Plant guide:🍌 Banana
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⚠ Critical🩺
Leaves
Cold Damage and Chilling Injury in Banana
Commonly affects: Musa acuminata, M. balbisiana (Banana)
Leaves develop water-soaked blotches that turn brown-black after a cold night, and the whole plant can collapse if temperatures drop below freezing.
Potential Causes
- 1Banana's tropical origins make it highly sensitive to temperatures below 10°C
- 2Sudden cold snaps without any acclimation period
- 3Container-grown plants left outdoors too late into autumn
Solution Steps
- 1Move container-grown plants indoors or to a sheltered spot before cold weather arrives
- 2Wrap outdoor pseudostems with frost cloth or straw for winter protection in marginal climates
- 3Cut back cold-damaged foliage once the danger has passed — the corm often survives even if top growth is killed
- 4Be patient, since bananas frequently resprout from the corm after apparent total collapse
Prevention Tip
The corm at the base is remarkably cold-hardy compared to the leaves — even a plant that looks completely killed by frost often regrows from the base in spring.
