Banana's not doing well

[SundayAfternoon]

I put 4 baby bananas in my garden, about 6 months ago.

One has done really well, and has plenty of leaves.

2 others are not putting out leaves, indeed are not even not growing! 2 leaves each - looking wilted and downcast.

One has died. The stem went soggy.

I water them once a day. Fertilize once a week with a well balanced fertilizer (including trace minerals). and I'm not sure if I'm underwatering/overwatering.

But my ground here is very hard /clay. I'm thinking that they're not liking it too much, are possible root bound? hence the lack of growth.

Am not sure what to do now.

Is it too late to dig the two up and replant them in more sandy soil? Should I water them more/less?

I'm so upset that despite all the TLC they are not thriving, especially when I seem to see banana plants all over Thailand growing by the side of the road or in bits of rough soil.

Agh. What to do?

[troysantos]

Wow ... nobody has yet responded to this. I would just wonder if the fertilizer isn't doing your plants in. Maybe the soil is too hard. But, heck, if you're watering, the soil should be plenty soft enough for the roots to go where they want to go. If the last haven't yet died, consider going without the fertilizer. Clay soil is high in minerals already. Could there have been something in the soil already that did them in? Maybe the spot had a large concentration of something dumped there at some time in the past. Banana plants are pretty darn hardy, usually just want water and sun. But even lacking sun, they won't just wilt and die.

[Neeranam]

My banana trees are one of the few that are doing really well in my sticky clay soil. They have grown from 4 feet to about 10 feet in 6 months. I give them lots of water twice a day and no fertilizer.

[focus27]

I think you've answered your own question - soggy stems mean too much water. It's not just the soil type but drainage due to land profile. Sounds like you planted these at the end of the last rainy season - I wouldn't water them at all during the rains.

When I lived out in the countryside I made a profile of the land during the torrential rains - the eye can't always see this when dry, but tons of water is good for seeing where are the slopes and any stagnant pools. I also never used commercial fertilizer - I could generate enough organic mulch from weeding.

Good luck.