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Old 04-29-2010, 12:53 PM   #3 (permalink)
NANAMAN
Pseudostem Therapist
 
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Location: Lake Park Fl.
Zone: 10
Name: Brian
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Default Re: Firm stem, no leaves

It could be a few things.
1). Still adjusting to temps. outside the greenhouse.
2). About to flower and choked.
3). Rotting down inside the P-stem.
4). OK but leaves are stuck.
5). Stressed and gave up on main plant, producing pups for self preservation.

Don't know what your lows are in your location, but it could still be kinda dormant. ( I doubt it's this scenario ). After a month you should have something happening. kinda rules out #1
I've noticed that most varieties will spit out several pups just prior to flowering, ( gives a little credence to scenarios 2 & 5 ).
If #2 you wont know for a while, unless you excavate the P-stem.
If#3 you have to cut into the P-stem to find it.
If#4 cut a little off of the P-stem and see if there are leaves rolled up inside.
If#5 you will know soon enough, the P-stem will start to shrivel up after a while as the pups grow.

I had one this year that had several healthy leaves, but no new growth after it warmed up. So I cut into it to see what was going on. at the top I found green leaves rolled up, so I cut further down, and found premature flower and fruit. Further below that , almost at the base, was rot in the center of the P-stem.
The way I figure it, that plant was about to flower prior to the extended cold we had, went dormant and-or choked, then just shifted it's energy to producing pups. The plant looked great but had not produced any new growth in about 4 months. I had several other pups of this variety, so I didn't mind dissecting the plant to find out. Hope that helps. Good luck! Please post what you find!
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