Mptclinics

The place I bought them from isn't known for their knowledge of plants....just their bulk discount sales. They called them musa cavendishii, or dwarf banana. That's really all I know. We are located just outside Springfield, IL--literally dead center of the state you could say. I never can tell which zone we are for gardening or for Farmer's Almanac forecasts, as all lines seem to go right through us!

So I am attaching another photo of the other tree with my 58" son for reference. Once again, my iPad won't let me access the URL for posting here, so it can be found in my gallery. As you can see, the trees are about 4-5 feet tall, and they have certainly had less than ideal lighting inside my house for 5-6 months of the year. They seem to produce all their growth in the 6months they are outside. They love it there!

All the photos I see show dwarf little plants in way-too-small pots, with bananas growing on them. My pots are roughly 15 x 15 inches (tall and wide at top). What makes getting fruit so difficult. I can't seem to find many specifics on the Cavendish.

I keep seeing the basjoo suggested for our region. Would it winter over better outside? How is the flavor of the bananas?

Would either the Cavendish or basjoo survive if I did the extra-insulated mulch/styrofoam/whatever shelter I have seen folks on her doing for winter? Yes, our ground freezes about 18 inches to 2 feet.

If nothing else, would planting in my greenhouse increase the chance of fruiting since it would reduce the stress? Even if it dropped to cold enough to make it go dormant, it would likely last only a few weeks. The bigger concern I have is that the peak of my ceiling is only about 7.5 feet high. Is it terrible to smash the leaves down a bit if they continue increasing in height? I just don't have anywhere else. I'd love to plant them outside, but I first have to figure out a winter storage option where they won't be frozen or damaged.