Banana Plant

[YvonneM]

My kind neighbour has given me a banana tree it is in a pot and has about 7 leaves the problem is although it is getting new leaves the old ones are flecked with brown spots. Any ideas Wendy?
I will be putting it int the greenhouse for winter will this be ok to protect from frost I live in Notts? Any advice at all welcome

[WendyS]

Have never had a banana tree so I'm only guessing that if it's been kept outdoors during the summer it has attracted some kind of mite, or leaf scorch from sun shining on it after it has been watered or it has rained. You could try washing the leaves with a very weak solution of household disinfectant followed by clear water & then drying the leaves. As bananas are a hot climate plant I suspect even an unheated greenhouse wouldn't be enough to protect it if you have suffer heavy frost. Saw something in a freebie magazine through the door today which might help protect it - fleece frost shields which are a fleece-type bags which you can put over vulnerable plants in their pots. They come in varying heights from 4 ft (�7.50) to 7 ft ( �9.99). Page 23 on the Presents for Men catalogue. Tel: [phone]. (These are expensive thought and you could probably make your own protection simply by buying a length of agricultural fleece from a garden centre and wrapping it gently round the plant. Don't use a polythene protection though as any condensation on it over a prolonged period will cause the crown on the plant to rot. If the plant is outdoors now, I'd get it under cover asap as the nights could suddenly get chilly. Perhaps somebody else who has grown one can offer more expert advice than this.

[YvonneM]

Ta Wendy
I have got some fleece already the brown spots are in the leaf visible from both sides

[WendyS]

I've got a feeling that the lower leaves of a banana plant gradually die off anyway in time as the newer leaves appear, so perhaps the brown spot problem will resolve itself when these leaves fall off.

[umm]

if a banana plant cannot reseed itself ,because it has no seeds,how do we get more banana plants?? and where did the first one come from??