My bananas are zapped!
 

Well, last night zapped the bananas. Our normal low is 40 and it was 24 last night and lower tonight. What do you use to cut them? I plan on cutting them off and mulching well. Do you need a clean cut and how low should I cut them off? I am new to bananas, as you may have discerned.
Thank you very much
Shivering in Tallahassee,
Woods

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

Before you cut, feel the trunk. Where ever it feels soft/ mushy, that part is no longer good. You'll have to cut it back to where it still feels very hard/ firm. If they didn't mush all the way down then you can likely cut them just below where the frozen part was, protect the rest of the pseudostem / base that is above the ground with wrap and xmas lights, or some other form of heat to keep them from freezing, and it should regrow from that point. That said, it also is gonna depend on the type of banana too I think.

If your GROUND froze solid more than 1/2 to 1" deep, well that may have damaged the corm too, unless its one of the very cold hardy types.

Depending on how large / fat the pseudostems are you can use some very sharp loppers/ shears, or something similar to a machete. Make sure whatever you use is sharp, and if its a machete, that you whack it good, and very hard so the cut goes clean through without tearing. For the LARGE basjoos here they usually use machetes in so far as I have seen, but here, they usually take them down to just about ground level so the stems that are being cut are too FAT for loppers, and will freeze anyway. This has been my experience and what I have seen. Im sure others may have much more to add, or maybe better ways to go about it.

Good luck! Let us know how they do / if they come back for you.

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

KJ's exactly right about determining where to cut.

I like a good sharp machete for cutting down bananas, but I've also used a hacksaw to good effect - just bear in mind that if you use a saw, it's only good for bananas in the future. If you use a machete or sharp knife, you need to sever the stems with one or two good whacks - using a knife like an axe both dulls the knife and harms the plant. You're looking for a clean cut. Oddly enough, before I had a good machete, I used to use a Ginsu chef's knife, and it worked wonderfully.

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

If those p-stems are thick, they should be ok. The core of the plant is very well insulated. Mine routinely grow by pushing out the rotten/mushy leaves. Not 100% of the time, but certainly 75% at least.

Best thing I've found for taking down thick plants is a cordless reciprocating saw with a long blade. Like buttah!

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

In Tallahassee I would not do anything yet. The leaves are probably toast, but let them stay there and provide some insulation for the stem--that is the heart of your banana. Your stem is probably OK at least half way down. Your weather is not that different from here--you will probably get a few more freezes, but by mid Feb it may warm up enough to start some growth, by mid March when frost are likely over, you can remove the dead leaves and as others have said any of the stem that is mushy. You can also remove any dead outer sheaths on the stem so that the stem can help with photosynthesis.

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

The previous posters are absolutely correct. Do not do anything yet. That "dead" material is insulation for now. When it's time, do the machete thing as cleanly as possible. You'll (hopefully) be surprized at how much will come back from the p'stems. eric

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

This GLOBAL WARMING that got Al Gore a Nobel Prize for hyping is really ugly, eh?

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

Do what Engleman and sbl say to do. Personally, I don't like the way the dead hanging leaves look - but they do give the pstem some protection. I'll probably just cut mine off and risk it. That's what I did last year and everything was fine. The only pstem damage I had last year was to ornata and Siam Ruby, but those are skinny anyway and they recovered quickly when warm weather arrived.

Russell

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

I wait until late March to determine if I need to remove any dead plants. Sometimes they'll let you know by getting mushy and sort of collapse. The leaves/fronds don't provide any insulation unless your plant had 9 to 12 fronds on it and it can fold around the trunk. And even if it did, once they shrivel up there is no insulation, it's just dangling dead leaves...

I usually clean them up after a week because they start to stink. And be careful when pruning the dead fronds off - you'll find loads of lizards and tree frogs hiding in the petiole nooks trying to keep warm.

It's getting down to the low 20s where I live - the coldest temperatures I will have ever experienced in Louisiana. I had plants die from last winter (lowest was 26 - this time they're talking as low as 21) so I'm expecting more to die this go round. I did manage to harvest all of my fruit around town - 4 stalks of Dwarf Cav, some Orinoco and a nice bunch of Saba.

Re: My bananas are zapped!
 

I would not cut them low. I know they can look unsightly but just refrain. Trim only the dead off. Several varieties will green up, even in the winter here.

P.S. I live in Tallahassee too. Send me a pm if you want some tips or to trade anything.