I am just asking about your strange pot! It would probably be ideal for palms, but not for Bananas! Bananas tend to have shallow roots, and grow them in the width, as opposed to palms wich often send a tap-root straight down. Put it in a larger/wider pot for about 1.5 month, and then when it has larger leaves and is in good growth you can plant it in the ground. The leaves will most likely sunburn at first, but if it is well-watered you will have sun-adjusted leaves in no time. Try to adjust it to full-sun gradually, as more light = better growth. The black spots are on the older leaves. This means the plant is taking nutrients from these leaves for new growth, or the plant is simply focusing on new growth. Remember to use a good potting mix. Ensete glaucum, like its brother "ventricosum" loves fert, so you can allready start a light fertilization program. Use the stuff you mix with water. As the plant strengthens in growth, be more liberal with fertilizer. If you are unshure about amounts, and NPK ratio, ask the people at a garden centre. When the plant is in the ground it's better to use organic fertilizer as opposed to chemical fertilizer if you feel unshure about amounts. This is because it is easier to over-fertilize with the chemical stuff. Best of luck! Erlend

Thanks. The kids do enjoy them.. and they were as helpful as teens can be expected to be while I was sick. I am rather proud that any of the trees made it at all. if it weren't for the kids trying I would have probably lost every thing. they absolutely love the smell of the flowers I have gotten on my kumquat tree... they take a step stool (except for my oldest he is 16 and 6'1" he needs no extra height) to smell the flowers.. I've had 12 flowers now.. still no fruit.. :o( but.. I'm just glad it is growing like a weed.. after I butchered it directly after getting it.. poor thing.. It has a bunch of new growth. I moved it to the window with the other trees. it seems lots happier there. We measure how tall the trees are about once a week. and I get help when I carry the trees to the bath tub for showers. If I had thought of it I should have made a chart or something else to keep track of each trees growth.. any way.. back to the seedling.. I just posted a pic of it. as you can see the top is not doing any thing. if I pinched off the branches (after closer examination I found two branches in one spot) would that encourage the top to start growing again? it is just at 5" tall. the tip is like it had been cut.. hate that it might have stunted it.. It was just too hot on them and not enough water. The rest look like they are putting on new leaves and the tip tops are growing again.. I am back to checking on them several times a day. I'm glad that I have an open forum to discuss them. a place where I can talk about my particular problems and joys. I can learn from others problems and triumphs as I hope they can learn from mine.. thanks. Gina *BabyBlue*

Thank you both. Yes, new parent syndrome. I just lost a 20 year old mountain hemlock and a vine maple beside it (and I can't figure out why they died) and am sick about it, so I guess I'm being a nervous nellie about the rest of my trees. Ken, yes it's close to the fence but won't outgrow its spot before the fence rots and I'll likely be gardening in heaven by then. My son will inherit the house and will take out all the trees and plants and plant lawn, I'm sure. My friends are instructed to get Plant Amnesty and/or other gardeners in here to rescue what they can when the time comes. The fence was supposed to be different, but the fence man didn't understand and had about 1/3 of it built before I saw it. This design was a compromise to having him rip it all out. One last question: If I want it to bush up like this pic (thanks for the links, Ken) should I nip the new growth? Is it too early (young to do that)? I want it to look like this, if possible: Bushier tree

First thing that I'd look to are iron deficiency and pH. Here's a chart with the basics of systematic leaf conditions. It's not always so cut and dry, but these are the basics... http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/html_pubs/hydro/symptoms.html Since it's the easiest fix, I'd get a water soluble micronutrient product and use that first. A common formula is Iron, Zinc, and Manganese (not to be confused with Magnesium.) If it works, and you're growing in the ground, then check with your local county ext. to see if it's a common deficiency. If it is, then you know the fix. If it isn't then you'll want to discover what could be interfering with nutrient uptake. Common causes are imbalances where a surplus of one nutrient/mineral affects another, and pH issues. Good luck. :-) Oh, it could be herb. drift, but iron deficits aren't uncommon. Edit: Dave posted while I was typing... I basically agree. Especially since micro-nutrient supplementation is so simple, and plants usually respond quite quickly to their application, I'd try that first. If it's herbicide drift, they're damaged beyond repair, and there's no sense worrying about that until you've ruled out the easy fixes.