Banana Plant White Fuzz on Shaft/Drying & Browning Leaves

Hi! I am an amateur "gardener" (mainly grow potted plants) who enjoys growing plants and flowers. Last year (~6 - 8 Months ago) I bought a banana plant from a farmers market and began growing it in a ~14 inch tall clay pot. I eventually switched it over to 14in deep 15.5in diameter pot to accommodate the plant's size. Since bringing it in for the winter is has not been getting as much sun as it usually does and I feel like I might be watering it less often then it got with random thunderstorms outside.

Over time I've noticed that the leaves have been turning brown/slightly yellow, getting dry, and shriveling up. I've also noticed that on the shaft there is a bit of white fuzz that could be fungus but I'm not sure. I've attached some pictures below and appreciate any and all help that can be provided!


The banana plant from above.


The white fuzz. I should note that before I pulled of two of the dead layers it was more prevalent.


This is an alternate view of the banana plant.

 

it is a very terribly blurry picture but I am guessing spidermites due to the haze of the foliage. see how dull it is? is there a fine spiderweb covering the surface? top and bottom. it also looks to be salt burned or too much fertilizer.

 

Sorry for the blurry pictures, I took some more to show the fuzz again as I think that is now the problem. Since this weekend (when I took the photos) the fuzz has gotten fuzzier and really is looking like mold. There is no webbing (Thank God - I would have had a heart attack if there spiders in my room). It could be salt burn I did just add a cap full of food since it's been approximately 6 months in that soil. Below are clear-er photos of the fuzz:



Close up on the Fuzz from the side (I just watered before the picture).


This is a more direct look at the fuzz.

Thanks for the quick reply! If it is some sort of fungus what remedy would you recommend?

 

I could be wrong but maybe wooly aphids or mealy bug. rub that spot with your thumb and see if it squishes with red-ish wet debris. The other thought could possible by just mold. plain old fungi. growing on the dead sheath of the banana leaf. you could pull that off all the way to the base of the plant and get rid of it. if it won't pull off cut it off. you wont hurt it. it is a dead leaf. if it is mealybug you might find more of them underneath the dead leaf between the new leaf and dead leaf.
wash the leaves.. (the ones with green on them) with soapy water. allow the soapy water to dry ... (do not wash the soapy water off with clear water) and that should kill any bugs on the plant. use a spray bottle and saturate the plant... leaves and stem. remove the dead leaf and throw that in the trash.

 

Hmmm, I squished it with my finger and, crusty/flaky white shiny flakes covered my finger -- soo no red wet debris. I guess that indicates the fungi you were referencing? I've peeled off the only sheath as suggested and it looks healthy and green with no white fuzz. If that is just a side effect of the damp dead sheath - what else could be causing the plant to die off? If you need my pictures I can try to take some pictures (Less fuzzy of course). Thanks for your help!

 

Perhaps it needs repotted. The leaves look like a buildup of either too much fertilizer or softened water leaving salt residue in the soil. What do you water it with?

 

Hmmm Maybe it is time - I didn't add any fertilizer except for the plant food. I water with water from my faucet (I live in the city- if that helps) I usually fill up an old water bottle and pour it around the base. It's the same water I've been using for most of it's existence. I thought adding plant food would replace the minerals and what not in the soil allowing me to go longer without changing the soil?

 

plants don't like city water. it has chlorine in it which is another salt being added to the soil. fertilizer is needed for the growth... chlorine is not. let the water sit for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to dissipate before using it. where do you live? here in the US or elsewhere? we have water bottle filling places to buy drinking water for about 25¢ a gallon. if you have one of those places close to you ... try that water to see if it starts doing better. flush the potting mix with copious amounts of water if repotting it isn't optional at this time. or pull the plant out of the pot and place it in a large plastic bag and brush off as much of the potting mix as possible and re pot it right back into that same pot and add fresh potting mix. I don't see any salt residue on the pot after I looked back at the photo... that is a good sign. I hope this helps.

 

Gotcha, I live in Baltimore. Does it matter whether the temperature is cold or warm for the chlorine to dissipate (Does one dissipate faster or slower)?

So - I need to:
- Remove the plant and place it on a tarp or something.
- Dust off some of the soil.
- Empty the pot of any remaining soil.
- Add new Soil & then plant to pot.
- Only water with water that has sat out for at least 24 hours.

Correct?

 

Sounds like you got it! The warmer the weather the faster the chlorine will disapate. Even heating it on the stove will break it down. Good luck. I hope your plant does well.

 

Alrighty! Thanks for all your help!

 

So I replaced the soil and watered it with water that had been sitting for two days. While peeling off the latest sheath of dead plant I found a spot of brown that felt hollow inside - when pressing on it it only gave in a little. Do you think that this might have been the real issue?


The brown streak.


Thanks!

 

I don't know much about banana plants but that doesn't impress me as a good sign. you might need to get another plant. It appears to be a fungal issue that I don't think will heal, honestly. Maybe someone else will have a better answer but I am not hopeful of the plants longevity.

 

I agree with Carolyn´s assessment here. This may be fungal, The rot on the stem seems to be spreading down into the roots. Once the roots get too rotted, the banana will die. You could unpot the banana plant and carefully brush off the excess soil around the roots and cut away any rotten bits. If the rot has not reached down into the roots, you can just cut the stem back below the rot and the banana plant will either grow through the middle of the stem or it will produce babies from the root. If you do decide to unpot your banana, you may notice if there are little babies in the root ball. This is good, You can seperate these off and repot them with just the point sticking out. Sometimes the banana will take ages to start regrowing. don´t water too much until it starts regrowing, but don´t let the pot completely dry out either. Bananas love water and food, but not too much in the winter when it is too cold. I hope this helps a bit.

 

Thank you both for the insight. I'm pretty new when it comes to keeping things alive - I can usually get them off the ground.... just not keep them up there. I think I'll try around Wednesday to cut away the affected parts as I just re-potted it yesterday and want to see if anything changes. It may be my imagination but it looked like the leaves are greener and the new growth was a bit bigger. Thanks again.