Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Definitely will recover... I've seen them in worse conditions than that and they spring right back. In fact, I remember seeing one toppled over almost like that and it started growing upward!

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

I am very sorry that happened. Even though the banana corm will likely be saved. I understand that the incredible disappointment is that you have to go back to square one when your banana plant was so close to producing bananas. Those thunderstorms sound scary to to be able to topple that.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Removing pups is contributing to your problem. When you do so, you make the total mass of the corm smaller. The bigger the corm and the more roots in the soil, the less likely the plant will blow over.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

I definately agree with your diagnosis! The issue was noticeably worse as soon as I removed that last pup, which was a pretty big pup and took a lot of roots with it.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Just to update everyone, the DC isn't looking too healthy right now, but I'm still hopeful she'll make a recovery.

She's dropped about four leaves since the incident, but I'm not too concerned about it since with the root pruning she just got, I'd expect she'd have a hard time supplying nutrients to all of the leaves. With any other plant, I probably would have defoliated a good amount after it lost that many roots, anyways.

Also, I'm leaving the dying leaves on the plant so she can get whatever stored nutrients are in the leaves while she's rebuilding her root system to be able to feed effectively through the roots.

I'll update if there are any changes and try to post some pics this weekend.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Don't know how much it might help, but you can try a diluted foliar feed in the morning hours when the plant is most susceptible to it. Think of it like an IV bag for a patient.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Yeah, replant that beast a bit deeper in a new pot. I'd keep watering the old pot and see if any residual corm in there may sprout a pup or two, also. I feel like there is definitely a possibility of the main plant surviving, though it will likely look a hot mess for a while. Keep it out of full sunlight for a while....partial sun/shade will be important now while it recovers. Prop it up well with some sticks so it is stable and wind doesn't tear it around anymore.

I'm with ya though....I would have been devastated too! I've had plants that were close to blooming get busted off at the base and had to 'restart.' If it makes you feel any better, I've been growing bananas for around 10 years and have not seen even a flag leaf. I have one that MAY this year though (but probably it will shoot in the fall and have no chance of fruit).

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Thanks to everyone who talked me into trying to rescue the DC.

Since she was torn completely from her root system in the storm, she basically lost ALL of her leaves, EXCEPT for the one that hadn't unrolled yet.

Over the last couple of days, that one leave has finally unrolled and you can see another one coming up behind it, so it looks like it will survive.

Now, I hope she can put out enough leaves to support some good fruit!

I'll post some pictures this week.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Great to hear Figaro.

Shame to lose a months' growing time, but it's better than the alternative.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Those are my thoughts, exactly!

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Here's a photo of the DC today with her one leaf out an a second one forming:



A closer look at her top:



Here are a couple of her pups:



And, here's my Williams Hybrid purchased as a young TC a few months ago:

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Looking good! Great job rehabilitating your nanner, Fig. Great set of plants, all looking healthy. Keep it up.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Nice job on the rehab... She looks great!!!

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Thanks Guys!

It's been another week and we now have two leaves out and another one coming, so she should be out of trouble, now. I just hope she gets enough roots and leaves out now before she goes into flower.

Here she is today:



Here are the smaller plants, which I recently up-potted...

First, the Williams Hybrid:



She must be liking the bigger pot, because as soon as I transplanted her, she started putting out her first pup:



Here's one of the DC pups I didn't give away:



And, here's the other one I kept:

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Now, I Think I'll Cry For Joy - Looks Like Flowering!

I think the Dwarf Cavendish is starting to flower! It's been about 45 days since she was ripped from her roots in the storm and lost all of her leaves.

She's now almost finished unrolling her third leaf since losing them and here's what she looks like today:



The reason why I think she's beginning to flower is that if you look behind the leaf that's just finishing unrolling, the back is covered in a very thin, grayish-white "skin" that looks and feels exactly like a flower petal:



Also, while previous leaves all had some slight ridges, the ridges on this leaf are very deep and particularly well-defined:



I don't think the new leaf is actually a "flag leaf" based on pictures I've seen, but it sure looks and feels like a petal is coming out with it!

It also looks like she's putting out her first pup since the "tragedy":

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Don't forget about the half leaf!

It will appear first and then the flag and bloom next. Until you get the half leaf it's still growing.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

I could be wrong, but I don't believe it is blooming. Like stated above, you will first see smaller leaves, then a flag leaf followed by the bud.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

Thanks guys! It looks like you're right. That "skin" I mentioned above does, in fact, look & feel like a piece of petal, but that 3rd leaf has unrolled some more today, and it was just a small piece. But, I've never seen anything like that unroll with a leaf, so I'm pretty sure the flower will be coming soon. The leaf that's coming up behind this third leaf does look quite a bit smaller, but needs to finish unrolling before I can tell if it's a half-leaf. As anxious as I am for flowering on this plant, I'll be happy if she can put out some more leaves and roots first.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :(
 

I don't think your DC is anywhere near flowering....it just doesn't look big enough. However if it was near blooming, you'll see the leaves get smaller and then a flag leaf will come up. The wax on the back of the leaf doesn't mean anything flowering-wise.

Here's an example of what a flag leaf looks like. This is a Cavendish-type I have, Gran Nain.



Here's the whole plant (that's a 10 inch clay pot sitting next to it for size reference of the trunk)



Then again another Cavendish-type I have, Super Dwarf Cavendish, decided to throw a midget leaf a few weeks ago (its on the left) and proceeded to continue growing normal sized ones for this variety.

Re: I Think I'm Gonna Cry! :vbseo_replace_urls("(
 

And some more shots of what to sort of look for.

The half-leaf. Though in this case it was only about 6 inches shorter than a "normal" leaf. Wasn't quite "half" of a normal leaf.



And another shot of a flag leaf