Corm questions
 

Hello! I have this pup I purchased a few weeks ago and I wanted to look at the corm to make sure it was not rotting and I noticed some holes in it, they’re not soft and don’t have a smell to them. I’m assuming it was damage from before I got it. It also looks like part of it is splitting? Still fairly new to this but does this look concerning?

Re: Corm questions
 

The holes are what used to be Root Initials. If you look at the chart at the bottom of my photo you'll see the abbreviation 'ri' and it's self explanatory from there. Those holes are very bad for sensitive bananas like the a'ea'e because it gives rot a direct path to the central cylinder. Most of the time it's caused by someone pulling the rhizome from the ground and the root initials get pulled out of the cortex. It's always better to cut the roots before pulling it out of the ground.

Most likely you don't have a rhizome from a sensitive banana and won't have anything to be concerned with.

Re: Corm questions
 

I appreciate the response and the knowledge, that makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, this is an aeae so I will have to closely monitor the situation. Do you have any remediation tips or suggestions to prevent further issues?

Re: Corm questions
 

That sucks when a seller sends an a'ea'e in that condition, hopefully it didn't come from one of our members. The solution is very simple but just in case it came from a member here you should first let them advise you. I stopped selling a'ea'e on this site because I hated, really hated, when people here would give terrible advise to someone that got a plant from me. Everything I would advise you to do should have been done by the seller before they potted it, so I don't really expect the seller to be able to help you.

Re: Corm questions
 

Oh okay, I appreciate the help. Now that I realize it is a more serious issue than I thought, I reached out to the seller. Thank you!

Re: Corm questions
 

I sold him that.
So what would you do about those "initials"?
I'd like to hear what you have to say. I see plenty of new roots.
The root were cut being being pulled out of the pot.
If there's a fear of rot you could always clean the holes and dip it in a weak bleach solution but I don't see much wrong there.

Re: Corm questions
 

It’s definitely not rotting. I’ve used alcohol to help with rot on monsteras but haven’t thought of a bleach solution. What sort of concentration do you mix up for that? If that’s more effective I might adapt that for all my plants if I see rotting.

Re: Corm questions
 

Personally I would just plant it. and let it grow. But that is me.
I sold someone a gros michel plant once, Every couple days he would dig it up and look a the roots and send bad photos and ask is this mold, is this this, is this that. eventually he killed it from not leaving it alone and recovering and it died.
Search the board.
However dipping it in a weak bleach solution is going to set you back, possibly kill the new roots that I see in the photos. Just swab them out and then plant is and let it grow.

Re: Corm questions
 

I cleaned it up last night and removed any dead roots and it’s been replanted. I don’t plan on checking it again until I have to repot or put it in the ground. In the future I’ll only dig it up if I’m noticing issues on the pseudostem. Thank you for the direction and advice!

Re: Corm questions
 

I don't know how long you've been growing the a'ea'a but I do know when I started that my first few pups were terrible, not as bad as yours but bad enough. It's just as easy to produce perfect offshoots as it is to produce offshoots of any other quality but the first step is to acknowledge there's an issue and then improve the process.

The ugliest part of your plant is that large fissure and it should have been removed immediately because it is going to rot and has zero chance of healing.


A bleach solution would be so temporary that overall it won't make a difference.

My choice would be to move the growing point and then cut off all parts of the rhizome that has flaws but it if you wanted to ship it with the holes I would recommend using something that would be effective longer than the lifespan of the plant.

This photo is a good example of how quickly the growing point can move.




New roots are good and they'll keep the area that they service healthy but the area where the roots are rotting is going to be the problem.

A good pup or a bad pup makes no difference for a capable grower but for most buyers of an a'ea'e this is their first experience with a sensitive rhizome and starting with a perfect pup just makes it easier for them.

Re: Corm questions
 

Been growing these for a few years now. Never had an issue, until now. And then I still don't really see an issue.
I've taken note of what you've said.
But you haven't explained much detail of HOW to do said things you talk about. Such as moving the growing tip. Do you mean cut it off. make it grow more or ???
I think the thing you are calling a fissure is where it was removed from the mother, but then again I don't know because you're not being too specific in your details.

Thanks for the insight, but I'll I'll stick with what is working for me as I've had nothing go wrong so far, at least not in my eyes.

I think what you are doing is making things more complicated than need be, but again, that is my opinion.
I do appreciate your input but the talking down doesn't do much for me, nor do I think it helps.

thanks

Re: Corm questions
 

Most of what I do is so simple it shouldn't need explaining and different situations would use the same principle but could use a different technique.

Let's say you have a pup with multiple flaws, by raising the soil level around that pup the growing point inside that pup will rise.

Maybe it does appear complicated but it's a quick and easy way to solve many problems.

Another simple way to move a growing point would be to tip a potted plant on it's side and leave it that way. The growing point will automatically sense it is horizontal and look for the easiest way to move to a vertical position. First it will move forward horizontally and then vertically.

Re: Corm questions
 

This is better, thanks
When you explain things, it helps,. :)

Re: Corm questions
 

Any update on your plant?

Re: Corm questions
 

It is alive and well! I’ll post some photos once the next leaf is out.

Re: Corm questions
 

How's that new leaf looking? :woohoonaner:

Re: Corm questions
 

It is looking great!

Re: Corm questions
 

Nice :08:

Re: Corm questions
 

Any new updates?

Re: Corm questions
 

I do have an update but it’s not a good one. I went on about a 2 week vacation at the start of the year and my house sitter neglected to turn on the grow lights for the grow cabinet i had this and several other of my rare house plants in. I came back to everything but my monstera rotted. I’ve significantly upgraded my setup and am hoping to get my hands on another pup in the future.