertilizing until the plant bounces back. We wanna see our Bananas shoot up to the sky, but you stand a better chance of killing the plant than helping it when it's in this state, especially if there isn't too much root on the plant.

Sun: Consider backing off on full sunlight for a week. Mixed/partial shade might be best while it recuperates. When I have young plants, I work in thirds. A week in 50% shade, A week in 25% shade, then finally on to full sun.

Let the plant get back to 'normal', then follow through on your regiment. Things should improve dramatically.

Oh, should have asked earlier, but what are kind of fertilizer are you feeding it?

Mike

How exactly can I shade the plant as its already planted? just put something large next to it? and as for the fertilizer I am currently using Miracle Grow, the powder that you mix in a watering can.

Thanks.

Brain-fart on my part, apologies.

Most basjoo will bounce back if they're suffering a bit from the sun. It just takes time. Personally, I keep my young (and/or Tissue-cultured stock) in pots until they're around 2' tall. These bananas can certainly survive in the soil sooner, but I've found it's easier to feed them and protect them until I know they're ready to take off.

Over the last year I've probably dealt with 30+ basjoo. I suffered a few losses in the beginning and learned a few lessons along the way.

The plant might get a bit worse before it gets better, but it should pull through. Go ahead and keep watering regularly, just be sure you're watering the soil and not the plant. Sometimes spots on the leaves are an indication of water burn (water on leaves acting like a magnifying glass). I'd hold off on any fertilizer until there are more roots to suck it up. Maybe 2 weeks?

Your's looks better than mine. We had 2 frosts damage mine, but they look like they have more leaves ready to push up and cover all the damaged ones.

Well nighttime temperatures have been in the high 40's to mid 50's while daytime temperatures have been in the mid 70's to low 80's. I heard that if temperatures stay in the 50's that banana trees will stop active growth or at least slow down drastically which mine have been doing. The plants are producing new healthier looking leaves but extremely slowly, they aren't growing fast at all. I'm hoping that nighttime temperatures will improve and get warmer but they just don't seem to budge. I also have 2 of the Dwarf Cavendish and 2 of the Ice Cream variety that are in pots on my deck and they are putting out large healthy leaves but at a slow pace.

I’m having a different issue with mine and hope someone can help. I bought them as tiny plants from an online nursery. I planted them in pots and at first they grew and looked great. All of sudden with no changes in my watering, they started turning yellow on the edges like in the picture and eventually the yellow moves all the way in and the leaf dies. The plant continues to make new healthy looking leaves but after a bit the same happens to them. I moved them outside during our summer months and this pattern continued all summer no matter what the weather/rain etc. I have not fertilized them. Not sure if that’s an issue? What should they be fertilized with? They are now inside in my sunroom so getting lots of light although not direct sunlight. Thank you!

Any chance of a slight frost hitting it? I guess if the problem started in summer NOT just recently that would NOT be an issue. Maybe you should try them in the ground next year, if you can. It COULD be that the pot is too small. Yours look much smaller than they can potentially be from planting to the end of the growing season. They do fine when the roots are dug up and stored in a cool not cold dry area to overwinter, so, maybe if you just let the plant die back outside just enough for the top to die down, then keep it all as is in your sunroom, if it doesn't get too warm in there, and try next spring to pot it up in a pretty huge pot and see if that is better. I am GUESSing at all this. Maybe your sunroom will be so warm that your Musa may NOT go dormant. Putting it out to make it go dormant, should help. But, I am not sure if once you have it in the sunroom it will then, sprout up new growth. IF the sunroom stays kinda cold in winter, it MAY stay dormant. I am GUESSING that it may be fine staying green in a sunroom in winter, BUT, the shorter days may make it go dormant anyway.

I hope you get a better answer than mine. Later, and good luck. BTW, in ground is best if you can.

Thanks. My sunroom is indoors and part of the house and we live in the south so we do get some cold weather but it stays in the 50s-70s in sunroom so not sure if it will go dormant. Last winter it did not. Does the plant need to go dormant to be healthy? Will take note on the pot size. We bought the plants for our deck so don’t want to put in the ground but I can get some larger pots. Definitely no frost related to the leaves. Do these plants need fertilizing?
Thanks again for your help.

I am NO expert BUT, I THINK if you put them in the ground they will do MUCH better, if NOT, a giant pot and new soil will help, don't fertilize them until spring when they will be getting ready to grow again. IF you are a zone 8 or higher they may stay green for you all winter, BUT, even if they die down to the ground, they will come back up from the roots, I think that too much wet in winter could rot the roots though. Many people cut them back after a frost and cover the crown and keep it dry until spring. I am in zone 6a, so, I would have to cut them back and protect all winter. I had them come back for me 1 mild winter that wasn't TOO wet. I COULD protect the roots and have it come back every spring BUT, I got lazy about it. They are said to be zone 6a hardy with protection, so, if you are in the South, it should be easy for you to keep one alive in the ground, just cover to keep out too much moisture to stop it from rotting.