brianrumsey

I've been growing M. basjoo for a number of years in NE Iowa, zone 4/5. I was able to overwinter it with good protection in 2017-2018 but it did not grow all that well in 2018, certainly not well enough that it felt like the work of protection paid off. So I dug my plants in 2018 and wintered them indoors. They are looking pretty nice this year so I might try protecting once more. But I'm also thinking that my love of banana plants might be best satiated by simply growing them seasonally and planning to take them in for the winter.

Since the main selling point of basjoo is its hardiness, I'm wondering what suggestions people have for seasonally grown bananas? In other words why dig basjoo every year if I could be growing something more desirable or interesting? I'd say the biggest selling points for me would be potential to reach large size, and attractive foliage. I may try one of the short-season fruiting varieties like Veinte Cohol and/or Patupi, but I don't want to make my choices based on expectations of fruiting, because I realize that with my growing season, an awful lot would have to line up just right to get fruits even with the short season bananas.