Bananaman88

Steve,

I'd definitely make the verticle slit into the pseudostem like we talked about on the phone, and like Gabe suggested too. I don't think you will hurt it at all as long as you take care not to cut into the bud. Maybe the odd coloring you mentioned is due to it not being able to come out like it was supposed to and the color muted somewhat due to lack of light. Best of luck!