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| Recently brough my bananas indoors. They're about 2 years old and haven't had fruit yet but have borne several pups and currently have about 2 each. I fertilize them plenty and water them frequently as well, however, recently it seems a pest has struck them. So many leaves have had to be cut off due to this thick cobweb forming in the leaves. i've sprayed it with an organic insecticide but it hasn't curbed the problem and leaves are still being taken over. I know bananas are basically a grass, should i cut the whole stalk for winter and let it grow back? What's the protocol here? Thanks!! |
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| The bugs are spider mites. Here's a solution for them: "One home made mix for spider mites is 1 Tablespoon of Suave shampoo (whatever scent you like) and 1 Tablespoon cooking oil (vegetable or canola) mixed in a gallon of warm water in a plastic jug. Shake this up very well, and apply with a sprayer to the top and bottom sides of leaves until it's dripping wet on all surfaces of the leaves and stem. If you can't move your plant, some people use a soft cloth to apply this mix, or a sponge. Use whenever the symptoms recur. Normally spider mites are not a problem in outdoor plantings unless your weather is unusually dry. Increasing the humidity indoors also helps, but will not cure a spider mite problem in itself. " Cutting it back to the soil is a bit drastic, but it probably will recover. Usually this is only done to dwarf the size if its getting too tall. Growing a banana in Connecticut is as silly as growing apples in the tropics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlC1NQ_IExw |
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- Posted by Fascist_Nation USDA 9b, Sunset 13, (My Page) on Sun, Nov 30, 14 at 14:45
| Cut the stalk, kill the stalk. Bananas grow from an underground root called a corm. Pups pop up annually; in a container you probably want to limit pups to one single one per year. [Pups correctly removed can be planted in a new container.] Hollow stalk forms from leaves. Third year growth is the fruiting part of the banana plant. A male flower is followed by a female. Male not needed for pollination as the fruit (classified as a berry) develops without fertilization [edit 2: May be a misconception on my part about this. I will study up when I have some time today.]. While a monocot, it is not considered related to a grass---which grass uniquely keeps growing when its top is cut off. Banana is classified as a herbaceous flowering plant (the largest herb). After its third year that part of the banana will die. The second year part of the banana plant will take its place the next year continuing the life cycle. Spider mite (an arachnid, not an insect) removal organically indoors may not be easy. Very limited damage, but can be aesthetically annoying. Preferably a squirt bottle with distilled water (grocery store water aisle) should knock them down applied daily to the underside of the infested leaves. I would BUY organic OMRI certified insecticidal soap specifically designed for plants (I don't think insecticidal oils will do with your home plant). It is tested safe on plants and inexpensive...why do homemade that is not so tested. You don't save much with homemade and risk the plant more. Commercial makers have better access to specific organic detergents than home owners. Look for any product declaring effective against arachnids, mites or spider mites, and safe for food producing plants. Follow directions on the bottle but don't be surprised if you need to apply underside of effected leaves daily. [While my outside banana has not shown any evidence of spider mites, plenty of my other trees do and on the top of the leaves as well as under so apply where they are on the bananas.] Why now? Could be moving the bananas into the home (less sun, warmer temp, humidity controlled) lowered their resistance to infestation (from other plants in your home?) or stimulated spider mites to come out/stay out of dormancy (likely) or both. http://www.groworganic.com/safer-insecticidal-soap-concentrate-pint.html -- I keep a pint of this around http://www.amazon.com/Espoma-Organic-Earth-Tone-Insecticidal-Soap/dp/B000UJUVR8 http://www.groworganic.com/weed-pest-control/organic-pest-control/insecticidal-soap.html http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/factsheets/tp_05_spidermites.html https://extension.umd.edu/learn/spider-mites-hg13 http://www.tropicaldesigns.com/pest-management4.html |
This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Mon, Dec 1, 14 at 13:39
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