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will gravel on top of soil hurt plant

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

my banana plant (big) was growing great and the other morning i woke to found an infestation of small flies. i successfully handled the problem by 1) spraying them and plant with diluted neem and 2) putting a thick layer of horticultural gravel on top of soil. no more flies but i notice the leaf that was opening quickly has not opened anymore. previously i could see dramatic changes each day. my question(s) is can gravel in top of soil hurt the plant? does it keep air from getting in the soil? could the neem spray have halted my plant's growth? thanks.

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Comments (5)

Elisa Quinzi
Original Author
5 years ago
also with the gravel on top i feel like i'll be guessing how often to water now.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
5 years ago
Small flies may be fungus gnats. They love moist and organic conditions. Standing water (usually overflow collected in saucers) is a problem too. Flies themselves are very annoying but won't damage plants. But they lay hundreds of eggs in soil, where larvae feed on organic matter. Best way to eliminate them is not to give them what they want :)

I use gravel topdressing in most of my pots without having any problems.

Never used neem, so can't comment - I do not know if it works on fungus gnats (if in fact those are flies you have).
Elisa Quinzi thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
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Elisa Quinzi
Original Author
5 years ago
theyre probably gnats then. they were in the soil. tons. i hope i didnt hurt my plant.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
5 years ago
Your soil must be wet most of the time if you have 'tons' of them. You could use bamboo skewer or chopstick (or a thinner dowel with sharpened end) to test if soil is still too moist. It should be inserted about 3/4 deep into pot for few minutes.

I do not grow banana plant, so I do not know how moist they like it. But I have other tropicals in containers - brugmansias, figs, loquat - these are all quite big and also like more water (more than succulents I grow). I have many other plants, smaller but still tropicals. They are outdoors now, but have to be brought indoors for the winter. I do not have FG problem - sure, there may be occasional fly, but very seldom and very, very few.

No standing water; watering when needed; good air circulation (using fan helps if needed); no organic debris left - just few things to do to help. If you have many FG, you need to find why and eliminate them. In the meantime, you could try sticky tapes to catch adults (hopefully less eggs to hatch). Top dressing of gravel should help some, not deep as you suggested. Small gravel is better than fine sand (I don't know how small or big is what you used). Sand is too fine and may impair drainage. Get Bti - available in granules (?) or liquid - and use when watering. Easy way is to get mosquito dunks and dissolve small piece in water yo use. Bti is safe to humans and pets, but will kill larvae. These are just immediate helpful tips and unless real reason why they are there in such numbers is found and eliminated, they 'will be back' :)

Since I have no experience with neem, I do not know if it was OK for banana plant or not. Hopefully someone that knows will comment.
Elisa Quinzi thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years ago
What Rina said ..........

Al

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