I got this banana tree/plant from a friend of a friend back in Sept. or October from her tree that she split up. I planted it in a nice large plot. Water it frequently. Problem is, it hasn't grown at all. And every time it grows a new leaf, one of the other two shrivel up and fall off. This has been going on since November. Have never had more than 3 leaves yet. What type it is, I don't know. Looks like the ones I see my Hispanic neighbors growing in their yards. I am in Annapolis, Maryland and would appreciate any advice any one could offer.

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Tami-Maryland

Was the original plant healthy?

yes, it was. It was a sucker, one fo several, from the main plant.

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Tami-Maryland

Don't baby a banana plant! I grow many of them. Plant the thing and leave it alone. Banana
plants are hard to get rid of once well rooted. In a home is not the place for them. Only in the winter should you bring these plants inside because they tolerate NO frost. if you are having problems with one, put it outside and leave it alone. It will grow. They really like a muddy, wet environment. If you plant one over a septic tank they really grow. But leave it alone.

Well, it has been outside for a week now, and it is in a huge pot. ANd it was outside when I first potted it for about a month. BUt it is just not growing and the leaves keep shriveling up. I mean considering it is about 6 months old now, shouldn't it have gotten a little taller, and be able to keep more than 2 leaves at a time? Should I use a certain type of fertilizer or plant food to help it? How much sunlight?

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Tami-Maryland

Does your plant look anything like this plant?

A. Take it out of the pot.
B. dig a hole and put in dense black soil from in the forest or from near a stream or river.
C. keep well watered . These plants like enormous amounts of water. Watering the leaves lets water run into the stalk where the plant funnels it to the roots. Hence the big leaves, for water collection. Also they do best in full bright sun.

I see the ground near your plants and it's very poor soil. Big problem. Red clay is one of the hardest environments for tropical plants. Get good soil as everything around your plant is barely alive.

I just tried to send in a picture of my picture o fmine but i dont know if I did it right. My plant is in excellent soil, but i can't plant it outside due to our very cold winters, like 15 degrees. I hope the picture gets here somehow so you could see what it looks like. All of my other plants, not banana plants, are doing great in the same soil. I does not look quite like the picture posted.

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Tami-Maryland

i dont believe it was separated correctly from the mother; if you dont get the cut right from the mother and collect the entire rootball from the pup, this is what usually happens, but it will come back if u give it time..sometimes quite a while; or, get another and make sure it is separated correctly, if u have neigbors with bananas, im sure they will be more the happy t share apup with you..Nick