Garden Pests and Diseases: banana trees, 0 by growin

growin wrote:
I think the black spot might be from something going on in the roots or not enough moisture/nutrient. I wouldn't worry about it at the moment. Knowing which banana you have can help. I'd post pics in the ID forum. With my experience with Musa basjoo, they love a rich soil - almost a compost mix and plenty of moisture. When I plant a new banana, I mix 1/2 compost/manure with soil and mound it a bit. I create a moat so that when I water the plant with the hose, it gets tons of water. When you cut the banana stem you'll notice it is primarily made of water. I have used seaweed fertilizer and standard Miracle Grow. The seaweed was a winner. Winter protection is important if you have frost. The more of the stem you protect in winter, the taller the plants will be the next year and more chance of blooms and bananas. A simple chicken-wire hoop filled with leaves and covered by a tarp is a bit of a chore but easy and great protection. I've also heard wrapping the stems with bubble-wrap to work. Watch out when you are cutting the leaves/stems as the juice will stain your clothes and is almost impossible to get out. The leaves and stems should be cut where the leaves arch out from the main stem. I sometimes find removing the babies from the main plant difficult as they are still attached to the mother. I normally cut a section of both mother and babies. I've attached a pic of a recently planted Musa basjoo in my community garden plot showing the moat and a few babies I transplanted with the main plant. I use a flat-edge spade and cut vertically to ensure I get all the roots in a square segment of soil & root. A strong garbage bag around the root ball and a bit of a long time trying to fit it in my van got this 7 footer to my community garden from my folks house.