Broke young leaf off, what will happen

[whalloper]

Hello,

I was repotting and got careless, breaking off the youngest growing leaf. Im wondering if this leaf will continue to grow, and end up shorter than normal. What can I expect?

[mehitabel]

I hate when that happens! Put some cinnamon on the break. The leaf will continue to grow. It won't be smaller, it will be broken. So the part of the leaf on the plant side of the break will be there and keep growing, then the break. It will end up looking as it would if you broke it when mature.

More importantly, the tiny growth center inside the leaf will eventually grow and form a new leaf that will cover and conceal the broken one. You need the cinnamon on the break to make sure rot doesn't start there and get in the crown.

BTW, it isn't necessarily carelessness that makes the leaves break off like that. Sometimes the new leaf is so tender just picking up the pot will break it. I found that Dyna-Grow ProTekT (silicon) which is supposed to toughen up the leaves really does toughen them. The new leaves come in thicker and tougher and less likely to break. You just put some into the watering solution once a month or so.

Pro-Tekt is supposed to protect phals from heat stress (it does), and also to thicken the cuticle enough to make the leaves less vulnerable to pests. (Couldn't prove it, but I think it does).

[whalloper]

Thanks Mehitabel!! That makes me feel alot better. When its finished growing, I will cut the edge to make it slightly round. Ive bought phals like this with one of the lower leaves that was obviously damaged and they cut it round. It healed very nice. Will the leaf really grow to full size?! WOW! This is a very healthy phal with a good growing root system. This is a 5" pot with a 2" net pot in the center of the roots...Im experimenting with moss again

[shaz]

TA! useful info here, I seem to have a mini phal with a new leaf which has managed to tear itself as it grows (I don't recall doing it but I could have done), it's good to know it will recover!