AeAe corm question
 

Forgive me for asking what is probably a newbie question. I just don't know enough about what is happening beneath the soil on bananas. I'll do some homework, I promise, but I have a question in the meantime.

If the corm or a good chunk of the corm bottom rots away but there are still white roots coming from the top, can an AeAe survive without it's corm? It just needs the roots; right?

Or does the rotting of the corm mean that the whole corm is on it's way out, roots and all, and therefore the plant won't survive.

As background, I bought four AeAe's from a man in Florida via Dave's Garden Marketplace for $100 each. Yes, there is something wrong with me :ha:. He also advertised here not too long ago. One rotted pretty quickly, but the others seem to have sent out roots but are slow to sprout leaves. I checked on one, and repotted it with new well-draining soil, but I found the bottom of the corm rotting even though the top had sprouted some nice roots.

This one was the healthiest looking one. The others were much smaller:

Re: AeAe corm question
 

I wish I could help you, but I am still learning myself...

Help should be on the way!! :) ~CHeryl

Re: AeAe corm question
 

If you can stop the rot you still have a chance. Try to scrape away all the mushy part of the corm. Dust it with sulfur or cinnamon (which has antifungal properties) and let it set out in a dry, shady spot for several days. I'd then repot it and water it very carefully from here on out until you see new growth.

Re: AeAe corm question
 

Clare, if the "corm" you are talking about is a piece of the old mother plant corm, attached to the new plants healthy corm (however small) then there is nothing to worry about. Old mother plant corm is only there as a food reserve for the pup. It will give up its food reserves to the new plant and wither away. On the other hand, if the actual base of your new plant is rotting, you have a problem. You say there is still roots and that is good. Banana starts like to be only SLIGHTLY moist. That means if Toilet paper can be saturated on any part of the surronding soil then you are keeping the start too wet. Follow previous advise to cure rot but do not let healthy roots dry out at all.

Re: AeAe corm question
 

Thanks so much, Bananaman88 and Jeff, for the information. The soil that I am using is not drying out as fast as I had hoped. It seems to dry out very fast in sunny conditions, but in the current shaded location, it doesn't dry out fast at all. I've come to think that burned leaves is better than a dead plant, and so I've moved them to a more sunny aspect. I believe that I've lost two -- there's $200 down the drain -- but with your help, the remaining two may survive so thanks much.

Re: AeAe corm question
 

Hoping you can salvage the other 2 also Clare...

I've had a corm(not an AeAe) that hadn't flowered. It has looked like nothing but rot - top to bottom. I removed the rot & dead as best I could(small amounts at a time & rinsed it lightly in cool water - patting it dry with a clean cotton cloth) over a 3 day period. After it was clean as it could be, I put it in some rich, well draining topsoil - with no water. Nothing for 2 weeks...it was showing signs of brown mush & rot again. I gently wiped it away as good as I could(no cutting on it, keeping it in the dirt). Waited another week....then it pushed out a healthy pup! Has been a week since that happened & I have been wiping the brown off the little bit of growth that the Mother corm has & she is beginning to push up growth too!

Wishing you the best! :) ~Cheryl

Re: AeAe corm question
 

Thanks so much, Cheryl. That was a good idea, and it obviously paid off. I am unsure if the rotting part belongs to the mother or the pup. I just pulled off what I could with my fingers. I was afraid to damage the existing roots so I just put it back in fresh soil, and I'm not going to water it again ever! LOL! I'll try your technique on the others and see what happens. One already rotted top to bottom, but perhaps I can save the others. If these weren't so expensive, I don't think I would be fussing with them as much, but I really can't afford to replace them right now. Thanks again.