Help! Snapped main stem. Cut off. will it survive? What to do? Help…

[Letsgrowit]

I broke the main stem on a strawberry banana. About 2 ft+ of growth. Still had about 3 ft on it and many branches. It was irreparable so I cut it off. A real bummer. Anything else I should do?

Thanks.

 

[weed420420420420420]

Should bounce back. As long as all the leaves stay mostly "upward" like they are then you're fine.

 

[E9noxis]

Shoulda taped it.

Or if it's in veg still, put it in water as a huge clone... or make a bunch of clones off it

 

[weed420420420420420]

Sometimes the plant really puts the brakes on everything else while it's repairing a big snap. You might be surprised what it does now.

 

[weed420420420420420]

If all those leaves stay uppity like they are then she barely flinched. And will rage forth.

 

[Letsgrowit]

Shoulda taped it.

Or if it's in veg still, put it in water as a huge clone... or make a bunch of clones off it

Yeah. It was tied down (LST) and snapped. Almost completely. You are right though I should have tried taping it first. It was just like 90% gone, splintered. Hopefully this never happens again but if it does I will tape. Thanks.

 

[Letsgrowit]

If all those leaves stay uppity like they are then she barely flinched. And will rage forth.

Hoping so. It still has about 30” of height and about 8 branches. I foliar sprayed some silica on it and will see what happens. Will post pics. Thanks.

 

[Letsgrowit]

Should bounce back. As long as all the leaves stay mostly "upward" like they are then you're fine.

Thanks. I’ll keep an eye on it. Hopefully the other branches (about 8) will take over. About 14 days from natural 12/12 so def lost some yield but I expect to lose 20% outdoors - so I will count this as part of that!

 

[weed420420420420420]

you're gonna wanna support those soon. she's a little spindly.
Help those branches hold themselves up a little bit and wait till you see the buds. I think you're gonna be surprised.

 

[PipeCarver]

I broke the main stem on a strawberry banana. About 2 ft+ of growth. Still had about 3 ft on it and many branches. It was irreparable so I cut it off. A real bummer. Anything else I should do?

Thanks.

It's called topping.....a bit lower than you'd like but eh shit happens....I'd fill her top with honey or Aloe vera juice and use a bit of duct tape just to cover the crude break / cut done for a couple of days.....holes like that give access to bugs n shit. Even trimming the rough cut if there's room so its a clean cut with a sterile razor then the juice on top.

 

[Ponky]

No biggie. Plants get damaged all the time.

 

[Letsgrowit]

you're gonna wanna support those soon. she's a little spindly.
Help those branches hold themselves up a little bit and wait till you see the buds. I think you're gonna be surprised.

Thanks. I will do so. It was a clone. 2 in 30 gallon. I topped one from the same mother and it’s huge and dense. The one I broke has identical genetics but I did not top (was trying to see yield differences). It def got more spindly and was taller by about a foot. I had just LST it and tripped bending the LST main stem too much, taking out the stem. Had I not LST it would be fine.

Now it is super topped, lol. I hope the 9 other colas on it are going fill in.

you're gonna wanna support those soon. she's a little spindly.
Help those branches hold themselves up a little bit and wait till you see the buds. I think you're gonna be surprised.

 

[Letsgrowit]

No biggie. Plants get damaged all the time.

Yeah it’s going bus

It's called topping.....a bit lower than you'd like but eh shit happens....I'd fill her top with honey or Aloe vera juice and use a bit of duct tape just to cover the crude break / cut done for a couple of days.....holes like that give access to bugs n shit. Even trimming the rough cut if there's room so its a clean cut with a sterile razor then the juice on top.

I used some honey to coat the broken part and then taped it up as you suggest. When should I remove the tape? Should I add more honey and re-tape in a few days?

 

[weed420420420420420]

no it will wood itself up in 5 days or so. only do that stuff 1 time.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

I use masking tape ... even scotch tape in a pinch (not really ideal) ... More times than not if it's going to heal itself if it's not broken completely off. I lost 1, but have broken many so far this summer. It's part of the territory sometimes with LST and super-cropping.

I don't even use honey.

 

[PipeCarver]

Thanks. I will do so. It was a clone. 2 in 30 gallon. I topped one from the same mother and it’s huge and dense. The one I broke has identical genetics but I did not top (was trying to see yield differences). It def got more spindly and was taller by about a foot. I had just LST it and tripped bending the LST main stem too much, taking out the stem. Had I not LST it would be fine.

Now it is super topped, lol. I hope the 9 other colas on it are going fill in.

If you are going to bend them in the future squeeze the stalk hard with your fingers and pinch it flat then wiggle back and forth until pliable enough to bend in the direction you want it to go. That will stop the tearing or breaking the stalk....1 application of Aloe or Honey should be enough. Duct tape is preferred to other types of tape....something about the glue. If I damage a branch I want to save I'll duct tape it and leave it on until I harvest it. The cuts or breaks heal and the tape stays and doesn't bother her growth

 

[ninjadip]

I broke the main stem on a strawberry banana. About 2 ft+ of growth. Still had about 3 ft on it and many branches. It was irreparable so I cut it off. A real bummer. Anything else I should do?

Thanks.

A shame it snapped all the way off, I accidently broke my main stem once, I taped it up and it healed without any pests/diseases coming in. Took about 1.5 weeks to heal

 

[weed420420420420420]

Ya you wanna try and do it before it becomes a half inch fibrous wooden like. You're supercropping a bit late on really big stalks to be doing it.

You wanna do it higher up on the plant on less developed stalk... So that spot would have been better a month or 2 ago... more pliable.

 

[Letsgrowit]

Ya you wanna try and do it before it becomes a half inch fibrous wooden like. You're supercropping a bit late on really big stalks to be doing it.

You wanna do it higher up on the plant on less developed stalk... So that spot would have been better a month or 2 ago... more pliable.

Thanks. It was a mistake to have done so. I tied it down to LST and then tripped in my garden and it broke. The good news is the plant seems okay so far. I’ll leave the tape on for 4 more days and see where I am at then. Will send pics.

 

[Backyard_Boogie]

What you accidentally did is called a deep top that is actually a real thing I do it all the time on my plants. Sometimes if I forget to top and my plants are too tall and lanky I will chop the entire top off. The remaining small shoots take time to stretch up and take over as the new tops but once the plant fully recovers it will have more of a round bush shape. I use that method to help keep my plants squat and bushy.