Posted on: Friday, July 16, 2004

HAWAII GARDENS
Bunchy-top virus ravages bananas

By Heidi Bornhorst

Q. I think we have bunchy-top disease on our banana trees.

The leaves are short, crinkled, blotchy and mottled looking. Where did this come from? What should we do?

— Annie and Ralph K., Kane'ohe

A. It does sound like the banana bunchy-top virus. The plants get small, stunted and look deformed. They grow poorly, and if fruits grow, they are distorted and don't develop into anything you'd want to eat. The virus is spread by aphids, tiny insects that suck sap out of new leaves.

The only control is what we call sanitation. Dig out the clump and dispose of all the pieces. Don't put them in your compost pile or try to recycle the infested plant material. You need to dig out all the roots and rhizomes to eradicate it from your garden. Place a mound of compost on top to mark the spot. You cannot replant banana there for at least 3 years, but you can plant something else there.

Bunchy top has been devastating to our banana farmers and backyard growers. It has ravaged the old Hawaiian varieties such as mai'a maoli and popo'ulu.

It probably came to the Islands by someone smuggling in plant material from an infested place. Many disease and pests are in other places and not in Hawai'i.

Always check with the state Plant Quarantine Branch if you want to bring plants to Hawai'i from your travels.

IN BLOOM

I saw a pretty flowering plant combination in a famous Waikiki hotel: red coral trees, Erythrina crista-galli, set against the delicate lavender of a still-blooming jacaranda, and highlighted by the golden yellow flowered form of the usually red-orange royal poinciana, Delonix regia.

There also was the old-fashioned, deep purple Bougainvillea spectabilis growing thickly and in full bloom on a stout wooden arbor.

Crown flower, another lavender lovely, is blooming solidly this year. This is a great less-thirsty plant that is a favorite of lei-makers and butterfly lovers. This is a plant I'd love to see more of in our Hawai'i gardens.

Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable-landscape consultant. Send questions to: Island Life, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; or islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com. Letters may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.

Lyon Arboretum Plant Sale • 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday • Demonstrations each hour to include a tabletop water garden. • Introducing: Globba "Sangria" from Olomana Tropicals nursery in Waimanalo. A new "dancing girl" type of ginger from Thailand. A lovely and exotic-looking potted plant and an excellent long-lasting cut flower. Grows 1y´ to 2y´ feet tall with cascades of pinkish-purple bracts. Small yellow day flowers give a nice contrast. The stems and back of the leaves are a deep wine red. Adapts to sunny or shady conditions, but happiest in all daylight shade. Blooms from May to October followed by a winter dormant period. Divide and repot in new soil each May for more plants and flowers.