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Dwarf musa help!

gabbyy7993c_XX454Wgabbyy7993c_XX454W Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi, 

So I am new to this forum and have had my dwarf musa (which I bought from tesco by accident but honestly I love it and have always wanted one!) for almost 2 years now, its been pretty happy and growing loads! There are 2 healthy pups, there were two smaller ones but unfortunately as the plant grew and the larger pups I don't think they got sufficient light and one died. It was happy where I moved it, but it hasn't been doing too well the last couple weeks - I forgot to use feed for a while but I cut off the really sad leaves and gave it a feed the other day, however it doesn't look too great. 

I think it might be time to repot as the last time I did that was last spring, I have read a lot about being able to cut off the pups especially now they're pretty big- but honestly I don't know how to go about it. Last year when I repotted it, when I pulled it out there was a mass of soil around the roots, I tried to get some off to the roots but barely managed it and I didn't want to cause any damage to the root system, to be honest I am still learning with all this! And that was bad enough because it really did not appreciate being repotted for a few weeks and I thought it was going to die! So how am I even going to cut off the pups if I pull it out and there is a massive soil mound around the roots? Is this necessary now or should I wait until next year and just repot it for now without cutting any pups off? 
 

Posts

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Depends whether you want the plant to "bush" but it certainly looks as if it would gain from being re potted.
    The medium you are using looks extremely dry and the level is well below the what one would usually consider adequate.
    Perhaps consider a larger pot which you could place on the floor ? It looks as if you have sufficient light if you turn the pot every so often to even up the growth.
    You could also pop it outside for a bit of a holiday once you are sure of the weather. You don't specify exactly which one but M basjoo is the hardiest in the UK as far as I am aware.
  • gabbyy7993c_XX454Wgabbyy7993c_XX454W Posts: 2
    philippasmith2 said:
    Depends whether you want the plant to "bush" but it certainly looks as if it would gain from being re potted.
    The medium you are using looks extremely dry and the level is well below the what one would usually consider adequate.
    Perhaps consider a larger pot which you could place on the floor ? It looks as if you have sufficient light if you turn the pot every so often to even up the growth.
    You could also pop it outside for a bit of a holiday once you are sure of the weather. You don't specify exactly which one but M basjoo is the hardiest in the UK as far as I am aware.
    Do you mean "bush" by me leaving the pups on? Is it beneficial for me to cut them off? I wouldn't mind but just want to consider all my options. I have watered it recently but not from the top for a long time, do you think I should be doing this? Yes I did wonder that a few months ago but I was worried about burying the smallest one. I have a houseplant mix of coco coir, pearlite and bat guano - do you think this would be a suitable re potting soil? How much bigger of a pot do you think I can go with this one? Yes I think I will do now the weathers getting nicer. 

    To be honest I am not even completely sure of the variety, good job it's hardy though at the rate I'm learning  :'D 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If you want to keep it in the same pot but with deeper compost, you could carefully take it out and add fresh compost underneath, then put it back and fill in any gaps around the edges. Give it a good soak first (same for repotting in a bigger pot).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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