Bananas.org - cold hardy bananas

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cold hardy bananas

Should I cut my bananas down to within 2 inches of ground? We live in deep ETX, 18 miles from Shreveport. Not sure if I should cut my bananas down for the winter. Its already Jan. what should I do. We live in Zone 8:waving:

Re: cold hardy bananas

Hello & Welcome.. I wouldn't cut till spring, and trim till you have solid viable material present. :^)

Re: cold hardy bananas

Welcome aboard,
Pull up a chair and have some fun.

Re: cold hardy bananas

Welcome, Caralea,

but ain't that a bit late? The winter is half over and with it the coldest period, which
has hit the US in decades. I am not sure how it has affected your area, and you tell
us nothing about the present state of your plants. Since I do not know any specifics
about your situation, I am just repeating part of a text I posted recently in a different
thread in this forum, and you may pick and chose whatever applies to you, if anything:
QUOTE
Now to your problem: You can kiss your leaves goodbye, maybe even your PS.
However, it is unlikely, that your corm has suffered any damage after such a brief
period of temps in the twenties. If you want to make sure, you can dig a little hole
nearby and see how deep the frost has gone, If the soil is not frozen deeply enough
to reach your corm, it will be alright. Everything else will regrow in spring.
Though you should use the pending warming to pile on anything you can find; leaves
sawdust bark/wood chips etc. If some of the PS still looks sound after the weather
has warmed, create some airspace around it, by sticking a bucket, pipe or whatever
covers it, over it and the insulate. An old quilt will do (can you spell "Sally Ann?)
as long as you protect it all with a plastic bag or such to keep the rain out.

There is a huge cold front invading much of the US. so you may not have a lot
of time, if a break in the cold weather occurs. UNQUOTE

There is a lot more information available here, but we need to know a lot more
about the condition of your plants.

Good luck,
Olaf

Re: cold hardy bananas

Welcome Caralea! If you are talking about Musa basjoo, my experience has been that I leave everything up through the winter here in zone 7a. I find that the fried leaves act as a protective shroud. Come spring, I trim away all the leaves, and trim any rotten p-stem away. Be careful; only cut p-stem that feels mushy. Even then you may see a central core of white which is viable tissue. Good luck!

Re: cold hardy bananas

Welcome to to Jungle !!! :woohoonaner:
Have fun here.