Bananaman88

I overwintered my first Ae-Ae in the ground here in SE TX. It was sort of small and it died back quite a bit but was coming back with it's first leaf when I clumsily tripped over it and killed it that spring.

The Ae-Ae that I have now was approx. 6' tall just prior to Ike coming through and partially laying it over. It was about as large as my calf at the base. After Ike it has really struggled and wasn't putting out any new leaves. I noticed it putting out a funny looking leaf last week so I went to look closer and saw that the center part of the pstem was separating from the outer part. I'm probably not doing a good job of explaining this, but it's as if someone took a razor blade and split one side of the pstem lengthwise a couple of layers in, then popped the center portion of the pstem out somewhat. It almost looks like two plants growing side-by-side until you realize that one of them is now hollow. I have some pics of it but have not had a chance to post them. I do plan to leave it in the ground this winter and wrap the pstem or put some bagged leaves around it. It is growing very near some large American hollies, a maple, and an oak, so I think that will help.