View Full Version : Ladyfinger near death... help!!
miaella
06-21-2007, 03:23 PM
I have a dwarf ladyfinger that is about 14 inches tall and has stopped growing. I think I over watered it (bad soil) and the leaves all started to brown and shrivel up. The leaf that was beginning to grow from the center has stopped.
I have re-potted the plant in better soil. What else should I do? Do you think it will come back?
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x213/bibkia/baNANA003.jpg
momoese
06-21-2007, 03:56 PM
The only hope for that plant is to remove the corm from what looks to be soggy soil, chop down the pseudo stem in increments until that black rotting center leaf is no longer showing black. You may have to cut it all the way down the the corm and possibly even dig out the middle of the corm to remove all the rot. Then let it dry out a few days and repot it in dry potting soil. I would not water it until I saw some sign of new growth or a new pup coming up.
It doesn't look good for your plant.
miaella
06-21-2007, 04:07 PM
I've done some research but am not exactly sure what the corm is. Is is the "bulb" part?
Can you describe the digging out of the corm part? I'd rather not do any more damage than is already done.
momoese
06-21-2007, 04:24 PM
The corm is the round bottom part of the plant underneath the soil line. The pseudo stem is the trunk of the tree. If you chop down the trunk all the way to soil line and you can still see black in the very center of the top of the corm, then the corm has started to rot and will require some surgery. You can use any sharp knife or an exacto blade and dig all the rotted material out that you can.
miaella
06-21-2007, 04:34 PM
Momoese, thanks for the help!
I cut just below the top and the leaf was still green. I have taken the banana tree out of the soil to dry... do you have any more hope for my poor plant given its current status? Should I cut the roots off in case of rot below the corm?
Here are photos of the plant now:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x213/bibkia/baNANA005.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x213/bibkia/baNANA2002.jpg
momoese
06-21-2007, 04:43 PM
It doesn't have much of a corm. Must have been a TC plant. Just repot it and leave the soil dry for a few days. Then water it lightly one time and wait to see if takes. Keep it out of direct sunlight. If and when it grows you can start adding some more water.
Do you see any soft dark rot on the roots or corm?
miaella
06-21-2007, 05:01 PM
These is some soft dark rot on the ends of some of the roots. I can't really tell on the corm since it is so small.
(Not sure what a TC plant is, I bought this online from logee's)
momoese
06-21-2007, 05:42 PM
TC = Tissue Culture
If there is not any rot on the corm itself it might survive but the corm is so small that it will tough for it to make a come back.
Go ahead and repot per my previous instructions and hope for the best!
miaella
06-21-2007, 06:33 PM
Thanks again for the help!
This is my first attempt at growing a banana tree, hopefully it springs back to life.
Momoese, do you have any recommendations on where I could buy a bigger banana corm? I'm in MN so I probably won't have any luck locally.
D'Andra
06-21-2007, 07:34 PM
Hi Miaella.
You may have some luck finding some good corms if you post in the For sale/swap & wanted forum. I think you can find it on this sites homepage.
miaella
06-21-2007, 07:50 PM
Thanks D'Andra, I'll give it a try!
fish2026
06-21-2007, 10:20 PM
Let us know. Where you able to save it ?
JoeS475
06-21-2007, 11:09 PM
Make sure your plant (or replacement plant) gets great drainage, and is never sitting in water - from the looks of the first picture you posted the soil could be soggy, and the tray it is sitting in may be collecting water (tough to tell though).
Bananas LOVE water, but HATE sitting in it!
~Joe
miaella
06-21-2007, 11:35 PM
The photo makes the plant look wetter than it was--I had a mix of 50% potting soil and 50% perlite so it drained pretty well (for the last week). The couple weeks before then it was in pure potting soil and was very wet...which seems to have done it in.
I'll be sure to keep you guys updated if it survives!
miaella
07-02-2007, 07:30 PM
It has been almost two weeks since I began trying to save this Dwarf LadyFinger. The good news is that it is still green. The bad news is that it doesn't seem to be doing anything except for brown at the top. Anyone have any hope for its survival?
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x213/bibkia/ladyfingerpup009.jpg
momoese
07-02-2007, 08:47 PM
Is it getting any bright indirect sunlight?
You might want to continue cutting the top if looks like it's rotting. Turning brown and rotting are two different things though.
As for hope, yes, there is still some hope, even for your very small TC. Bananas are actually very tough plants that can surprise you!
If all else fails you have learned that bananas like sunlight and don't like to sit in water that becomes stagnant.
On a side not, I wouldn't recommend glazed pots as they don't breath and will promote root rot.
miaella
07-02-2007, 09:42 PM
The plant was outside for the past week getting some sun. The top isn't rotting, just browning. I re-potted it just now and noticed that some of the roots were rotting so I cut those off and tried to remove any rot left on the corm.
mrbungalow
07-03-2007, 03:47 AM
Put it in the compost and buy a new one. Unless there is a lot of sentimental value, there is no use utilizing time on a problem-plant that is easily replaced.
bencelest
07-03-2007, 09:10 AM
Dwarf ladyfinger is hard to find nowadays. Logees run out of stock, the only source I found before.
51st state
07-03-2007, 09:12 AM
Hi Erlend
what a pessimist!!...It's a banana after all, tough as old boots.
I 'found' a cutting from an unnamed banana outside a restaurant in Italy earlier this year and its just about to unfurl its first leaf. So patience is the name of the game.
I would give it lots of TLC, plenty of warmth and humidity (but with ventilation too), and bright conditions (but no direct sunlight) I expect to see photos of it sprouting in a week or two.
fingers crossed, good luck
Kev
NANAMAN
07-03-2007, 09:38 AM
I've done about everything you can do to kill a plant at some point or another, and had success at it! But it has taught me what not to do in the future. Hopefully this will be one of those learning experiences, without the death of the plant! Good luck!!!
MediaHound
07-03-2007, 10:20 AM
I 'found' a cutting from an unnamed banana outside a restaurant in Italy earlier this year and its just about to unfurl its first leaf.
:drum:
mrbungalow
07-03-2007, 01:30 PM
Hi Erlend
what a pessimist!!...It's a banana after all, tough as old boots.
I 'found' a cutting from an unnamed banana outside a restaurant in Italy earlier this year and its just about to unfurl its first leaf. So patience is the name of the game.
I would give it lots of TLC, plenty of warmth and humidity (but with ventilation too), and bright conditions (but no direct sunlight) I expect to see photos of it sprouting in a week or two.
fingers crossed, good luck
Kev
That's right Kev, I did come through as a pessimist. That's kind of the opposite to the spirit here at bananas.org, so I see I will have to work on beeing a better team player! Afterall, this forum is for finding solutions to the problem! :bananarow:
What I should have added on my earlier post is that I have had individual seedlings go through the same thing. Just refusing to grow, wilting, and turning brown for no apparent reason. Not many, but that one or two in a batch.
To be honest, the plant in question doesn't look good. I have tried many times to nurse these kinds back to health (we all hate killing plants), but get dissapointed every time. For instance: I had the blues for a few days this winter when I lost my 2 and only "true" nagensium seedlings to the same conditions. So now I try to focus on keeping the "healthy" plants healthy.
I do hope the ladyfinger gets throuh it, my best advice would be to not stress the roots anymore, site it in a bright location inside, keep it well watered, and try not to move it. - But again, the best action has already been taken...
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