eyefi

i got this a few weeks ago and it arrived in a bit of a sorry state. it had had 4 stems removed already and i had to remove another one because it had broken in transit. i've repotted it with intentions of getting it in the garden this spring. the pot is so i can get it in the sun or shelter it from the wind or get it back indoors if those frosts reappear.

the leaf stem seems unable to support the leaf weight. i've rigged up a temporary support to hold that outer leaf up, if i take it off the leaf will just bow until it breaks the stem, which it has done.......



why is it doing this?

the two newer, open leaves seam a bit more robust.

thanks.

damaclese

eyefi thanks for the question!

Here what i see from the pics i think its been light deprived note how its not vary dark red to purple any plant thats light deprived will grow in a spindly fashion it could also be that its been over water this to can elicit a spindly growth response id keep it tided to a support of some kind get it in the ground Ventricosum have some of the largest root systems there corm can reach a mature size of 40Klo this is massive in comparison to other Emusa Banana variates try to learn more about them there not like edibles they come from a much dryer high plains Forest climate were they are water deprived for up to 3 moths at a time this is not so say that you shouldn't water it if its actively growing then water if the temps are high but in the 70 to 80 let it dry out between waterings get it in to the sun theirs no reason it cant be in full sun unless you live in a desert or a vary high mountain region
what zone are you in i see a palm or is that a coconut tree if your in a high humidity climate i don't give it much hope they hate that type of weather most of the people here on the org that live in say Florida cant grow them its just to wet there like i said there a Banana that is adapted to dryer high heat and light climates
good luck if your are in a wet place msg me and all tell you what i think you sould do for it?

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eyefi

thank you for the reply

i'm in zone 8b in yorkshire in the uk. it's not very humid. the site is sheltered west facing.

i think you are probably looking at the Cordyline, it's happy in this climate. if not maybe the Trachycarpus or the Chamaerops again all quite happy here.

i would tend to agree with you regarding the light deprivation, other examples i see have shorter stems and that could be why it's lost its other leaves. i'm not sure whether to remove this leaf and take away the support so the new growth is free and the plant can put it's energy into new growth or should i keep it for as long as possible. it seems quite happy apart from this. the new leaf, despite the rubbish weather and temps has grown a few inches in a week.

we still have a risk of frost at the moment, so i'm gonna keep it out of the ground for a few more weeks yet.

LilRaverBoi

Yeah, I'd say as soon as there is no worry of frost or really cold temps, get it in the ground. Looks like it just needs some sun and a little TLC to really get going. I just bought one of these myself actually. Also, plants grow more robust when exposed to some wind. Just a natural defense mechanism of the plant that if it gets whipped around a little, it grows stronger. So I'm sure once you get this going outdoors you won't have any problems with it. Till then, just do your best to protect it a bit so it can take off!

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damaclese

Eyefi you should talk to Mark hall hes a UK grower of Maurellii i know from other threads that people do grow it there but iv gleaned from those threads that it never gets to the mature hight it could in a dryer climate not to discourage you try by all means i have Ae Ae growing in the middle of the Mohave desert and people told me it couldn't be done the more some one tells me that the more likely i am to flip them off LOL iv said this before and all probably say it until the day i die if one tunes in to there plants they will tell you every thing you need to know about whats happening to them and what they want we all talked about this guy in Germany that grows Maurellii
some of the bigest if ever seen so if he can so can you

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eyefi

i've taken that pesky leaf off, onwards and upwards.

if i get a reasonble plant i'll be happy

just j

try just takin those leaves off in half if the plant cant support them it does need sun

eyefi

yeah, the trouble is that by the time the leaf hasn't been supported it's buckled it's stem, while this doesn't kill the leaf the only thing to do is support it on a frame, which in turn is not helping the new growth.

worth bearing in mind if the new leaves do the same but i don't think they will, they seem more robust.

cheers.