Leaves Collapsing on ensete

10 years ago

Hello,

I've been attempting to overwinter my ensete maurelii I bought in spring indoors. It's grown a lot since I brought it in back in September and has grown some pretty huge leaves. They now hit the ceiling when they start to unfurl bur then they lower. I've had constant problems with Spidermites but I usually just wipe down the whole plant once a week to get rid of most of them. There's also bee issues with leaves tearing and being broken by family members but those are other issues.

The one I'm having is that some of its leaves are beginning to collapse on itself.

At first One of the lowest leaves did this so I didn't think much as I thought it was just a natural thing. But then I came home to This:

This leaf was grown inside and is pretty far up the 'trunk' and was pretty big.

I'd there anything that would cause it to just collapse like that?

I'm watering very minimally about every 1 1/2 to 2 weeks or so and it's kept in front of a south window. Am I underwatering it?

Very confused on what to do.

I really like this plant and have made it my mission to keep it alive until the end of May so it can go outside again.

Here's a (bad) photo of almost the full plant

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Comments (4)

sandy0225
10 years ago
It looks good for this time of the year, so I'd continue what you're doing. If you can stand to, leave that leaf on until it starts browning so it can continue to feed the plant. I think you're doing a good job
MrBlubs thanked sandy0225
MrBlubs
Original Author
10 years ago
Thankyou! I figured out that I let it get to dry as the soil was dry down way more than an inch.

I did leave the leaf on for as long as I could until my family members made me cut it off!
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ourhighlandhome
10 years ago
Looks like you figured it out. The plant seems to need more water - water mixed with a weak solution of plant food such as Miracle-Gro. The soil of this plant should not be allowed to dry completely. I've over-wintered many semi-tropicals in my cool, dimly-lit basement for years. Beware of aphids, white flies, and soggy soil. And...good luck!
MrBlubs thanked ourhighlandhome
aruzinsky
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Just an observation. There are two relevant variables, sap (turgor) pressure and gas pressure within the petiole. If you cut open a petiole, you will see many gas filled vesicles. If you put a section of petiole in water, I believe that it will float despite the 1.5 g/cc density of cellulose (I have tested this with an alocasia petiole.). If you squeeze a petiole, it will feel like an inflated tire. A high turgor pressure does not guarantee a high gas pressure. The petiole can fold over, irrespective of watering practice and humidity due to low gas pressure. I don't know what controls the gas pressure, but, I suspect that it is the amount of light.

Apparently, the gas pressure within plants has not been well studied because botanists and horticulturists are stupid.
MrBlubs thanked aruzinsky