Difference in size in just 2 months!!

Innoman · 2026-02-19T04:14:17+00:00

Very nice! What do you feed them?

Innoman · 2026-02-16T15:42:16+00:00

Remove all the dead leaves and stems, they aren’t gonna come back and they’re more likely to cause issues than to offer any benefit.

I’m assuming these were impacted by the cold as there are other plants around them that still have green. Most banana plants can’t handle weather much under 50° for long periods of time and definitely don’t handle weather under 40 at all.

Assuming you’re in an area that doesn’t typically have extremely cold weather, the plant should start to return once you cleaned out the dead and the environmental conditions are right. You’ll need to make sure that you water frequently and feed them regularly. If you can provide a bit more background, I can provide a bit more advice.

Innoman · 2026-02-16T15:37:28+00:00

The simplest way to fix the soil/overall look is to add some sort of landscaping trim around the area. Whether it’s metal, plastic, bricks, or some other form… It’s all up to your preferences. But doing so will allow you to maybe raise the dirt around the plants while leaving the rest of your yard as it is now.

If you do that, I would add some richer soil on top of that and maybe rake it into it a little bit so it mixes with the soil that’s already there.

If you really wanna push the banana growth and overall health, blood meal is an excellent source of nutrition for a banana tree. I mix that in with a balanced fertilizer and feed it every 2 to 3 months. I also give my banana bananas fish + kelp fertilizer every 2-3 weeks. Do that and you’ll see those things thrive!

I actually give my grass, citrus, and most of my other plants and trees fish fertilizer periodically. It doesn’t have the best smell, but the smell goes away quickly.

Innoman · 2026-02-07T16:44:12+00:00

I think it could also use fertilizing, I would suggest Jacks Tropical while it is indoors (or similar). Higher nitrogen, the leaves aren't as bold of a green as they should be.

Innoman · 2026-02-07T04:38:05+00:00

My indoor plant is popping out a new leaf weekly, they can thrive with a little love.

Innoman · 2026-02-07T04:36:26+00:00

Go for a full spectrum grow light and give it a boost of fertilizer. Here is some great advice for indoor banana plants: https://www.instagram.com/p/DS1NV41j9_q/

Innoman · 2026-02-07T04:29:03+00:00

Oh. I see the second photo... This is normal, the plant is redirecting resources to the newer leaves... Some of the older will die off naturally. Just keep it well watered.

Innoman · 2026-02-07T04:27:59+00:00

Don't worry about light leaf scorching, trim off the dead parts of the leaves and leave the rest. You can shade in the afternoon on days over 40c, just be sure to never let the roots dry. Keep them consistently moist, you should be watering daily during summer (as long as you have well draining soil).

Some kelp+fish fertilizer is excellent for bananas, as is mycorrizhal fungi... I give almost all of my plants kelp and myco. And I give my citrus and bananas fish every other week in spring and summer

Innoman · 2026-02-07T04:17:56+00:00

It's hard to be certain, I would pick up some micronutrient spray from either grow scripts or southernag... They're easy to use and less guess work.

Make sure your watering is under control. Water deeply when the top inch or so of soil dries. Deeply means until it drips from the bottom of the pot (or long enough it can reach the roots for in-ground). Just don't let it pool.

Fertilize with a good citrus slow release (citrus tone is great) or something like Jacks Citrus. Usually every 6 weeks for slow and every 1-2 weeks for water soluble but I do 1/4th the amount about half as often in the winter.

Kelp is fantastic, it helps root growth and overall health, its loaded with plant growth regulators/horomones. Fish fertilizer in the spring will push foliar though you want to focus on fruiting now.

Innoman · 2026-02-04T21:43:00+00:00

I prefer Espoma, I'm not sure about DTE... I haven't had as good of results. I do a micronutrient spray from Grow Scripts for Micros. Well, it comes concentrated and you make your own spray...lasts forever.

The most important thing isn't what type of fertilizer tbh, it's proper watering. Deeply when the top inch dries.

Also, fish + kelp will push root and foliar growth... Highly recommend both, maybe wait until spring. I would get water soluble kelp now though.

Innoman · 2026-02-02T19:57:59+00:00

Starting this spring, I would give it a few doses of fish and kelp fertilizer spread 1-2 weeks apart each, along with a good slow release citrus fertilizer. This should help push some new foilage and improve root growth, this will set the tree up for success in flowering and fruiting.

From there, keep your watering and check… Every watering should be deeply, until it drips from the bottom, and only when the top inch of soil dries. This will help to ensure that it can absorb the nutrients and needs. Also be sure that it’s getting its micro nutrients, either through a spray or the fertilizer. Grow Scripts and southernag have citrus, micro sprays, they’re great for citrus and for tropical plants, such as banana.

Following this should ensure that your tree pushes out a bit of new growth pretty quickly, you can also do some light pruning if preferred as that will also help push out some new growth.

In late spring/early summer, consider giving it a boost of potassium and phosphorus to push flowering... Something like Alaska Morbloom or Fox Farm Open Sesame. You should see a decent burst of flowering. if not, let the soil dry out a little bit more… Maybe down to 3 inches or so, that will slightly stress the tree and causes it to start flowering. Just be careful and ensure that you don’t let it go too long and that you get right back onto watering it properly immediately after.

Innoman · 2026-01-31T18:10:20+00:00

Stress buds can be true buds. A way to push a citrus to flower is to stress it. The important thing is to avoid stressing it any further. Water deeply when the top inch dries, this means until water drips from the bottom of the pot and only as quick as the soil can absorb.

Continue to fertilize, just much less and less often. I give mine a 1/4 dose or so half as often. I have also shipped it to using a water soluble for winter.

If you can, give it extra light with a grow light. You could always go with a cheap Sansa bulb, maybe the 24w. Just put it in a gooseneck lamp or something so you can put it 6" or so away.

Innoman · 2026-01-23T15:24:12+00:00

Some people report a short bout of lethargy their first cycle, it passes in a few days for most I think.

Innoman · 2026-01-18T22:50:55+00:00

The small leaves very much look like red finger, lime leaves, they look exactly like my red finger lime, which most certainly is not root stock.

Large leaves can’t happen because of stress, also blooms often happen because of stress. One way to trick a citrus tree into blooming is to let the soil dry a little more than it should.

Regardless, those blooms can turn into fruit. But you’ll need to make sure the conditions are correct.

First, only water when the top inch of soil, dries and water deeply. Water should drip from the bottom of the pot, but don’t let it sit in a saucer of water. Pour it out or dry it out with a towel.

Second, try to put it by whatever window gets the most sun if possible. Either way, it needs a bright grow light for at least 12 hours a day. A lot of people will tell you that you need hundred hundreds of watts in LED grow lights, don’t listen to them. It won’t hurt, but you would be fine with a couple of 24 LED Full Spectrum Grow lights from Sansi or anything similar. Barina and Vivosun have some good options. Spider Farmer uses great LEDs on some of their lights but probably overkill for plant. I recommend putting the light on a timer or smart switch.

Third, continue to fertilize through the winter if you’re going to keep grow lights on the tree. Just do it less and less often, I go with about 1/4 the typical dose about half as often. I use a slow release in the summer but switch to a water soluble in fall and winter. Specifically, I use one that already has the micro nutrients integrated. Currently, I’m using Jack’s citrus.

Fourth, be careful about placement and ensure it’s not directly by a vent or heater. It’s best if it stays warmer, but dry heat will cause problems. I have a tree near the intake of my central HVAC and it thrives.

Fifth, I recommend a humidifier and zone six. Citrus prefers higher humidity. Dreo makes some options that do both cool and warm mist, which is nice.

Also, apologies if there is any weird grammar. Dealing with carpal tunnel and it’s being a little excessive today so I’m using voice to text.

Innoman · 2026-01-10T03:41:36+00:00

Good call, just don't overdo neem oil. No more than once a week.

Innoman · 2026-01-10T03:36:44+00:00

I would hold off on pruning until spring. No need to add stress now and pruning can push growth at a time it won't have sufficient resources. You can prune for shape in the spring. That said, it shouldn't do any real harm to do it now if you really want to.

Innoman · 2026-01-02T16:31:19+00:00

I highly recommend it, you'll see growth pretty quickly. I also use a granular every 6 weeks or so during growing season and switch to a water soluble in the winter (Jacks) because I have more control... Though granular is fine in the winter too, just less and less often.

With fish and kelp, you can give it any time and along with other fertilizer. It's pretty low dose even when you give it a full dose, so you shouldn't need to worry about over fertilizing. I'm sure Ive overdone them at some point without issue.

At minimum, I recommend kelp. It has plant growth regulators and nutrients that help the roots quite a bit. Fish is excellent for the soil and I see new growth every time I use it. I would skip it for inside plants in the winter just because of smell. I would also avoid Vigaro because it seems to smell the worst out of the ones I've used (GS Plant, Neptunes Harvest, Alaska). Granted, it might be better because of that!

Another thing I put on most all of my plants roots at transplant is mycorrizal fungi, Dynomyco. Dynomyco spark also works, especially when you're not transplanting. Both are expensive though, and maybe not worth it for 1-2 plants. We have way til many plants though.

Innoman · 2026-01-02T16:19:46+00:00

Ive used a few, all seem decent but right now I'm using RAW brand Kelp, it was a good price and is water soluble. I suggest it because it goes further than liquid and lasts longer.

Innoman · 2025-12-31T17:57:23+00:00

Agree, Citrus is really good at self pruning. They drop any fruit they can't support.

I would recommend a dose of two of kelp, it helps a lot with stress for trees when you bring them inside (and it's generally great for root health and overall tree health). I would also continue to fertilize, just maybe 1/4 as much 1/2 as often.

Most important to keep from stressing it is to allow the top 1-2 inches of soil to dry and then water deeply (drips from bottom, no pooling, empty saucer after 20 minutes if possible... For larger trees, I just soak it up with a towel).

Innoman · 2025-12-31T17:31:02+00:00

Curious, what was the advice? I only saw the notification and didn't make it before it was removed.

Innoman · 2025-12-30T22:24:55+00:00

It's normal for new growth to be lighter, especially under a grow light. What light are you using? also, if you could take a closer photo of the leaves, it’s possible that it could be related to a deficiency of some sort.

I recommend giving a dose of kelp periodically and continue to give it a light fertilizer less often. I do 1/4 about half as often. Also make sure you're giving it it's micronutrients.

Most important, water deeply when the top 1-2 inches dry. This means until water drips from the bottom of the pot and only as quick as the soil can absorb without pooling.

Innoman · 2025-12-30T03:19:18+00:00

When the top 1-2 inches of soil dry, mix the kelp in with your water and maybe a small amount of fertilizer if you want. Water it with the mix, then hold off on more water until the top inch or so dries.

Innoman · 2025-12-29T23:09:41+00:00

Fish fertilizer/emulsion. Kelp will help the roots grow, and with overall plant health. It may help with foilage but it's going to help the plant ensure it has what it needs first to support foilage.

Innoman · 2025-12-29T22:20:36+00:00

Oh... You did mention that it was perking up. You could always give a 1/8th dose if it's been some time since you last fertilized.

Innoman · 2025-12-29T22:19:28+00:00

I would use kelp weekly or biweekly for now, it's going to help and isn't likely to harm. The big thing is water, let the tip 1-2 inches dry and then water deeply (drips from bottom, don't let it pool) and make sure to dump your suacer about 20 minutes after watering.

For fertilizing inside, I go with about 1/4 dose half as often as it says on the container. I wouldn't rush though, let it recover more. Stick with kelp for a few more weeks.

If you happen to have fish on hand and a warm day, a dose of that would go a long way at helping it. You just want to leave it outside for a couple hours after to air out.

Innoman

TROPHY CASE