venturabananas

I have a rose banana that is struggling. The leaf that was emerging has died. The p-stem was about 2' high and that was the only leaf on the plant. (It was a bare-rooted sword pup.) The rest of the p-stem is alive and healthy, but even though I cut the p-stem down to about 1', the tissue of that emerging leaf is dead all the way down to that point, and I presume much farther.

What should I do? Leave it alone, or keep chopping down the p-stem until I find no more dead tissue? I fear that if I keep chopping, I'll be down to a corm and nothing else. Again, everything except the very core of the p-stem is alive.

Obviously there are some other problems causing this problem, which I think I understand and can fix by pulling this plant out of the ground, potting it up in a well draining mix, and putting it in a warmer sunnier spot. But for now, I just need to know if I should chop more off this p-stem or keep the knife away from it.

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stan marshall

I have had the same problem many times, I don't know what the cause is, but I have found that if I leave it alone, don't cut any more, it will send out at least one pup. I do cut back on the water and putting it in a pot I think is a good idea, I would use a good draining potting mix and it will give you a chance to check the root system. Good luck. Stan

venturabananas

Thanks for the advice Stan -- you've given me hope. I potted it up today in a mix of 2/3rds SuperSoil palm and cactus mix and 1/3 perlite, which drains very well. When I dug it up, the roots were pretty pathetic, with only a couple of big ones that looked good and the rest dead. It is now in a nice, warm, sunny spot, and I'm hoping for the best.

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sandy0225

that's what I was going to say. If there's any life left in it, it will most likely throw you a pup or two. So don't give up. Don't cut it down any further if you haven't already cut it. It seems to me like the plant pulls all the energy it can out of that old pstem to throw pups quicker. Like a storehouse.

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Sandy Burrell



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venturabananas

Just an update. After potting and keeping warm and dry, this banana essentially died back to the corm, but then sent up a pup and the main p-stem reinitiated growth. So essentially it looks like two small pups now. Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

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