banana trees

Hello everyone, This is my 2nd yr trying to care for banana trees on my rental property, they were severely neglected for over 2 yrs, I am moving the other babies that come up it has gone from 3 trees to 8 now yr 2 it is 16, but they have black spots on the leaves I don't know what to do, and I and also unsure of what kind of banana trees these are, they have not produced,since I have stared to care for them ,winter hurt them pretty bad,but they are coming back beautifully and with all these new babies.Can some advise me what is the correct fertilizer for them, what to do with all the babies,and especially the black spots.The do get plenty of sun every day, I water them when there has been no rain in days. But not to the point of over watering, I watch the amount bring sprayed on by hose. Thank you for any and all advise.

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.

I live in a clay/sand mix area that used to be an old cattle area some years ago, like I said before these banana trees have been severally neglected and I want to do what is the right procedure for them here in the deep south I will try to find a way to get a picture of the banana trees, from a neighbor, because I don't have very much computer smarts. I will keep your advise and file it with my records for the banana trees for future references, any other help from any one else and yourself is most appreciative.

if they keep getting nipped back by frost or freezes, be aware that they probably won't flower or set fruit the following summer. as long as they aren't killed to the ground, they will eventually have fruit. once that plant has produced fruit, it dies and the pups take its place. being killed to the ground isn't the end of your plants though. they will come back in spring.

they are heavy feeders and to look their best, need a good all purpose feed several times a year and lots of water also.

the year we moved to our present location, there were 4 hurricanes in the area. the lakes were full and beyond. these bananas in the picture were living in water when we bought the place. since then we've had several really cold winters and hard freezes and almost no rain. the bananas are still there but pitifully changed to struggling survivors.