I was mostly bummed out because this plant was on its way to being a nice looking false palm. I had a little trouble with the smaller cane because the shoots grew out sideways, but the taller cane looked much better. I wondered mostly whether what's left of the taller cane will sprout some new shoots and keep going. So you're saying the broken off part will probably branch out? I'll keep an eye on the top which is in water now. Maybe it'll put out some roots after a while and I'll be able to just plant it in with the other two canes.

thanks everyone. The top was truly just the top portion of the plant ( a few leaves and the beginnings of more branches) so no saving that part. It is developing some nice suckers so I think I will let it grow. It is such a strong and healthy plant and we love Aunt Ruby's.

As a MG (master gardener) that is what we are supposed to do: point the people in the right direction for information, let them research it and come to their own conclusions. We are allowed to share what has, hasn't worked for us, be we are not here to impart prowess, we are here to teach, share and inform. Now some MGs specialize, and I defer to those that do. We start toms every spring for a one-day sale at the local FM … and they are all sold. This helps raise funds for what we do every year. If it can buy a truckload of mulch, we be happy campers. BTW, we have a lot of repeat buyers every year, so they must be having good luck with what we sell. Black Krim always sells out first. Too many seeds, not enough seasons … dave

digdirt2: Yes, have numerous times as has Carolyn, Mule and several others have both here and on Tomatoville (as you know gb) as it has also been discussed ad infinitem on that forum. And yet, nobody has actually provided a reference. And people keep calling it a "membrane" that "seals", even though an abscission zone is not a membrane and does not seal in tomato fruit. <The original research papers were out of Kansas State University AG research station I recall and have been referenced in hundreds of articles over the years. > And yet, nobody here or at tville has ever managed to point to an actual reference in any of these hundreds of articles. I find this odd. <The research is based on the changing chemical nature of the vasculature structure between the pedicle and the abscission zone of the fruit as they ripen.> I'm going to guess that you haven't actually read the article. I actually had a friend with access look up this article for me a year or two ago, and I read it. And the article is about how, in maturing tomato fruit, the xylem (water transport vasculature) decreases and all transport of wet and dry matter into a maturing tomato fruit is taken over by the phloem (dry matter transport vasculature). It says nothing about a stop to transport of dry matter into a tomato. It certainly says nothing to support the claim that ONLY water enters a tomato from color break until it's picked and its implications actually debunk that idea. <Many scientific studies: Tomato fruit abscission studies> Did you read your search results? They have nothing to do with the question at hand and most of them are about the no-joint gene variation in which an abscission zone never forms at all (lime green salad is a variety like this, for example). <Given all that research is commonly accepted then I don't understand why it is so hard to accept the same studies done on tomato fruit. But some are determined to not accept it. That is their choice but it doesn't make the research any less valid.> Commonly accepted by whom? The people I see claiming the "sealed membrane" are all either from tville or quoting people from tville. Can you point to an independent, scientific source that says this? Because I've looked a lot, and I can't find one. The accusation that people are only believing what they want to believe can be leveled in both directions. And when you look at the actual science, it doesn't back up the "sealed membrane" camp. The fact is, tomatoes continue to get both water and dry matter and volatile compounds from the plant up until at least the point of becoming table ripe. This is not up for debate--it has been shown. Whether most human beings can detect these changes in a fruit ripened to table ripe on the vine vs. in a fruit that was picked early and ripened off the vine is, as I've always said, an individual matter, and whether the average human cares enough about subtle differences is yet another individual matter. But the "sealed membrane" claim so far looks to be folklore, not science.