View Full Version : Stuck leaf?
I thought it was a flag leaf but it's not it's just not unfolding. It's a tad shorter than the rest like it didn't come out all the way and it won't unfold. I have had leafs come out unfold on other plants (pups of the same plant) and new one's come in already and this one is just curled up and doing nothing. Should I get on a ladder and fiddle with it? Should I just leave it alone? The plant is at a time and height that it is ready to pop a flag leaf anytime so I don't want this to disrupt it. Anyone know about this?
Jen
LilRaverBoi
09-01-2009, 10:04 PM
What kind of plant are we talking about? And how tall is it? Do you have pictures? All this information should be helpful to those reading this. Best of luck!
momoese
09-01-2009, 10:09 PM
A picture of you looking down the cigar leaf while on a tall ladder might help the guys here to figure out what you should do. :ha:
I say leave it alone. It will bloom when it's ready.
My RP was putting out stuck leaves for 2-3 leaves before the flag--I helped unroll each of them even if I had to tear the leaf-- the bloom came out just fine.
momoese very funny. :)
It's a mysore and it's VERY tall. I will snap a picture later when it is brighter outside but it's up there pretty hight and I'm not sure I can get a good one. I just checked it and no progress, still curled up. :( I know my plant and this is not normal. I feel like I should fiddle with it and help it along.
The Hollyberry Lady
09-02-2009, 08:05 AM
Wow - didn't know problems like this could arise. Hope you work it out, Jen.
Good luck.
: )
***CONFESSION**** Okay I might need to confess my husband also poured a HUGE amount of "Steer Manure" on the base of the plant about 6 weeks ago. We had a left over bag from the tomatoes we were fertilizing with it and he just put it on there thinknig if it's good for the tomatoes it will be good for the bananas. I have always put a little on the base but not a huge amount like he did. Do I need to balance it now with something...would it need calcium now? Did he hurt my banana plant!?
The Hollyberry Lady
09-02-2009, 08:54 AM
It will be very interesting to see if this is the culprit...
I know when my plants are thriving and then all of a sudden take a nose dive, I immediately think about what has changed - what did I do differenty. I can usually figure it out from there.
I do hope you can make your banana baby happy again.
: )
Thanks HollyBerryLady...I'm sure it is my fault. :) I hope someone here knows and there is a way to reverse whatever I've done.
The Hollyberry Lady
09-02-2009, 09:58 AM
I'm certain it's going to be ok, but yes, someone with some good advice would come in handy right about now...
: )
Patty in Wisc
09-02-2009, 01:28 PM
I have the same problem with one of mine. The new leaf just won't come out all the way & it starts unfurling. I don't know why. If you think it's the manure, pull it away from the plant & maybe flush it with water. Just a thought.
Patty did you fiddle with it and help it along?
Don't sweat it Jen, it will pop by itself if you give it time although it will probably tear. Raja puri's in particular are prone to this. I had to give mine a gentle tug or open up the inside of the petiole by hand a few times to get them unstuck. It didn't cause any real troubles though.
momoese
09-02-2009, 02:44 PM
did you fiddle with it
I had to give mine a gentle tug
:ha: :ha:
See you're in rare form today Mitchel!:ha::ha::ha:
Okay I'm cautiously excited. :) I just crawled up on a ladder and checked it out and it looks like it may be a flag leaf tucked in the one that won't unfold. I drug my camera up there and was sweating to death just to have it tell me I had no battery. SO, I'm charging the battery and waiting to take a picture for all you experts. I was just judging on the height of my plant and I know this is the time when the other one fruited. I really think it's a flag after all. I don't know why it's not popping out or the other leaf is not unfolding but maybe this is how it works. My first bunch I only noticed after it had already sprouted nanners. I'm so excited!!! I will update in a little while with pictures so I can get some opinions.
Naughty momoese ;) you crack me up!
momoese
09-02-2009, 03:00 PM
Hey, even I can handle a softball. ;) There was even better material in this thread but Jarred already closed the adult humor thread so I'll not go there.
bencelest
09-02-2009, 03:01 PM
Don't sweat it Jen, it will pop by itself if you give it time although it will probably tear. Raja puri's in particular are prone to this. I had to give mine a gentle tug or open up the inside of the petiole by hand a few times to get them unstuck. It didn't cause any real troubles though.
I am with Bob on this.
RJ are prune to this and I don't think the steer manure is the culprit.
All the bananas LOVE steer manure and they are very happy with it as Joe Real told me.
Give it a tug or tear it a little if you have to. In half a day or so it will straighten itself out.
Okay here is the picture. It has another leaf inside of it. In the first picture you can see the curled up leaf between two and follow it down and you can see where there is another one. then the second is a close up of where the other leaf is inside. The curling you see in the second picture is the second (possible flag) leaf and the one it's tucked in is the long curled up one. It looks like it's uncurling before the long one. I'm so very excited and I hope it's my flag leaf and not two deformed ones. :) I hope all that makes sense.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22134&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22134&ppuser=3966)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22135&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22135&ppuser=3966)
The Hollyberry Lady
09-02-2009, 08:57 PM
As I am brand new to banana growing, may I ask what is a 'flag' leaf?
: )
The flag is the last leaf to emerge before the flower bud comes out which holds the BANANAS!!! I'm so excited because this is exactly what it is. :) I just took a flash light out there and the leaf has started to uncurl and you can see the bud straight up. Woo Hoo! I don't know what it is about growing bananas but I love it!
bencelest
09-03-2009, 09:47 AM
Does it looks like this?
It's my Raja Puri on 8/23/09
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22159&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22159)
Check it out! I'm so excited!!! :)
bencelest ~ That's a beauty. Do you have an updated picture? How much has it changed in the last week? Isn't it exciting. :)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22161&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22161&ppuser=3966)
momoese
09-03-2009, 11:09 AM
Congrats Jen and Benny!
The Hollyberry Lady
09-03-2009, 11:15 AM
Thank you Jen, for explaining to me about the flag leaf. I thought it might be something to do with the fruits coming. How cool. Banana plants are just too awesome. I am so glad to have joined the insanity!
: )
Bananaman88
09-03-2009, 12:10 PM
Jen, what your picture shows is exactly what has been happening with my 'Hua Moa'. Almost every leaf that has come out for the past month has been having this issue. My 'Raja Puri' has done it once but not nearly as severe as the 'Hua Moa'. I've had to physically help unroll and cut the past three leaves that tried to emerge. The damage was so bad on mine that I had to just cut the last leaf off. Hopefully, with time, this will correct itself. I had major problems with my 'Hua Moa' doing this last year.
Patty in Wisc
09-03-2009, 12:33 PM
Congrats to you Jen - I'm so happy for you!! :):)
I'm waiting on a flower for over 3 years now.
Thanks Patty, momoese, and hollyberrylady. Patty, I'm sure your time is coming soon. Do you have a Mysore? Oh I see ice creams and all the other fancy ones ;) How big are the ice creams, are they getting close?
Bananaman did you see that second picture? It's a flag...I think??? :) No really I'm almost positive. I can see the shape of the flower and the red even though it's still sticking straight up and the flag is on top of it and hasn't unrolled yet. I'm such a banana plant stalker that I think I just caught it very early. That leaf that didn't uncurl was my first sign and I'm so glad I listened to everyone on here and left it alone. I really wanted to go up there and chop it off thinking it was tangled up. That would have been awful. :( Anyway, it's moving along now so tomorrow will tell more. I will post another picture if anything exciting happens.
Jen
Patty in Wisc
09-03-2009, 12:49 PM
For over 3 years I have Ice Creams, Double Mahoi & Truly Tiny. I also have Misi Luki, Siam Ruby & High color mini that I got this year.
Patty, what happened to the big Ice Cream you moved outside?
Congrats Jen .... very exciting, unfortunately you are far from the only banana stalker here..........some day it will be my turn! I get up on a chair or ladder and peak and haven't seen any signs of a flag yet:ha:
harveyc
09-03-2009, 06:32 PM
Hi Jen, sorry I missed your post until now. I was just thinking about you the other day when I was looking at my dorky picture of me posing with my bunch of bananas back in January. I wish you'd put your photo of your excited face with your bananas back up...I promise not to tease you. I'll leave that up to Mitchel or Bob! ;)
If it's the flag leaf, you probably don't have to do anything at this point, but your plant symptoms are similar to what has been discussed a few times. I don't know how much difference it might make at this point, but you might add some gypsum or some other form of calcium.
Good luck,
Harvey
momoese
09-03-2009, 07:39 PM
Hi Jen, sorry I missed your post until now. I was just thinking about you the other day when I was looking at my dorky picture of me posing with my bunch of bananas back in January. I wish you'd put your photo of your excited face with your bananas back up...I promise not to tease you. I'll leave that up to Mitchel or Bob! ;)
That will have to be Bob's job. See I never teased Jen the first time. But when Bob posts his cheesy picture if he ever gets any banana fruit to pose with :lurk: that will be a different story! He's a seasoned veteran of the board. ;)
Nobody has to worry because I'm not posting any cheezy pictures. :) hee hee
From the looks of it tonight, it's a flag. The leaf is unfolding beautifully and the flower is visible although not open. I'm very excited...not excited enough to pose with it and post a pic but still excited. :02:
Jen
The Hollyberry Lady
09-03-2009, 11:53 PM
Hey, I never got to see that pic, Jen!
Pretty please?...
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/hollyberrylady08/pic-4276-thumb-1.jpg
bencelest
09-04-2009, 01:30 AM
Thanks Jen
My latest pic was on 8/31/09
which looked the same as yours.
Isn't that exciting?
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22224&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22224)
And thanks Mitchel.
Bananaman88
09-04-2009, 06:25 AM
Jen- I looked a little closer at your pic and, sorry, that isn't what my Hua Moa looked like. I'm not sure what I was seeing. Mine puts up a huge cigar leaf that won't unfurl, then near the bottom of that, the next leaf starts trying to back out of the unfurled leaf and kinks over. So far I have been able to get the first leaf to unroll manually but there usually ends up being a little damage to both leaves. Sorry for the confusion before. Looks like you have a bloom on the way now! Congrats! I'll save a place for a pup in the spring.
bencelest
09-08-2009, 09:20 AM
Check it out! I'm so excited!!! :)
bencelest ~ That's a beauty. Do you have an updated picture? How much has it changed in the last week? Isn't it exciting. :)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22161&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22161&ppuser=3966)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22621&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22621)
here's the updated picture of my Raja Puri 9 7 09
bencelest
09-08-2009, 09:25 AM
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=22622&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22622)
Here's also my other banana plants. My RJ is only 3 and a half feet when it flowered.
kaczercat
09-08-2009, 05:34 PM
Hey I have a quick question regarding the plants and their hight. If i had a 4-6 foot banana and i cut it down to 2-3 feet would it flower at a much smaller hight? also aslong as the flower isnt in the p-stem i cut off? im not doing this just curious. -thanks
LilRaverBoi
09-08-2009, 05:45 PM
Matt, I'd be willing to try that on my Ice Cream when it gets big, since I clearly do not have the height in my room for it to reach 'mature height.' Anyone have any answers on this? I'm curious as well.
island cassie
09-08-2009, 07:40 PM
Matt - I have seen plants cut down here when a boundary is being cleared, only for them to fruit at a much lower height. I don't know how you would know where to cut them though!
harveyc
09-08-2009, 10:26 PM
Matt, do a search for the term "reset" here at the bananas.org. It has been stated that most of the time a banana will start over (leaf count) and still wait until it gets to the normal height before flowering.
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