I have three potted banana trees at home kept in my atrium, all between four and five foot high now. I recently tried to add some creeping petunias to spice up the pots with a little colour for summer, unfortunately they all withered and died within days of being planted. I have not had the same problems with the ones I planted in my hibiscus pots. Does anyone know wether bananas release some kind of hormone that inhibits the growth of other plants around their base or are they just too greedy for other plants to compete with in the same pot? the bananas are not flowering or bearing any fruit. Any suggestions for flowering plants that would survive would be appreciated.
Banana plants are often planted around. (scroll to banana photos) http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/SeedOrders/enter.html I'm not sure why your Petunias died, but I don't believe that Banana roots exude any type of allelopathic chemical that would kill other plants. It may be more of a light or soil issue. --Hope that helps
