Unhappy Musa Basjoo

[Arctic Palm]

I have brought in my musa's so the frost didn't get them. They don't look to happy...very droopy leaves, leaves drying out and becoming brittle. Any ideas??

[Dean W.]

What size container is it in? May be getting use to the transition. What is your watering regime?

Dean

[ryan]

Artic palm,

You should cut the dying leaves off and put the plants into storage since they are likely dormant right now. How big did you Musa basjoo's get this summer? I was a little disappointed with the growth of mine because we had some really cool nights in July that seemed to slow their growth down.

[Arctic Palm]

Not very big...my largest is about 4 feet. You mean even the Musas I have now got inside are going dormant? It's warm and they are in a sunny south window. What should I do to them...
Thanks

[ryan]

Not very big...my largest is about 4 feet. You mean even the Musas I have now got inside are going dormant? It's warm and they are in a sunny south window. What should I do to them...
Thanks

You can grow them inside if you like, but they are prone to spider mites and need to be misted a few times per week. I prefer to keep mine semi-dormant in storage during winter and "wake them up" around March. They take about 1 month to push out their first leaves after storage and will lose an average of 6" of stem.

[Arctic Palm]

Hmm...well, my largest one is still planted outside...I don't wanna dig it up. I was going to place a tube around the stem, and fill it with leaves and mulch. The leaves on the largest one outside are all gone, I believe I have a pic of it on this site...I have about 15 of the babies that grew out of the 2 you sold me at a greenhouse nearby. I am not very concerned if I lose the one outside cause it was fun growing them. Like I said, I have 15 babies plus about 5 of the babies are having babies so there is no shortage of musa's.
Funny thing is...the big ones I have taken in a couple weeks ago before the fosts have lost most of thier leaves too. The leaves shriveled up and went brown. So I have cut em off.
How big did your bananas get? Any pics

[PALMETTOMAN]

arctic palm..

As Ryan suggested, cut all the leaves off your potted musa's and store them in your basement...

I water the pots once a week or so and by around March or so you should begin to notice some new growth emerging...

Their so darn big for the house and the leaves dry out with all the heat on...

Palmettoman Z6-Ajax, On

[ryan]

Not very big...my largest is about 4 feet. You mean even the Musas I have now got inside are going dormant? It's warm and they are in a sunny south window. What should I do to them...
Thanks

If they are growing inside right now they are not dormant. If you would like them to become dormant just leave them outside for a few days when there is no risk of frost. They will stop actively growing and you can then store them.