update on cold tolerance of some varieties. We had 3 nights so far this year with temperatures below 32F (0C) and so far only one variety has shown any signs of damage: a supposed dwarf brazilian (from a reputable source, but I haven't yet fruited it to confirm). An Ice Cream (also not fruited yet but from a proven, reputable source) is literally 2 ft. away and showed a few "sunburn" spots on new leaves, but other than that, it's in good condition.
All photos taken 12/26/16:
Here's my windshield this morning:
light frost on an oxalis plant a few feet away from the bananas:
Here's damage on the unconfirmed Dwarf Brazilian. Notice the brown necrosis on the edge of the leaf caused by the cold. In all fairness, this plant is still on the smaller side (smaller plants=less cold tolerance), and all other unprotected bananas are much larger or near maturity in size:
Only the lower leaves are damaged, which makes sense since cold air sinks:
clump in the front is the supposed dwarf brazilian, and clump in the back (taller plants to the left) is the supposed real deal ice cream (blue java). Even tiny water sprouts on the blue java showed no signs of cold damage yet, but I wasn't thinking and didn't take a close up pic of the ice cream plant: