southernbanana

Recently bought a beautiful (- the spots) Ae Ae banana and noticed brown spots on the pstem and leaves. Im hoping its only cosmetic, maybe wet packaging around the banana during shipment. But I'll leave it to the experts.

Jananas Bananas

I'm no expert, but I would like to comment. I think I would contact the person you got it from and include a couple of those pictures. Ask how it looked when shipped. I purchased a couple of Ae Ae's that were shipped in wet packs and mine don't look like that. They have a little bit of brown on the white edges from sunburn and that's all.



There are more pictures in my gallery if you want to check it out.

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Rmplmnz

Just curious where did you buy the Ae Ae?

Do not want to offend anyone on the board..if you sourced here...but.."my experience" with Ae Ae..is the leaf pattern is predominantly white or green...some white is green tinged...but there is significant "pure white"...look at Jananas pic right below your post.............

The white on your leaf patter has mostly "green" tinge that is lacking on the Ae Ae's I have grown....there are several board members with extensive Ae Ae experience (beyond my personal experience) that can add their expertise....

Jack Daw

On the contrary, I like southernbanana's Ae Ae more than any other, it looks very well. Except for those spots. They are not from shipping and I can safely say they weren't caused by shipping. I don't really know what caused it, but My Grand Nains seem to have the same problem and they are in the ground.

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r3tic

As far as the brown spots go, they look as if it may have been caused by spider mites. That's what my plumeria would look like when the mites got out of hand. Look for signs of insects and treat as needed. Otherwise it's a great looking aeae. Let us know how the next leaf looks.

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Jack Daw

Nope, my naners don't have spider mites, it was the first thing I checked.

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Rmplmnz

I am not saying I like it more or less than any other plant..just that the leaf pattern varies from "my experience" and calling on members that are more familiar with this plant to comment.

southernbanana

I bought off eBay from a grower in Florida. I did notice some ants in the packaging and cleaned off the root ball before planting. No indication of mites though. Plant is in good soil and I'm watching water/brown spots... So hopefully future leaves will be normal. Thank yall for the info/tips.

Bananaman88

It reminds me more of the variegated M. balbisiana than 'Ae-Ae'.

Rmplmnz

Thanks, most likely an Ae Ae with some variations from my experience. Be careful to not over water. Ae Ae's grow very slowly and have lower water requirements (due to this)...I am sure many members (myself included and I have grown them off and on for 16 years) can share stories of how they turned their Ae Ae corms to mush...

Good luck!!

damaclese

i just wanted to show the variability of AE AE all the pictures below are of the same plant over a years time some aren't that different from the threads creators plant







as you can see from the various pictures the leafs change radically over time and take on more or less patterning this has been in my experience totally dependent on what and how often you feed high levels of nitrogen reduce the white margins considerably also the shapes of the leafs change over time just like all maturing plants i think his is an Ae Ae and not a Musa b. variegated

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Rmplmnz

Thanks for posting the pictures!

Southernbanana's plant just has such a tiny amount of "pure white"; but to your point this could be due to high levels of nitrogen (which nurseries use to promote growth). I am just accustomed to seeing more of the "pure white" coloring (from my own limited experience)...obviously there is a high degree of variability in coloring.

damaclese

yes at one point my plant was getting more then 50% white and i read in the wiki that this is a sign of weakening in the Ae so i have fertilized my plant heavily this summer to reinvigorate it so most of the white is gone at this point but I'm sure when i bring it in this winter the white will come back i think his spot problem is attack by ants in shipping they were eating the plant to survive

Ps its hard to see but i think i detect some of the red edges that Ae Ae get if he could take some really close up pictures of thees red edges I'm sure that would confirm it as AE Ae

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Dalmatiansoap

Haha, I just hope that I will be able to join U in souch debates as Aeae grower. But for now, wish U all good growth!

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Bob

When I got mine(the one that the postal service squashed) it had these spots on the leaves and I was told(in advance) that this was due to a yearly invasion of snails. It ended up breaking off where it was damaged but all the emerging leaves have looked great with no blemishes so far. It was probably something similar with your plant. I bet the new growth is fine for you as well.

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LilRaverBoi

Well, my thought is it might be caused by ants. I really can't prove this and don't have evidence to back it up. However, I do know that ants secrete formic acid when they bite things. Formic acid is known to cause chemical burns on eyes/skin of humans/animals, so I don't think it is a stretch to think it could also damage plant tissue. Plus the pattern of it along the midrib would make sense for the path ants might take while traversing a banana plant.

Again, no conclusive evidence this causes what your pictures show, but it's a possibility that seems to make sense to me, anyway. And you DID find ants in the package, so that kinda helps solidify my argument.

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southernbanana

I think Lil Raver conclusion is correct. But damn the ants were busy, shipping was only 2 days lol. Heres the picture of the pink leaf edge on the Ae, looks similar to the ice creams edge.

damaclese

Sounds plausible to me. astute sens of logic there LilRaverBoi

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damaclese

i have to say now that you have taken the pictures in my mind there can be no doubt its an Ae Ae all be it a somewhat unusual one. As i have stated before there are many different lines of Ae Ae now that every one and there brother are growing them some variability is bound to creep in. I think you will find over time if you reduce the Nitrogen a bit more this plant will produce more white. However i must causation you if the leafs get more then 50% white this can be a sign of the plant is weakening. In that event up the nitrogen a bit to help reduce It. If you go to the wiki theirs some pretty nice info on the Ae Ae from some vary advanced growers that explains the Nitrogen issue. As well as a beautiful example of how the Ae Ae produces the white tissue

PS keep it in the shade. they burn easily

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sandy0225

I'd contact the person you purchased it off of right away and let them know of the damage/spots and send them the picture and ask if it was like that when it was shipped. And if so, what is the explanation? I hate to disagree with everyone on here, but an overall random spotted pattern scares me for some sort of fungus. I'd probably hit it with a fungicide if it arrived here like that and put it away from my other plants until I saw a new leaf was growing out that looked right. Also people shouldn't be shipping plants with bugs (ants or whatever) in them because you never know when you're shipping to a place that those bugs may become a problem, for example japanese beetle was one that got shipped by accident! And if it looked like that when it was shipped, that's not very good either. I wouldn't ship out a plant that looked like that even if I knew it was ok, unless I contacted the purchaser first (with pictures) and an explanation up front so that they knew it was ok.

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