A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum House Palm and Banana Plant Dying

I have two plants that need saving. The first is a regular house palm. I bought it about 10 months ago. It did great for about 8 months. It was absolutely thriving. It had new leaves popping up all the time. Then it slowed down and just sat there, healthy but inactive. This was when it became winter here, so it didn't seem unusual. I started watering it a little less, and it stayed like this for months.

Then out of nowhere, leaves started browning. In a matter of about a week, about 70% of the leaves had died. It was in a smallish pot, so I figured maybe the pot was too small, and also that the corner I had it in wasn't giving it any light (which it wasn't, no direct light and very little other light because of the poor winter angle of sun in Minnesota). So I transplanted it into a bigger pot, and added high-drain potting mix to fill the room. I also put it in a room with more light, moving it slowly closer to the window over time.

This seemed to stop the dying. It sat there for about a month, not really dying anymore. There was one main, big leaf left, and two unopened leaves. The unopened ones haven't made any progress though. And now, the whole stock is starting to slowly droop over, and I am afraid it's just going to die. I don't see any parasites or anything. Here is a picture of it:


Then I have another plant, a dwarf banana plant. It has been around almost as long. Same story, did super awesome for the first maybe 6 months. Grew new leaves constantly. Now, growth is at a standstill and the lower leaves are dying more rapidly than before. Is the pot too small maybe? It doesn't seem like it.

Both plants are at a south facing window by the way. Here is a picture of the banana plant:

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I don't want them to die!

Random side-note: I have an elephant ears that has gone through the same things as the other plants, but it is doing AWESOME. It just grows like crazy. I love it

Both of your plants look too dry in the photos.
Every Banana that I've ever grown limited itself to a certain number of leaves. One would die back as the new one sprouted up. That is how the trunk develops. As it gets bigger the number of leaves will increase.

You Palm looks like there might be an insect problem like spider mites (very tiny, look under the leaves) or mealy bugs (look like dabs of cotton at the base of the leaves)
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/bugs.html

The pictures may be a little deceiving, but this is right before they got watered. I know how these plants hate being continually moist because their roots start rotting. Maybe not as much on the banana plant, but definitely the palm.

Maybe I'm not watering enough, but at the same time, I would have figured that if they were too dry, I would notice them perk up every time I watered them. Is that not the case?

And with the banana, the reason I am concerned is that it used to have like 8 leaves at once, and grow a new one every week or two. Now, it hasn't grown any new leaves in quite some time, even though one sprouted, and now the old leaves are starting to die. Pretty soon it won't have any leaves left.

An insect problem on the palm I guess would make sense... I didn't really see anything though. There were, however, short, dead strands in the very center of the underside of all the leaves, but that appears to me to be a natural part of the plant.

There were also some fuzzy parts in part of the edges of leaves which I guess sound kind of like a parasite when I describe it that way, but again, they looked to me like they were part of the plant.

I will say too that I used to have millipedes in the palm, but from what I understand they posed no threat to it, plus I haven't seen any in a really long time (I think I killed them all), and there used to be a TON. But it's been a really long time since I have seen them, and it was doing extremely well with them, and even after they were gone it did really well for a while.

So I dunno, I think I will start misting it heavily once or twice a day and see if that kills any possible parasites. I know it likes humidity and being sprayed anyway, so it couldn't hurt.

Welcome, Brian. I really don't know a lot about these as house plants. But I grow both outdoors in the ground. I have not dealt with a dying palm like yours.
I have had full sized bananas trees do what yours is doing. It should begin a whole new plant near the base of the current one to take over the pot. Bananas are basically an annual plant in nature. They may take several years to grow to full size but once they do, they bloom and fruit and then die. New plants begin from near the base of the old ones. Even here I do not have a long enough warm season for fruit to complete the growing process.
If they get too cold in that growing they will begin to die off before they reach full blooming stage. They also like the soil to remain evenly moist all the time.

Thanks for the tip! I was letting my banana plant go completely dry between waterings... I may try to keep it more moist now. And I haven't seen a new plant coming up at the base, does it usually form BEFORE the plant 'dies' or after?

Also question to anyone who can answer it,

With my palm, should I remove all the dead leaves? Or is there a reason to keep them on there?

Always remove dead leaves. The plant spends vital energy trying to revive them. With my palms, the more outer leaves taken, the faster new leaves develop.
My banana trees would sometimes begin new plants while the old ones were dying. Other times I'd take down the old ones and a while later a new baby would spring up near the rotting stump. If I kept them watered more regularly,I'd have a forest. But was not interested in anything like that.

I have removed all the dead leaves and watered them thoroughly. The Banana plant actually seems to be a little happier, and a new leaf is slowly but surely coming in.

The Palm I am still worried about... I'm not sure it's gonna make it. It's looking a little bit less green everyday. And there are two full leaves that are just waiting to open but never do... I wish they would!

I am glad the banana is looking better.
On the palm, you can cut off any leaves that are struggling or not as green as they should be. As long as you leave the newly forming leaves alone. So, if it is stripped to just the unopened leaves, it will not hurt it. That will encourage the new leaves to open, if they are going to at all. I do not know what mat be causing that palm to have these issues. So I cannot help beyond this.

Had you applied fertilizer to it?

If you really want to treat them... You should spray the leaves with seaweed foliar spray :)

I added some fertilizer to it... I guess time will tell if it makes a difference. It seems to me like it's on its last leg though. It will only probably last a week longer if it doesn't turn around. Thinking of ordering some more colocasia to fill the hole in my heart that this will leave. Haha

Well I think the palm is basically dead. I tried. The banana plant is doing well though!

So I did have one theory... I have well water, and especially right now it is particularly irony among other things. I water the plants with this water. Is there any chance that could affect anything?

Keep in mind, plenty of other plants have done just fine with this water for years. But maybe this one was more sensitive than others or something

The iron concentrations would have to be very high to affect plants. And even then they can not absorb it without producing the right stuff to break it down. High salts would be a more problematic.

I don't know anything about palms but I have read a ton about banana plants and I had one. I'm getting 2 more when it's spring.
Banana plants should not have too much water in the winter. Even if they stay warm they will grow slower so don't give them too much fertilizer either because that can burn them.
It's very important to check the stem for soft spots. If theres a soft spot then cut it out with a sharp knife but don't put anything over the cut or it can start rotting again. Just let the cut dry up.
Good luck. :)

Ps. Tina knows a lot about banana plants and she's right about how long it takes to make bananas. The fastest one is called a Velutina banana plant. The bananas are small and have big seeds but they are sweet and edible. That's one of the new banana plants I'm getting when it's spring.

Well I think I have found the right balance for watering my banana plant... It seems pretty happy now and is growing new leaves.

Although it's hard, because after probably 6 months of having it, the leaves are still only maybe 3-4" long. Compare that with my elephant ears plant which I got at the same time and started with a single 1.5" leaf, and now it's most recent of many leaves is probably 14"!! The thing is a champ. I guess it couldn't care less that it's winter... Maybe it will go even crazier in the summer!