Java Blue banana problem

[ExperimentalGrower]

Folks, I have a banana problem. At the beginning of March I amended my banana bed with partially decomposed leaf litter, peat moss, and enriching top soil, mixed with native soil. My Java Blue bananas were growing great in their pots. After I planted them in my amended bed they just stopped growing and have barely moved since. The new leaves they did put out are curved and folded downward quite dramatically, with no growth to be seen. pH indicated around 5.6 maybe 5.7. After thinking this was a little acidic I added some oyster shell to try and balance it out. The soil is well draining, richly fertilized with chix manure, and gets lots of water. Still no growth. I’m at a loss. Any help?

[KDubU]

No ideas myself but would like to know the answer.

[Chris Chance]

They look like they could use more water but it could actually just be the fact they're probably still rooting in. I've seen bananas take some time to establish then they explode. Also we're they in shade when they were in pots?

[Merlyn]

I had this happen with a few different bananas.  At that size there's not a lot of stored energy and water in the culm/trunk.  Some of them basically just sat there for a month or two and barely moved.  Then they exploded with growth when it got hot and rainy in the summer.  When I transplanted ~6' tall ones it only took a week for them to root in and keep growing.

[ExperimentalGrower]

18 hours ago, Chris Chance said:

They look like they could use more water but it could actually just be the fact they're probably still rooting in. I've seen bananas take some time to establish then they explode. Also we're they in shade when they were in pots?

They were partially shaded for a bit in pots, the soil looks crusty but only because we’ve had temps in the 90’s. Less than a quarter inch down it’s fairly wet. I still need to mulch this bed. 

[ExperimentalGrower]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

I had this happen with a few different bananas.  At that size there's not a lot of stored energy and water in the culm/trunk.  Some of them basically just sat there for a month or two and barely moved.  Then they exploded with growth when it got hot and rainy in the summer.  When I transplanted ~6' tall ones it only took a week for them to root in and keep growing.

Ah ok, thanks!! This is super helpful. My suspicion is that they were maybe taking awhile to adjust to their new rooting environment spending a lot of energy on developing root structure underground.   I’m gonna keep dumping water and nutes on them.

[Dartolution]

@ExperimentalGrower 

Folded leaves typically mean not enough water or root rot. 

If they were pot grown, and placed into cool soil this may also explain it. 

They could also just be adjusting, and rooting into their new environment. 

I suspect sunburn may be possible as some of the leaves appear scorched. Did you have them in the house? Garage? Shaded? 

 

If you just planted them, go a little easy on the fertilizer (its okay to use something organic and light), and just water when you notice the soil drying. 

Cool night temps combined with wet cool soil could cause a problem. Im not familiar with your climate. 

 

Also, congrats. I have some dwarf namwah's on the way myself!

[ExperimentalGrower]

2 hours ago, Dartolution said:

@ExperimentalGrower 

Folded leaves typically mean not enough water or root rot. 

If they were pot grown, and placed into cool soil this may also explain it. 

They could also just be adjusting, and rooting into their new environment. 

I suspect sunburn may be possible as some of the leaves appear scorched. Did you have them in the house? Garage? Shaded? 

 

If you just planted them, go a little easy on the fertilizer (its okay to use something organic and light), and just water when you notice the soil drying. 

Cool night temps combined with wet cool soil could cause a problem. Im not familiar with your climate. 

 

Also, congrats. I have some dwarf namwah's on the way myself!

That might explain some of it, I planted out March 1, and it was cool and wet for awhile, but now starting to get hotter. I’m in the SF Bay Area, in a hotter part of the Bay. So cool wet winters are the norm. Leaf scorch is residual frost burn from January they’ve always been outside.

Also, nighttime temps have still been pretty low up until maybe a week or two ago, still dropping into the upper 40’s, low 50’s. Might also be a culprit.

 

[Dartolution]

@ExperimentalGrower Sounds like that hits the nail on the head. 

Soil temperatures rise a good bit slower than ambient air temps. 

Good news is, they should be just fine! :) 

[Merlyn]

18 hours ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Also, nighttime temps have still been pretty low up until maybe a week or two ago, still dropping into the upper 40’s, low 50’s. Might also be a culprit.

That's definitely a contributor, I wasn't thinking about your temperatures.  We've been in the 90s off and on since March.  My various bananas don't really get moving until it's rainy and consistently 80+ during the day.

[ExperimentalGrower]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

That's definitely a contributor, I wasn't thinking about your temperatures.  We've been in the 90s off and on since March.  My various bananas don't really get moving until it's rainy and consistently 80+ during the day.

Ya this must be it. Temps are still dropping into the upper 40’s here at night. Ready for that to be over. It appears the stems/bases of the bananas are getting thicker so they do seem to be growing, but very slowly. In a month or so our night temps should be a good bit warmer. I’ll try and follow up with an update.

[amh]

IMO the cause is likely that the plants were not acclimated to the sun before planting. My experience is that cool nights may slow growth, but not cause the symptoms described.

[Reyes Vargas]

So what everyone is saying is that banana tree leaves should not curl down at all.  I have a banana that does that and it is watered well.  I do have it in a pot right now. 

Here is what the banana looks like in the morning.  As you can see the leaves are open and perfect.

Here is what it looks like at the hottest part of the day.  The leaves curl down. 

I have always thought that, that was normal.  At the end of the day when the sun goes down the leaves  uncurl and look like the morning picture again.  This thing is growing a new leaf every week.

[amh]

5 minutes ago, Reyes Vargas said:

So what everyone is saying is that banana tree leaves should not curl down at all.  I have a banana that does that and it is watered well.  I do have it in a pot right now. 

Here is what the banana looks like in the morning.  As you can see the leaves are open and perfect.

Here is what it looks like at the hottest part of the day.  The leaves curl down. 

I have always thought that, that was normal.  At the end of the day when the sun goes down the leaves  uncurl and look like the morning picture again.  This thing is growing a new leaf every week.

Texas sun is not kind to bananas, I try to protect mine from afternoon sun, but the bleaching issue should cure itself.

[ExperimentalGrower]

16 hours ago, amh said:

IMO the cause is likely that the plants were not acclimated to the sun before planting. My experience is that cool nights may slow growth, but not cause the symptoms described.

They were getting about as much sun in their pots as they are in the ground. Burnt leaves are residual from a January frost.

[ExperimentalGrower]

42 minutes ago, Reyes Vargas said:

So what everyone is saying is that banana tree leaves should not curl down at all.  I have a banana that does that and it is watered well.  I do have it in a pot right now. 

Here is what the banana looks like in the morning.  As you can see the leaves are open and perfect.

Here is what it looks like at the hottest part of the day.  The leaves curl down. 

I have always thought that, that was normal.  At the end of the day when the sun goes down the leaves  uncurl and look like the morning picture again.  This thing is growing a new leaf every week.

Yes I’ve noticed they do that on the hottest days for sure. I think it’s automatic response during heat to conserve water, preventing excess evapotranspiration. 

[Silas_Sancona]

11 minutes ago, ExperimentalGrower said:

Yes I’ve noticed they do that on the hottest days for sure. I think it’s automatic response during heat to conserve water, preventing excess evapotranspiration. 

Agree 100%, neighbor's / others around town do the same exact thing thru the afternoons here as well.