Gala

Hi all. :-) I got corms from PR-Gaints a couple of weeks ago. I am new to growing bananas. I just had two varieties growing like ornamental by their own. Now I have three (well... four :-)) more. Here are my corms from day one till now.

Day #1




#2


#3


#4


#5


#6

Gala

Day#8


#13

lukem5

Cool! What potting mix are you using? Looks very airy!

Corms always do well, just keep the bugs off them!

HMelendez

Gala;


your corms are doing well, looking very good!....

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PR-Giants

Thanks for the photos.

The Manini doesn't look as good as I would have expected but it not too bad. It looks like the potting mix is not very airy and or the moisture level is too high, causing the discoloration of the corm. Usually more air means more roots and less discoloration, but as long as the corm was solid during the inspection (no soft spots), it should be OK. And peel down or cut off the outer leaf sheaths that are dead.

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edzone9

I cut mine down to the corm and they all took off ! All of mine are doing great , they slowed down cause the weather is dipping at nighttime ro 50-55f
Ed

PR-Giants

Can you be more specific, you received a corm and then "cut mine down to the corm". What does that mean exactly?

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Gala

Thanks guys. The potting mix is MG for cactus/citrus mix + perlite + vermiculite + some of earthworm castings. I should add some sand but didn't have it when corms arrived. So I agree with Keith it is not loose enough. I didn't water them since they were planted so the soil is moist not too wet. I cut the dead parts this morning but I am not sure if this way is OK.



Should I keep them in shade or move to partial sun (morning sun)? And, should I add some sand to the soil or leave as it is?

PR-Giants

Your plant will probably be fine, but I just prefer not to take unnecessary risks.

Soil aeration is important for all cleaned corms but it is very important for the Manini. Most other corms can easily tolerate a less than optimum level without rotting, but not the Manini. I use a specific size range of clean coarse sand to achieve these levels and it should be noted that all sand is not the same. Earthworm castings are terrible, they adversely affect soil aeration and should never be used during the initial stage but would be tolerable after the plant has roots and leaves.

I prefer to peel away and then cut the dead leaf sheaths as opposed to doing it in place. The cuts that damaged the inner sheaths will now rot a little sooner but should not become a problem.

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Gala

Thanks PR-Giants. Learning by my own mistakes. ) About the worm castings. Good I didn't add a lot just a hand full to the mix for 3 pots. I didn't add the clean coarse sand because I didn't have it at that moment. I'll probably leave the corms alone for now (no more damage) and see how they do.

Snarkie

Looking good!

Getting advice from PR Giants is like getting a horseshoe from Lady Luck.

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"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

siege2050

Looks like they are doing good, the fact they are pushing up new growth is a very good sign, they should be fine now. Maybe keep them in partial shade for another week or two, just to make sure the root system is able to supply the emerging leaves with water. I think but am not sure that Manini needs filtered light anyway as an adult plant?

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edzone9

Keith it's a fetish that I gave ��Don't like to see the old leaves on my corns , I cut them down to the top of the corn and they grow nice and clean for me , all are doing super , I don't recommend this to the other members , it's just a habit of mine ��
Ed

Gala

Thank you guys. I hope they will be OK.

siege2050

It's been my experience that once a plant starts pushing up growth, it has new roots, or any roots it already had have adjusted. If it's got functioning roots, it's less likely to rot. I cut back and dug up my Sikkimensis, and put them in pots a week ago. They started pushing growth yesterday so thats a very good sign and tells me they are okay. I go a little easy on the water at first, increasing it over time if it's winter and cool, but not letting them dry out.

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PR-Giants

The internet is such a great place, with so many blogs and message boards filled with helpful folks eager to give advice. Many times the person giving advice is incredibly eager to be helpful but may actually know less than the person seeking the advice. This is apparent when reading about the Aeae on the web.

This is a photo of the only Manini corm, which I shipped this year that died. It was inspected after 7 days and showed good root growth, much better than the Manini in this thread showed after 13 days. But it was clear from the discoloration that the soil aeration was not adequate. The inspection revealed a dark spot which was cleaned at that moment but the soil aeration issue wasn't addressed until several days later.

With a Manini, it is much easy to prevent this type of problem than it is to fix.

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Kegas76

That corm didn't stand a chance with that black dog chomping on it.

edzone9

Manini Got A Bad Wrap From A Few Folks Who Had Bad Luck With Them.
My 1st Time Growing Them & They are the same as any of my other Musa, Except that they have an outstanding presence

PR-Giants

It was difficult to understand how you were taking a corm and cutting it down to a corm, but you were really just cutting off the top part and making the corm shorter.

I advise folks not to do that because,

1) It's difficult to know exactly where the growing point is and it might get damaged, i.e., dead plant.








2) Those leaf sheaths you are removing actually protect the growing point of the plant by slowing the advancement of rot.

If your top rots before the corm starts actively growing/pushing you no longer have a buffer protecting the growing point, but with a taller top the rot can simply be cut off and now it's almost like starting with a fresh new top. This can be done multiple times which increases the opportunity for success.

You may not need those extra chances but it's definitely better to have them and not need them than to need them but not have them.

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PR-Giants

Short Memory ‹(•¿•)› Earlier This Year You Were One Of Those Folks Who Had Bad Luck With Them.

Your 1st Time Growing Them & And You Killed Them.

Your 2nd Time Growing Them & And You Seem More Successful, Congrats.



Anyway... They have been the most difficult banana I've ever grown, and by difficult I mean they don't tolerate the same level of abuse that some other bananas can. Studying this cultivar for these past few years has profoundly improved my growing techniques for all of my bananas and now I'm growing healthier plants with larger bunches in less time.

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