Leolady

About a month ago a friend sent me 5 Ensete Glaucum seeds, which I promptly set out to try to germinate. 3 of the 5 seeds did germinate, but 2 didn't make it. The third one, I potted up in a styrofoam cup and it has grown to about 4 inches tall, with 3 leaves.

Now to the problem. When I water it, which I do very gently, the seedling always falls over, and I have to straighten it up in the soil by pushing soil around it. This tells me, that there surely can't be very many roots forming.

Can someone please advise me on what to do? This is my first time ever germinating a banana seed, and I certainly don't want to lose it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Bonnie

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Dalmatiansoap

Add more soil arround it, allmost till first leaf, but keep good control on watering. If U can water it from below if U have pot tray. That will force roots to go lower searching for the water.

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Leolady

Thank you for responding. I am concerned on 2 points of your suggestion.

1. The cup it is in is already filled to the top with soil, so this would mean moving it to another container, which I am very hesitant to do.

2. Since whatever roots are there are not enough to hold the seedling up, how will enough moisture be able to supply it if I water from the bottom.

It is really growing well, and using lots of water for such a small thing. Everyday the soil is dry. I neglected to water it one day and the next day there was a brown tip on one of the leaves.
I tried to take a pic to show, but the battery in my camera is dead. I have a pic of it when it started getting it's first leaf, but I don't know where to upload it to, so that I can include it in this post.

Leolady aka Bonnie

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jmoore

I don't think the brown tips to the leaves are a consequence of not enough water.

I think you could be over watering. I would suggest repotting the plant (it will be fine don't worry) before you repot it wash the soil off the roots and repot the plant in a more free draining mix, 50:50 perlite and compost or similar. This will allow respiration for the roots. Water from the bottom as Ante suggested.

Our dear friend Tog told me that ensete don't like to be saturated with water. So be sparing with it, this will also encourage the plant to grow more roots.

Dalmatiansoap

Yes, thats over watering sign in such small seedlings. I prefer covering them for higher humidity.

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LilRaverBoi

Yeah, ensetes do like it dryer than other naners. Pretty sure that's why my Maurelii was so fastidious when it was outside last summer (it rains quite a bit here). You might be overwatering it, so make sure it gets pretty dry/light before you water again (and then just a medium amount). Too much moisture could keep roots from flourishing (and also can cause root rot).

As far as the plant tipping over, I always just poke a pencil in there beside it and very loosely attach a twist-tie to the plant/pencil. This holds the plant up while it develops roots. In a few weeks or a month, you can take it off and the plant will hold itself up. I try to minimize the propping because plants can sometimes rely on that support and grow more spindly, but sometimes they need just a little help in that department initially after repotting and such.

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Leolady

Sorry for not responding sooner. It has been very busy around here.
I have tried everyones suggestions. Potting a little deeper, withholding water, using a watering tray, watering from the bottom, and propping the plant with a pencil gently tied to it. It is doing ok right now, and I will let you know how it progresses.

Thanks very much for all your suggestions.

Bonnie aka Leolady

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