Hey MagicKiwi.....HELLO from a fellow Michigander! I'm from Niles. Where are you? I am just a few days new to this site and just read your post about overwintering Musa Basjoo. People about a mile down the road have been raising their own little banana forest for the last 4 years and it looks pretty nice. The basjoos will grow here and very nicely I might add! I purchased my first in June on clearance and it is growing beautifully. I am SO excited! I did not know there was such thing as a cold hardy banana. I LOVE plants and gardening and tropical stuff. My pink plastic flamingos will prove that! They are guardians of my banana tree! Too much fun!
The people down the street said they mulch theirs with a thick layer of straw and then cover it to keep it dry. I am trying the straw but I am going to fill trash bags with leaves (about 4-5) and place them around the trunk after cutting it down a bit and weigh them down with bricks then fill in the space around the truck with more leaves then cover with a tarp. I found this info from someone who lives in Indy but sounds like it should work here. I hope so. I want to see my basjoo green and growing come spring.
