do banana plants need a dormant period?

shoreliner

shoreliner

AC Members
Mar 3, 2007
39
0
0
Virginia, USA
www.vdh.virginia.gov
I have a banana plant , just the tuber part...bought it months ago. Had it in my low light tank...you guys told me it needed more light, so I wasn't too worried about it. I added more light about 2 weeks ago...it is still low light (about 1.6wpg, 1 powerglo bulb, one aqua glo bulb) , but the banana plant is strapped to a piece of wood right under the lights. It hasn't changed at all. It is still sitting there doing nothing. no leaves, no rotting, zip. My other plants have noteably taken a jump from the added light...so I am starting to wonder if the banana plant needs a dormancy period? A dry period? Anything like that?

water params: 78F, ph 7.4, GH 3, NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 10. 30% water change every 10 days or so. No salt. Add recommended amounts of Flourish and Flourish Excel, plus I use root tab ferts for whatever is in the gravel. Biowheel filtration. Gravel and fluorite substrate. Calcium/Zinc/Mg supplements once a month (for snails).
 
Not that I am aware of.....anyone else know?
 
why is it strapped to a piece of wood? My understanding is that bananna plants need to be in the soil, with the tubers pointing down. not too far into the substrate, just enough to stand up.

Then again, I'm not an expert on bananna plants
 
I purchased two at different times and had the same experience as you....sorry. There are so many other plants to choose from....... 8)
 
ive never had any problems with banana plants i put them in my 55 gal c02 tank and they grow like crazy
 
my little banana plants went nuts in low light. my first tank was a 5G Aquascene that I had in the basement where i lived. i threw in 2 banana plants because they were cheap and within a month or two they became monsters. my friend has pictures of them on her phone because no one we talked to believed that they grew that big! the banana bunch parts were about 7" diameter, with about 5 leafy areas that were about 5" in diameter. monster took over my tank, the bettas loved it tho!
i just had the banana part in the gravel until it grew roots, then made sure the roots were covered.
 
shoreliner said:
I had it in the substrate for 3 months, 2 weeks of that time was under the new lighting. Nada. Not even one single root. Pitiful.
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I think I read or heard somewhere that banana plants do have a dormant period. It's a tubor and they will rot if not cared for appropriately. Take them out and wrap them in a damp-moist (not too much) paper and put them in a warm dark place for a week (maybe more) or two then replant. If you see new sprout, it's ready. Let me know if it works.
 
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